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RECONSTRUCTION
Lincoln’s Lenient Plan
He proposed his plan in December, 1863. Pardon for Confederates who would swear
an oath of allegiance to the Union and accept the end of slavery. Confederate government
officials and high ranking officers or those who had killed African American prisoners of war
were excluded .When the number of men who had taken the oath reached 10% of those
who’d voted in the 1860 election, the state could reapply for admission. Each state must
endorse the 13th Amendment, which frees former slaves. The state did not have
to specifically guarantee rights to African Americans.
Radical Republican’s Plan
They wanted vengeance and retaliation against the South. Wanted to punish
them and blamed them for starting the war. Also the radicals blamed them for all
the death, destruction, etc. It was called the Wade-Davis Bill and Lincoln
refused to sign it—pocket veto. It excluded from voting all who had held office,
state or national under the Confederate rebellion or who had fought against the
Union and required a majority of men to be loyal before a new government could
be formed.
Andrew Johnson’s Plan
He was the only former Southern Senator to remain loyal during the Civil War. He was
considered a traitor by the South, but was actually sympathetic to them and had begun
as military governor of Tennessee in 1862. He defined reconstruction as the job
of the Executive branch. His plan granted pardons to 13,000 Confederates in
1865 and favored easy terms for Southern states to return to the Union
because he blamed individuals—the wealthy planter elite. He was firmly
committed to white supremacy and opposed political rights for Freedmen.
Southern states would hold constitutional conventions and each new state
constitution was to:
–void secession
–abolish slavery
–ratify the 13th Amendment
–stop payments on the state’s war debts
His plan fails because South doesn’t cooperate
Southern states pass Black Codes to keep former slaves subservient to whites
–Varied state to state
–Included political and property right restrictions
Violence by the KKK and others against blacks continues
The Radical Republicans almost force their actions by passing and doing
the following:
1866 Civil Rights Act
–Johnson vetoed it
–Congress overrides the veto
Congress passed the 14th Amendment
Military Reconstruction Act
–5 districts, with a Union General as governor for each
–new requirements for the state constitutions
Equal rights guarantee
Ratify 14th Amendment
Allow blacks to vote
General Overview of Amendments
13th Amendment ends slavery and frees all former slaves
14th Amendment grants citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the
United States
15th Amendment gives all adult male citizens the right to vote
Other Laws:
Enlarged the scope of the Freedmen’s Bureau
–Build schools, pay teachers
–Establish courts to prosecute those charged with depriving African Americans of
their civil rights
Enforcement Acts—Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871
–Made the violent infringement of civil and political rights a federal crime
punishable by the national government