Andrew Johnson: Veto of the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill

Glossary

• a capital or otherwise infamous crime a crime punishable by death, or any other serious crime
• court-martial a legal proceeding in a military court whereby a member of the armed services is tried and, if found guilty, punished by loss of rank and other penalties
• militia a military force composed of citizens rather than professional military personnel
• parishes in Louisiana, the equivalent of counties
• presentment a formal legal statement
• veto Latin for “I forbid,” the exercise of executive power, usually by a president, to overrule proposed legislation
• War Department pre-1947 name for what is now known as the Department of Defense
• writ of error a legal document ordering a court to review, and possibly correct, rulings by another court