7. The central event, naturally, of the first session of the 39th Congress was the report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. Although during the session there was a great amount of discussion as to the theory and method of reconstruction, and, as has been shown, two important measures were passed over the President's veto, the majority in the House still felt uncommitted as to the policy they should favor, excepting so far as the measures already reported from the committee had given shape to their plans. A definite platform had not been erected on which they could stand, and they were not certain of the foundations on which to base constructive legislation. It was quite evident from the resolutions and bills reported from the committee to Congress, that the testimony taken before it had not changed the views of the majority of the committee, and the general tenor of the report was not a surprise to any one. Its constitutional importance cannot be questioned, since the Republican party adopted its construction of the Constitution, and proceeded to frame, on the lines marked out by the report, the bills which changed decidedly the relations between the States and the Federal Government, affording precedents for an extension of federal power which previous to the close of the war few could have been found to support.[108] No theory as to the _status_ of the Southern States was agreed on by the committee.[109] Among those signing the majority report several distinct views can be noted. The theory of Thaddeus Stevens, that the States were now merely conquered territory, at the mercy of the conqueror, has already been noticed. Mr. Boutwell, of Massachusetts, was one of those who theoretically differed from Mr. Stevens, preferring to consider the States as "dead States" within the Union. Mr. Bingham, of Ohio, was still less radical, simply calling them "disorganized States." But realizing the futility of introducing distinctions which could not affect the main question at issue, the majority dropped "the profitless abstraction," and agreed upon the general conclusions and recommendations. The report was finally presented to Congress on June 18, all the members signing excepting Johnson, Rogers and Grider, who submitted a minority report four days later.