[73] Hayes's beliefs were in line with his fellow Republicans on Reconstruction issues: that the South should be restored to the Union, but not without adequate protections for freedmen and other black southerners.[74] President Andrew Johnson, who succeeded to office following Lincoln's assassination, to the contrary wanted to readmit the seceded states quickly without first ensuring that they adopted laws protecting the newly freed slaves' civil rights; he also granted pardons to many of the leading former Confederates.[74] Hayes, along with congressional Republicans, disagreed. They worked to reject Johnson's vision of Reconstruction and to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1866.[75]
Reelected in 1866, Hayes returned to the lame-duck session. On January 7, 1867, he voted for the resolution that authorized the first impeachment inquiry against Andrew Johnson.[76] He also voted during this time for the Tenure of Office Act, which ensured that Johnson could not remove administration officials without the Senate's consent,[77] and unsuccessfully pressed for a civil service reform bill that attracted the votes of many reform-minded Republicans.