On July 28, 1865, Howard issued Circular 13, ordering the assistant commissioners to divide the confiscated and abandoned lands under federal control into forty-acre plots for lease to freedmen, who were to have three years to purchase the land at its 1860 value. Future pardons by the president would not affect the status of abandoned or confiscated property. The circular attracted opposition beyond the South, and the key opponent was Johnson.57 Within a month, Johnson overturned the order.
