Year 1865 was the end of the Civil War. The war left countless people dead and a great amount of devastation throughout the south. The North now faced the mission of rebuilding the Confederate states. There were many vital questions that needed to be answered as the nation seeked peace. Who would lead the progression of reconstruction? Both President Abraham Lincoln, and the Republicans thought that they should lead the process of reconstruction. The Radical Republicans was led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens. The Republicans opposed Lincoln's easy terms for reuniting the United States. Their terms wanted more forceful status toward the war and more protection for the freed slaves. During this Reconstruction, the Radical Republicans …show more content…
During the Civil War, the main idea of the United States was to have every side in unison, but that in fact died out. Lincoln and the Radical Republicans tried to stress their beliefs of how they wanted the States to be ran. The 10 percent plan was Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction. The 10% plan was indeed very basic. The plan included exonerations to anybody who previously opposed the Union, but they would also have to swear their allegiance to the Union and the Constitution. After the number equaled 10% of the number of voters who partook in the election of 1860, the state would be readmitted to the Union after establishing a new state government which abolished slavery. Lincoln's approach was very light toward the south. Lincoln just wanted the south to just accept the 15th amendment so the nation can become united again. The Radical Republicans plan was intended to help recently freed slaves and to also discipline the South. It first passed several laws helping newly freed slaves. They created the 50% plan which would split the South into five military districts, and keep troops in the South. They also acknowledged to implement the 14th and 15th amendments. The 14 states would have to define citizenship rights to all people and the 15th Amendment allowed African American males to vote. This was actually similar to Lincoln's plan. The Radical Republican Congress wanted to protect the rights and liberties of African-Americans, and for a time, it was
Lincoln and Republican Party Known as one of the greatest presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, shaped the nation in his image, leaving benefits to people. Striking shifts occurred in the nation at Lincoln’s time: In 1809, when Lincoln was born, the nation was just starting to grow with one united body; during his participation in political issues, the nation was parted; but after Lincoln’s presidency, it not only became one again but also forever altered and strengthened. Once had been a self-educated lawyer, a Whig Party leader, and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and then of the United States House of Representatives, Lincoln led the building of the new Republican Party. During his presidency, the Civil War burst.
The elections of 1800 and 1864 had made the Republicans victorious in the electorate. However, the South’s influence on the electorate had significantly decreased and the Democratic Party was divided as well. After the Civil War, with only a few requirements for readmission, Conservatives wanted the south to accept the abolition of slavery. Led by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, the Radical Republicans wanted the military leaders of the Confederacy to be punished. The punishments would include the confiscation of Southern property and suffrage for freedmen.
Some of the political parties include the democratic, republican, constitution and green party The Republican party was then known as the radicals. Republicans often made their presence and power known. The radicals believed that Lincoln's ten percent plan was quite lenient in his efforts to get the rebellious states to come back to the union. The goal of reconstruction was to get Southern states to come back to the Union under the terms and conditions of the Union. It is said that the Union stood for the full political and civil equality for blacks.
The goals of reconstruction were to rebuild America, and to have white and black men live alongside each other peacefully. Only days after the north won the Civil War, president Lincoln was shot and killed. The new president, Andrew Johnson, because he was a democrat, pitied the South and refused to punish them. While in presidency, his biggest opponents were the radical republicans, who wanted to punish the South, and wanted equal rights for freedmen. In the 1860's the 14th amendment which rules that states can't deny rights or privileges to any U.S. citizens, including black men.
He included in his presentation that all white people from the South are able to restore and regain their properties only if they want to be a part of the United States. Lincoln also proposed a 10 percent plan that would help rebuild the state government in the South if the people would agree and vote to abolish the slavery and reconstruct their policies and laws. Although, the majority of radicals republicans demanded from the president Lincoln to treat the people in the South more harshly, they wanted to punish them for what they have done, they saw the reconstruction program a great opportunity to do so. One of the great examples how the republicans wanted to punish the South and made them realize their mistakes was the fact that they created the Wade-Davis Bill, which required a lot of things from the southern population. Not only they had to swear an oath but also claim that they wanted the state government and the laws to be changed right before the election.
The moderates disagreed with the radicals. Abraham Lincoln believed southern unionists could help the south have a good government. He created a lenient policy for reconstruction. The radical republicans did not like the idea of Lincoln’s policy so they created their own bill called the Wade Davis bill that would abolish slavery, not allow confederate civil leaders and military leaders to vote and accept debts from the government. Abraham Lincoln vetoed the bill which made the radical leaders mad again.
Peter Schroeder Dr. Christopher Marshall Modern United States History 2/2/17 Writing Assignment 1: The African-American Experience with Reconstruction Reconstruction among the south refers to the point in time which the United States was attempting to establish a relationship between the union and the rebels. The Union had won the civil war, so the next step was to begin to mend the broken relationship between the north and the south. Though historians cannot agree on when it began, there is merit in saying that it started before the end of the Civil War. After victory, had been solidified for the Union, attention of President Lincoln turned towards reconstruction.
He favored a moderate policy that would conjoin the South with the Union without any punishment for treason. Many resisted Lincoln’s plan, saying it was not harsh enough while others did not know if Lincoln was being too lenient. The Radical Republicans and moderate Republicans were caught in a conflict. One important event of the Reconstruction Period was the Wade-Davis Bill. This was formed by the Radical Republicans and moderate Republicans.
The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).
The Presidential Reconstruction and Congressional Reconstruction plans were frequently different from one another. As I continue, I will state in my opinion the most significant differences between the two plans. To begin, Lincoln and Johnson’s plans were far too lenient with the Confederate states. The Presidential Reconstruction plan under Johnson allowed former Confederate states to be part of the Union, when they accepted the 13th amendment and swore to the Union. While, the Congressional Reconstruction plan was to allow those states to rejoin the Union if and only when they accepted the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
The American Civil War that was started due to the controversy over slavery in 1861, was won by The Union supported by President Lincoln against the Confederate states. President Lincoln’s original goal during the civil war was to reunify the nation as quickly as possible and help both sides come to an understanding. After the Civil War ended in 1865, the newly formed United States’ reconstruction era began. The Reconstruction era was put into effect by the Congress in 1866 and lasted until 1877. The Union’s victory in the Civil War had given African Americans a new sense of hope, devastated the southern economy, and eased the history of disunity in American political life.
How did Lincoln and Johnson approach Reconstruction differently? Lincoln and Johnson both supported the Ten Percent Plan .However, Johnson lacked Lincoln's moral sense and political judgement. He was a War Democrat who disagreed with the Republicans. The South would rejoin the Union on his terms. But, Johnson, who had long talked down against southern planters, allied himself with ex-Confederate leaders, forgiving them when they appealed for pardons.
This policies including that the southern states could reestablish their government and it would be
Abraham Lincoln would lead the Republican Party even though he did not win the south over in the election. He promised that he would save the Union no matter what the cost. This disconnect in policy would later lay the basis for the Civil War, which started in 1861. He never envisioned a proclamation or ending slavery but he was ultimately committed to saving the Union from the succeeding south. Lincoln gave into the antislavery Republicans toward the end of the war and finally decided to make slavery the true basis of the war.
Reconstruction a Failure or Success? Throughout the years, America has gone through many different political changes. Many presidents selected with different plans for our future. Sadly, many of those objectives have failed or came to an end.