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Fall 2011 Professor Hangen US History II Reconstructing Our Nation After the end of the civil war, once African Americas were free there was a lot of work to do in order to reconstruct the union. The issue discussed in Dueling Documents is how to integrate freed people into society and establish their rights. The first document comes from the view of African American men. It states that they felt, that as freedmen, they should have the right to “appeal to the law for his equal right without regard to the color of his skin.”1 They felt that this could be accomplished by granting them the right to vote, establishing them as equals. The second document came from President Johnson. Johnson was making an attempt to reach out to southern leaders, and convince them to set an example for other southern states, by amending their constitution and granting freedmen the right to vote.2 In the third document Thaddeus Stevens, the Representative of Pennsylvania, gives the viewpoint of the Radical Republicans, stating that it is Congress’s responsibility to provide freedmen with shelter, food, land etc. until they can provide for themselves. Without doing so, they will have nothing. This will leave them under the control of their former masters, and it will be as if they were never freed at all. The most radical out of the three documents presented in Dueling Documents is the first document, coming from the view of African Americans. After fighting a long, hard battle for their freedom, they now feel most strongly about gaining equal rights, most importantly, the right to vote. The least radical of the three documents is the second document coming from President Johnson. As president he had to be more professional in his letter, trying to remain neutral and appeal to both sides, and doing so in a proper manner. 1 Proceedings of the Convention of the Colored People of Virginia... in Philip S. Foner and George E. Walker , eds., Proceedings of the Black State Conventions, 1840- 1865 (Philadelphia, 1980). II, 262-264. 2 Walter L, Fleming, ed., Documentary History of Reconstruction (Cleveland, 1906-1907), I, 177. When Johnson refers to the adversary he is talking about the radical republicans. The radical republicans are the enemy of the southern states, because they are trying to prevent them from having any power within the union. The argument they have against the south is the fact that the southern states have a different constitution. If they were to change their constitution to match the constitution of the U.S. this would “completely disarm the adversary.”3 In other words, it would leave the Radical Republicans with nothing to use against the southern states and keep them out of Congress. Johnson states that he plans to foil Radical Republicans by ruining their chances of keeping Southern States from renewing their power in the union. This will only be possible if the southern states establish the same constitution as the United States, giving equal rights to African Americans that meet the proper criteria. One topic that Thaddeus Steven does not discuss, which was discussed by both African Americans and President Johnson, is attempting to get the southern states to give the freedmen equal rights. Even though he is a part of the Radical Republicans he does not want to see the southern states regain any form of power within the Unites States government. Therefore he does not bring up this topic in his letter. Instead he focuses more on establishing freed men and women into society and stabilizing their lives after the civil war. In conclusion, the three documents both agree and disagree among certain views. Most importantly the southern states wanted to regain acceptance into the union and the Radical Republicans wanted to keep them from having any form of power. 3 Walter L, Fleming, ed., Documentary History of Reconstruction (Cleveland, 1906-1907), I, 177.