To make restoration to the Union full and complete nothing remained to be done but to admit to their seats the Senators and Representatives that had been chosen.

In the mean time these different Legislatures had enacted laws which virtually re-enslaved those that had been emancipated in their respective States.

For this the North would not stand.

Sentiment in that section demanded not only justice and fair treatment for the newly emancipated race but also an emancipation that should be thorough and complete, not merely theoretical and nominal.
The fact was recognized and appreciated that the colored people had been loyal to the Union and faithful to the flag of their country and that they had rendered valuable assistance in putting down the rebellion.
From a standpoint of gratitude, if not of justice, the sentiment of the North at that time was in favor of fair play for the colored people of the South.

But the President would not yield to what was generally believed to be the dominant sentiment of the North on the question of reconstruction.