The Joint Committee on Reconstruction, also known as the Joint Committee of Fifteen, was a joint committee of the United States Congress that played a major role in Reconstruction in the wake of the American Civil War. It was created to "inquire into the condition of the States which formed the Confederate States of America, and report whether they, or any of them, are entitled to be represented in either house of Congress." This committee also drafted the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and required southern states to approve that amendment before being readmitted to representation in Congress.
The committee was established on December 13, 1865, after both houses reached agreement on an amended version of a House concurrent resolution introduced by Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania to establish a joint committee of 15 members. Senator William P. Fessenden of Maine served as chairman. The joint committee divided into four subcommittees to hear testimony and gather evidence regarding the situation in each of four military districts in the South - the First Military District, Second Military District, Third Military District, and Fourth Military District. In all, 144 witnesses were called to testify.
The joint committee included nine members from the House, and six from the Senate. The House members were: Thaddeus Stevens (R-PA), Elihu Washburne (R-IL), Justin Morrill (R-VT), John A. Bingham (R-OH), Roscoe Conkling (R-NY), George Boutwell (R-MA), Henry Blow (R-MO), Henry Grider (D-KY), and Andrew Jackson Rogers (D-NJ). The Senate members were: William Fessenden (R-ME), James W. Grimes (R-IA), Jacob Howard (R-MI), George Henry Williams (R-OR), Ira Harris (R-NY), and Reverdy Johnson (D-MD). The Joint Committee on Reconstruction was not revived in the next Congress.
The joint committee produced a report which was widely disseminated. The report was signed by twelve of the committee's fifteen members, and a minority report was signed by the other three members: Johnson, Rogers, and Grider. The proceedings of the committee were recorded in its journal.