March 2, 1867 Command of the Army Act Passed Reconstruction150

Pat Young

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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On March 2, 1867 Congress passed the Command of the Army Act. According to the Encyclopedia of Reconstruction:

The main premise of the Command of the Army Act required that any order issued to the U.S. Army be done only through the general in chief...With this condition, the president, who was the commander in chief, was denied his right to issue commands directly to the nation’s military. The secretary of war also was denied this authority. In order to further strip the president of his powers, the Command of the Army Act also specified that the general in chief could not be taken out of office temporarily or permanently by presidential initiative alone. Henceforth, the Senate had to approve any such changes in the holder of this office. (pp. 159-160)
 
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