ABSTRACT
President Andrew Johnson worried about states becoming mere satellites of an inferior character, revolving around the great central power of Washington. He opposed concentration of power in the hands of the few. In February 1866, the Radical Republicans passed a bill that gave the federal government total power in the southern states, with federal agents to act as judge and jury. Johnson argued that it represented an absorption and assumption of power by the General Government which, if acquiesced in, must sap and destroy federative system of limited powers, and break down the barriers which preserve the rights of the States. He believed that presidential appointment of those august Federal agents gave himself or other presidents too much power. Johnson argued that Black labor power was essential in the south. Some regional newspapers during this period showed an impressive willingness to take stands against expansion of centralized government power, and to stick to that policy even when it hurt.
