Andrew Johnson And Radical Reconstruction

Many people had this opinion about African Americans. Many groups and organizations were established due to racism and the reconstruction efforts. One organization known for their mysterious operations was the “KluKlux Klan.” The KluKlux Klan (KKK) used terror and violence against African Americans and their white supporters. Their chief goal of the Klan attacks was to keep African Americans from voting. General George Thomas stated that “its grand purpose being to establish a nucleus around “the adherents of the late rebellion might safely rally.”” (Doc. two) The KKK influenced other white people to dislike the freemen and blacks so they won’t have any power, or so that they won’t vote. Also, in an editorial in the Atlanta News (doc. 4) it states how people want to form White Leagues to form together to work against radical Republicans and African Americans.

The radical Republicans saw Reconstruction as a chance to bring change to southern society. Lincoln saw Reconstruction as an opportunity to abolish slavery and weaken the confederacy by establishing new state governments that could win support of southern whites. While the Republicans were divided on the issue of how to readmit the southern states into the Union, they enacted programs for emancipated slaves such as the Freedman’s Bureau. This Bureau provided food and clothing to former slaves and they were in charge with “supervising all the abandoned lands in the South and the control of subjects relating to refugees and freedman” (Buhle, 463).

Reconstruction was a period of time after the Civil War (1865-1877) that was supposed to be the rebuilding of America. It was also the process used to readmit all the Confederate states back into the Union. There was controversy, however, on how to go about rebuilding the nation. Abraham Lincoln proposed a lenient plan. After he was assassinated, Andrew Johnson proposed a very similar plan. The Radical Republicans, a group of legislators that were in favor of freedmen’s rights, were opposed to both plans under “Presidential Reconstruction”. They initiated “Congressional Reconstruction”. Because of the conflicting views, there was little cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches. This lead to many unsuccessful

1.Lincoln’s original plan was the Ten Percent Plan which would exclude the Confederates except for important officials. This is significant because this was the original idea that the United States wanted to follow in order to rebuild the country.

The first thing that I took away from this week’s classes about reconstruction is how far the spectrum spanned about how to reconstruct the country. The radical republicans wanted to give African Americans everything from the right to vote, to even giving them land in the south as well. On the other hand, the southern Democrats didn’t want to give African Americans any rights or freedom. I was always under the impression that everyone worked together during the reconstruction, but it was the opposite.

The first roar of the Civil War ended with a last gasp for air. Where in such a war more than six hundred twenty thousand men sacrificed their lives for their own belief in the abolishment of slavery (“Civil War Facts”). “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom” (Baslor). These wise words of Abraham Lincoln cleared the way of a desolate trail of violence and pain, yet he was determined to accomplish his plans of abolishing slavery and creating equality. The Civil War, began in 1861 and ended in 1865, yet it was known as one of the bloodiest wars America has ever walked through compared to other American Wars (“Civil War Facts”). After the Civil War

Reconstruction produced enormous tensions among the political parties, and between the president and Congress. After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his vice president, Andrew Johnson, became the following president after the Civil War. Andrew Johnson wanted the South back to full pledged membership in the union as rapidly as possible. Johnson quickly set his plans in motion while congress was not in session which then became known as the Presidential Reconstruction. It seemed that he wanted a rapid lenient restoration of the union. His aim was to bring the white south and white north back together. African Americans do not play a role in Johnson's vision of the postwar South other than to go back to work, be landless, and rightless plantation

After the last round was fired and the last body was buried the post civil war United States south was in shambles and the newly appointed president (via murder) was put into office, and it was his job to rebuild the south in a way that reflected its tragic past. An important part of his job was what he would do with the newly free slave population, slaves that had once worked on cotton plantation were now free to do what they pleased and it was Johnson’s job to reconstruct the south around this fact. Andrew Johnson’s presidential reconstruction was an important part of post civil war, but his actions, beliefs and circumstances directly and purposefully repressed the development of civil rights for newly freed African American’s!

The reconstruction era was a time that then affected America in positive facets and negative aspects as well, and still affects America today. Thanks to the reconstruction era, there are several implementations that geared the world on the path in which it is today. Had it not been for some of the laws that were set in place African Americans may have not had many of the opportunities that were presented during the reconstruction period, therefore the years of oppression and cruelty might still be present.

The Radical Reconstruction was a historical period after the American Civil War, during this period, the South was in economic, governmental, and social, chaos, in addition to 11 Confederate federations had withdrawn from the Union. As an answer, the Union struggled to recover mandate in the Confederate states.

The Reconstruction time period, 1865 through 1877, was a complex time for America. The southern part of the nation was in need of governmental, economical, and social repair after losing the Civil War. Radical Republicans, Democrats, and newly freed African Americans all were influential in the age of Reconstruction. Historians have struggled to put into words exactly what Reconstruction incorporates and precisely what the motives of the different groups of people were. Renowned American historian, Eric Foner, is a professor at Columbia University. He has written many books concerning the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Eric Foner’s Reconstruction theory

America was in disarray following the events of the Civil War. Southern economy was in shambles while congress was struggling to find a middle ground between the radical republicans and Lincoln’s lenient policies. Many Southerners faced the aftermath of uprooting their society and their way of life while thousands of newly freed slaves struggled to find a way to support themselves. The country needed a strong leader, however on the 14th of April, 1865 President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford Theatre in Washington (Farmer). Without the man that had once held the nation together, the country now faced an enormous obstacle; reconstructing American economics, politics and social life.

Though both Presidents and Congress agreed on ideas for the Reconstruction, the Radical Republicans didn’t feel the same. Shortly after welcoming Johnson, they quickly turned against him and created The Joint Committee of Reconstruction (source 5). Unlike Johnson’s Plan, the Radical Republicans wanted to see immediate change, starting with granting all rights to free men (source 6). The Radicals believed blacks were entitled to the same political rights and opportunities as whites as well as Confederate leaders being punished for their roles in the Civil War (source 7). In hopes to achieve all their goals, the Radicals created America’s first relief organization known as the Freedman’s Bureau. The Freedman’s Bureau offered general welfare for newly freed slaves, as well as foods, clothing, and medicine (source 6 & 8). The Bureau also assumed custody of confiscated lands or property in former Confederate States, border states, District of

Moderate republicans differed from radical republicans because they were “unethusiastic about black suffrage,” according to Eric Foner in, “The Checkered History of The Great Fourteenth Amendment.” Their goals concerning reconstruction, therefore, reflect a more cautious approach with how to handle the freedmen. While moderate republicans favored, “society organized on the basis of free labor rather than slavery,” they weren't confident of what kind of freedom should be granted to the black population(Foner). It was a novel situation, and for persons whose interests were not embedded in the cause of black individuals, it was a risk to invest in black suffrage any further because they were unsure if the “experiment” of freeing the slaves would

First, Radical Republicans wanted the impeachment of the President Johnson because of two reasons. In one hand, Johnson was against the Reconstruction Act, he said “the death-knell of civil liberty”, (Fraser 426). He didn’t support black civil rights. He not only instigates opponents of Reconstruction, but also, he replaced some military commanders with former Confederates that would be weaken black rights. In