Lincoln And Johnson Approach To Reconstruction Essay

One of reasons the confederacy failed was because the U.S. Congress, with Lincoln’s support, proposed the 13th amendment which would abolish slavery in America. Although the confederate peace delegation was unwilling to accept a future without slavery, the radical and moderate Republicans designed a way to takeover the reconstruction program. The Radical Republicans wanted full citizenship rights for African Americans and wanted to implement harsh reconstruction policies toward the south. The radical republican views made up the majority of the Congress and helped to pass the 14th amendment which guaranteed equality under the law for all citizens, and protected freedmen from presidential vetoes, southern state legislatures, and federal court decisions. In 1869, Congress passed the fifteenth amendment stating that no citizen can be denied the right to vote because of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” To destroy the confederacy and make the south rejoin the union, extreme legal measures such as passing amendments needed to be taken by the government to affirm Union’s power over the south.

Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan became prominent in the south. however, this was no longer something reconstruction could help former slaves with. Eventually, Hayes was elected after Johnsons’ impeachment and the Reconstruction era ended. The reconstruction ended in 1877 due to the Compromise of 1877 and the pulling of republicans alongside union troops out of the deep south. though the reconstruction attempted to unify the country back together as one by allowing confederate states into the union under strict conditions, and to help former slaves by granting basic human rights there were still many issues present throughout the

Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln wanted to colonize blacks in the Southwest United States. England and France being close to joining the Confederacy and Northern casualties forced Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln was not happy that he had to do this saying he had “been anxious to avoid it”, that he was “driven to it”, that it was painful, and he was trembling while signing the document. The Emancipation Proclamation freed few slaves since it did not apply to slaves in the Border States and areas under federal control in the South. Lincoln freed slaves where he had no power and did nothing where he had power.

The flag of the Confederacy was also another symbol of Southern Nationalism. “The Confederate government quickly became for the South, the successor to the federal government at Washington. A flag, the “ Stars and Bars,” was adopted for the new republic after a study by a committee that concluded that keeping the United States “Stars and Stripes” would be impractical and unpatriotic.” Southerners feared that white supremacy was in danger and feared slave rebellions. This was heightened by national events like John Brown’s Raid. This unified the South against the abolition of slavery

President Lincoln developed a reconstruction plan called the “Ten Percent Plan”. This reconstruction plan offered general amnesty to former confederate supporters and to former confederates if they took an oath in which pledged allegiance to the Union and accepted the end of slavery. Also, after ten percent of a state’s voting population had taken that oath, the state could then set up its new government. After those requirements were completed, and the state outlawed slavery, the state could then be readmitted to the Union. The president felt that only some African Americans deserved the right to vote, with that he decided that only black men who served in the Union army, owned property, or could read would be allowed

“Buchanan, a Democrat who was morally opposed to slavery but believed it was protected by the U.S. Constitution, was elected”( Source #5)This quote explains how another president had the same mindset of Abraham but still couldn't officially end slavery.”Taylor entered the White House at a time when the issue of slavery and its extension into the new western territories (including Texas) had caused a major rift between the North and South”(Source #7). This quote quote explains how other presidents made slavery worst. Although having different ideas than other presidents Abrahams’ assassination was unjustified because other American presidents did not make much changes or just made it worst. While Abraham Lincoln made on of the most important decisions by freeing the slaves. In conclusion, Abrahams assassination was needless because he was the first to have sympathy for slaves and made sure it ended and he lead America better than most other presidents.one thing to take from this essay is to support the correct leaders and dont support the incorrect

In December 1863 Lincoln announced his Reconstruction Plan and decided that any state who seceded could be readmitted to the Union, but only if they accepted Presidential Decisions about slavery and took an oath of loyalty towards the Constitution. He also declared that once one tenth of voters had taken an oath, the state could elect new representatives to the Congress and begin a new government. The Plan was rejected by the Congress. After Lincoln 's death Vice-President Johnson became the President and was in charge of completing reconstruction. Johnson declared in December 1865 that every state whom agreed with the Thirteenth Amendment against slavery could join the Union.

After the Union won the Civil War, slaves were given freedom, but African Americans were not completely free. President Andrew Johnson had very lenient policies for Reconstruction after the Civil War, which allowed southerners from the Confederate states to enact restrictive laws against blacks. These laws were called “Black Codes”, and were primarily designed to restrict African Americans’ labor and activity even though slavery had already been abolished. The Black Codes took away rights from African Americans that were guaranteed to them by the Fourteenth Amendment. For example, some states had laws that required African Americans to sign labor contracts each year and if they refused, they could be arrested, fined, or forced to work without pay.

There have been many times where presidents of the United States make decisions that deal with critical problems of the nation. These actions have had varying rates of success. An example of this is the Nullification crisis in which South Carolina refused to honor the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 because they stated that they were unconstitutional. President Jackson had to revise the tariff so that everyone could agree on set taxes of imported goods and so that the country could focus on issues that would be more important in the long run. Another example is the Southern states’ secession from the United States.

After the Andrew Johnson’s resistance to reconstruction included bring Confederate states into the Union and letting the African American men vote. Under his held ideals of “white suffrage”. It pitted him in opposition against Congress; thus, his stubborn stance against Reconstruction is the real reason that lead to his impeachment hearing under the Tenure of Office Act of 1867, which is a federal law that passed by congress to restrict the power of the President remove people from office without the approval of the Senate, when he removed Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton from his office. Reconstruction was the period following the Civil War, when the states of the Confederacy where the government controlled bringing them back into the union and gave rights to African Americans in the process. White suffrage simply meant: only white males could vote.