Andrew Johnson's Motives For Reconstruction

During the post-civil war era, America, specifically the south, was undergoing a period of reconstruction. The general goal of reconstruction was to successfully readmit the former Confederacy back into the Union as smoothly as possible, as well as enacting specific safeguards of freedmen’s liberties. The social and constitutional developments in America between 1860 and 1877 were very minor. The lack of change between pre and post civil war status could hardly be considered a revolution.

The end of the Civil War in 1865 was a very conflicting time for the United States. On one hand, the sanguinary struggles of the war had finally come to a close. On the other hand, the desperate desire to rebuild the damage in the South quickly became very popular. This was called Reconstruction, an era focused on changing the ethos of resisting Southerners and installing equal civil rights for all citizens. Despite how important Reconstruction was for rebuilding the American economy, this desire ultimately came to an end in 1877. Although both the North and the South played roles in this nation defeat, Northern neglect primarily killed the

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

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 Civil War sparked a new era of Reconstruction in America. This era was meant to change the everyday life of America and to allow African Americans to become a part of America. Though reconstruction started out with good intentions, it is considered a massive failure in almost every area. As a result of the Civil War and Reconstruction, American society experienced drastic political change in participation government while keeping social and economic structures the same.

Reconstruction took placed in the South from 1865 to 1880. It impacted the United States’ history by holding the South back economically behind the

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

Johnson favoured the radical approach to reconstruction, striving to devastate southern plantation owners, whereas Lincoln sought to gently reinstate the southern states into the union. Through the 10% Plan, Lincoln planned to entice southerners into joining the union as neither side of the conflict wished to drag out the war any further, by playing devil’s advocate and coming up with a solution. By only requiring 10% of the southern population to swear to the union and the 13th amendment, Lincoln could get the support needed to rebuild the south without completely attacking anti-union southerners, and causing a future outbreak, like that of the Civil war. Johnson however sought to nearly force the south into a position where they were unable to refuse the terms of pardon. By forcing 50% of the southern population to swear to the union, as well as disenfranchising southern plantation owners and aristocrats, Johnson put the south into a position that forced them to accede to the demands of the Union. Johnson offered pardons to all white southerners except those who held office or were confederate leaders, these individuals had to personally apply for a presidential pardon. This caused the influx of legislation from the south to be very prejudiced. The new legislation from the south denied public funds for ex-slave education, nor did it allow ex-slaves to vote. This surge in anti-black legislation became known as the “black codes,” severely limiting the legal rights of former slaves, often forcing them into economic positions in which they were forced to work on plantations, as dependent

After four years of gruesome fighting, the Civil War ended, leaving the South, confederate territory, in ruins and defeat. The North’s advantage over the South was industrialization and this led to their victory over the South. In order to move on from the war reconstruction is essential. However, this became a major controversy on how much power the South should have and the creation of methods to enforce the new laws with the abolishment of slavery. The North struggles with strategies to improve the South without restarting the Civil War. Also there was difficulty incorporating the former slaves into everyday society without confederate backlash. The failure of the reconstruction was because of the actions that were took by the presidents between 1865 and 1877. Republican President Ulysses S. Grant influenced the failure of

The Civil War brought an end to slavery. Reconstruction came with the hope of transforming the nation. For the Republicans, they had a vision that was building the nation. For example, they used preventive ways to create a new economic policy. Their second part was to reshape the former Confederacy and to explore the events in the West. Despite President Andrew Jackson’s political madness, Republicans believed in the vision and wanted to succeed with their reconstruction plans. Tariffs, the national banking system, and railroads went a long way to the growth of the nation.

As the South fell to ruins after the Civil War, the infrastructures of the railroads were ripped apart, and the Union was in desperate need of reconstruction. In addition, the once-booming Southern economy based on cotton had crumbled due to the lack of slaves to perform the necessary tasks needed to maintain a stable single-crop economy. As tensions grew stronger, two leaders, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, stepped forward to help create a logical solution to the issue at hand. The Republican Congress, on the other hand, wanted to develop a plan that would leave a damaging impact on Southern society. Although each party’s plan for Reconstruction differed in their own ways, each was ultimately an attempt to reunite the Union and return

When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was a time period of

Thus the overthrow of the south’s economic system was a revolution. The Civil War also changed the political power between the North and the South greatly. The death of the “long-term sectional balance of power in the nation” was an irrepressible outcome of the war. With the secession of southern representatives and senators of congress, the Republican party stepped up and took control of the national government. This created a crucial political trend in which the North dominated most of the politics during the next half century. Equally important was the emancipation of 4 million slaves and their rise of status to the white man. Because of this, it was “one of the most radical revolutions in history.” (Clemenceau) It destroyed the “old ruling class in the south-all within the space of a half a dozen years”(McPherson 13). It renewed the American ideal of freedom and liberty and that all men are created equal.

After the North won the civil war, it was time to rebuild this nation. This period of reconstruction was supposed to have a profound change on society. Unfortunately this was not the case. Reconstruction did not fundamentally alter this nation. Not to say that nothing happened, but nothing that really made a change or difference happened. First, the control of the south was given right back to the planter elite. Also, even though slavery was abolished; blacks were not free. Finally, Congress and President Johnson could not get along. Although the civil war reshaped this country profoundly. The reconstruction efforts did little but scratch a surface, before being quickly wiped away.

The Civil War left a country divided not only by property lines and borders but by beliefs as well. Not just religious beliefs, moral beliefs also. It left both sides, north and south struggling, trying to figure out what their next move towards reuniting the divided America was going to be. The period following the end of the Civil War would become known as the “Reconstruction Era.” An era that raised just as many questions as it did answers. A reconstruction of America that seems to carry on many decades later.