Southern Reconstruction During The Civil War

America had just finished fighting the Civil War and we were broken. Reconstruction began in 1865 and was the time of rebuilding America after the Civil War tore apart our country. People also referred to the this time as “putting back the pieces”. Abraham Lincoln was the president during this period of time. He had thought of a blueprint for the Reconstruction; which consisted of an idea known as the Ten-Percent Plan.

Lincoln wanted to help the South rejoin the Union. His primary concern was what was best for the Union. The South needed to rejoin the Union on his terms. Johnson had once talked tough against southern farmers, he allied himself with ex-Confederate leaders, and he forgave them when they appealed for pardons. This delighted southerners, of course,

President Abraham Lincoln’s plan of reconstruction was referred to as the Ten Percent Plan. It offered the rebels a full pardon and also restoration of their full rights as citizens if they pledged to accept the abolition of slavery and swore allegiance to the United States. When the number of loyal citizens equaled ten percent of the votes cast during the election of 1860, then they could form a new state government and constitution. Lincoln required new constitutions to band slavery, exclude high ranking Confederate officials to take part in the new state government, and held the right of congress to decide whether any members sent to congress would be allowed to serve. Congress felt the plan was not harsh enough, so congress passed the Wade-Davis

Abraham Lincoln’s vs Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan Lincoln shared the uncommon belief that the confederate states could still be part of the union and that the cause of the rebellion was only a few within the states which lead him to begin the reconstruction in December of 1863. This resulted in plans with lenient guidelines and although they were challenged by Wade-Davis Bill, Lincoln still rejected his ideas and kept his policies in place. Lincoln also allowed land to be given the newly freed slave or homeless white by distributing the land that had been confiscated from former land owners however this fell through once Johnson took office. After Lincoln’s death when Johnson was elected many things started to turn away from giving blacks equal rights and resulted in many things such a black codes which kept newly freed slaves from having the same rights as whites. When Lincoln first acted after the civil war, he offered policies that would allow the confederate slaves to become part of the union again and would allow a pardon for those states.

During the Reconstruction period, between 1865 and 1877, the nation had a lot of work to do. After the Civil War, their was a huge impact left on the south. All slaves in the south were set free to help the union win the war. This did not make everyone happy. They had to learn to live and support themselves on their own.

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.

This week I was going to bring Abraham Lincoln 's plan for reconstruction to the table. It is said that Lincoln started to plan for reconstruction post war. The plan was to address three key areas for concern. First the proclamation allowed full pardon and restoration of any property to anyone who was considered a rebellion or a member of the confederate army with exception of the highest officials and leaders (which is interesting). It also allowed for a state government to be formed once ten percent of the population took an oath of allegiance to the United States, and it encouraged the southern states to deal with slaves in such a way that it would not compromise their freedom.

The way he wanted to accomplish this was by making ten percent of qualified voter take the loyalty oath to the union in order to organize the state government. In addition, his plan gave African Americans very significant right as he wanted the state constitution to abolish slavery. This was latter achieved in 1865

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.

Confederate states rejected Lincoln's offer, however Congress then proposed the Wade-Davis Bill, which Henretta refers to as a tougher substitute to Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan. With Lincoln's assassination, it was time for his vice president, Andrew Johnson, to take over. Henretta seems somewhat critical of Johnson, saying “ [He] was not even a Republican often seemed to view ex-Confederates as his friends, and abolitionists as his enemies” (464). He offered amnesty to southerners who swore allegiance the the United States, except for high ranking Confederates. He also “appointed provisional governors for southern states and had them

The South laid in ruins mainly because the majority of the battles during the Civil War were fought on the land of the Southern States. Reconstruction is a time of hope and rebuilding for both the North and the South. President Lincoln is determined to unify the United States. He put forth a plan of action in 1863. His plan was called “The Ten-Percent Plan.”

Reconstruction was a period of time dedicated to rebuilding the nation after the Civil War. The war ended with the South being defeated and their economy being devastated. Many Southerners struggled after the war with rebuilding their land and lives. The President and Congress had to decide the terms for which the former Confederate states would be permitted to join the Union. President Lincoln’s plan for reuniting the country was found in the Proclamation of Amnesty and 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.

With the abolition of slavery in all the states of the Union, Lincoln achieved two objectives: on the one hand, to increase considerably the number of adherents to the cause of the Union between the popular masses and also in the most important chancelleries of Europe; And, on the other hand, the massive emigration to the states of the Union of black slaves, who left the plantations and entered as soldiers of the Union. Certainly, with the liberation of black slaves, Lincoln suitably paved the way to ultimate

The Civil War allowed the United States to make the changes necessary to unify the country. In addition, it began one of the most transitional periods in the United States’ history. This period, the Reconstruction, brought about many political, social, and economic changes, which were both beneficial and disagreeable. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the Panic of 1873, and the formation of the Ku Klux Klan are just a few examples of heavily impacting events for the United States.

Lincoln thought that the beginning of reconstruction would help speed the war effort and bring it to a close sooner. Wade and Davis would have preferred to delay and wait for the war to end and for the South to be completely beaten with pre-secession institutions gone and needing to be rebuilt. There were a number of concepts that both Lincoln’s 10 percent plan and the Wade-Davis bill had in common. In 1863, with Union victory apparently on the horizon Lincoln “announces a policy for the reconstruction of recanting Confederates”, “Whereas it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in said rebellion to resume their