The Third Reconstruction Act had required that a majority of registered voters approve ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Southern whites responded by registering in large numbers and then refusing to vote, making it nearly impossible to ratify. Frustrated with such obstructionism, Congress closed the loophole and passed the Fourth Reconstruction Act, which became law automatically on March 11, 1868, after President Johnson refused to sign it. It stipulated that a majority of voters casting ballots, rather than a majority of registered voters, would determine the outcome of the
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