The End Of The Civil War

In December of 1863, Abraham Lincoln proposed the 10 Percent Plan as the first plan for Reconstruction. In the plan, a Confederate state would be readmitted to the Union, with a new government created, once ten percent of the state's voters had declared loyalty to the United States. These people were also required to uphold emancipation. Lincoln said that it would be "a cruel and an astounding breach of faith" for anyone to not abide by the laws of emancipation (qtd. in Goodwin 588). Anyone who took this oath received a full pardon unless they had been a Confederate official. Lincoln also thought that the entire abolition of slavery, not just in Confederate states, should be made by a Constitutional amendment. However, this plan was more of a way to try to diminish the power of the Confederacy during the Civil War than a plan to be enacted after the war was over. It was officially put into motion in some parts of Union-held territory in the South, but it was never truly supported by locals and Congress didn't recognize is it.

After four years the Civil War ended in 1865 the next problem was the reconstruction of the torn apart United States. It was a slow start especially for government reconstruction but had Abraham Lincoln been president instead of Andrew Johnson presidential reconstruction may have proved to be successful. Along with the reconstruction came “radical” changes to the United States as well. This flared both Southern and Northern racial attitudes causing conflict between the two once again. These problems were just the beginning of reconstruction leaving behind the historical legacy we have today.

The Reconstruction of the United States was an experiment in interracial democracy. The Civil War victory by the North brought to a close the establishment of slavery but, in turn, opened Pandora's box. The questions and answers pertaining to economical, political, and social equality for freedmen had yet to be addressed on a practical level. The Southern states, still bitter from defeat and economic stresses, strongly rejected the societal transformations thrust upon them. The Northern states' focal point remained on the necessary political powers by which to enact constitutional amendments, therefore empowering the federal government with the capabilities to enforce the principles of equal rights. On paper, slavery was abolished, but in reality, African-Americans were once again enslaved on a ship without the security or knowledge of what the next port held for them. The Civil War had not truly ended. It was still active under the guise of Reconstruction, but now coats and flags of many colors existed, and battles were merely fought on alternate battlefields. A war of ideas lacking in substantial practicality resulted in repetitious battles being won and loss. The motivating forces that set Reconstruction into motion were for the most part the North's quest for unification among states', and the emancipation of slaves. However, the primary objective of Reconstruction was to grant political, economical, and social opportunities for the freedmen. The

negative effects, but the point was to bring the country back together, and it succeeded in doing so. Under Abraham Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction, when one tenth of the population of a state took an oath of allegiance to the United States and abolished slavery in their state, they could be readmitted into the Union (Mending a Divided Nation). His policy seemed lenient to many, but the

The Civil War was a devastating war with many casualties for both sides. The physical side of these wounds is widely written about and there is a lot of detail on the topic. John E. Talbott decided to write about the mental side effects of the Civil War instead. He uses different sources to prove his claim that Civil War soldiers and veterans suffered from “shell-shock” or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or P.T.S.D. He shows how those effected by these disorders acted, how they were seen by those around them, and how they were treated by the public or government by analyzing articles written during or after the Civil War.

     Congress decided to punish the South for their continuous resistance to Reconstruction by scrapping Johnson’s failing plan, and establishing Congressional Reconstruction. Congressional Reconstruction was by far the most vindictive, and therefore most loathsome to the South. Over the course of ten years, Congress passed the 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery), and established the Freedmen’s Bureau in March of 1865 (providing food, medical aid, and education to freed people). It passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (granting citizenship to blacks, and authorizing the federal government to protect their rights), the 14th Amendment ratified in 1868 (solidifying the Civil Rights Act by defining citizenship and guaranteeing equal protection under the law), and the Reconstruction Acts in 1867. The Reconstruction Acts established Radical Reconstruction, namely by dividing the South (excluding Tennessee) into five military districts, headed by northern generals. Once fifty-one percent of the voting population had taken an oath to the constitution, all qualified voters (including blacks) could elect

The purpose of this paper is to show the events surrounding the end of the American Civil War. The two sides which were at war was the union and the confederacy. Which was basically the United States separated into 2 sections going at war with each other. In this document, I will speak about those people who were involved on the battlefield towards the end of the war.

The Civil War is known as a turning point in America, the road to ending slavery, while first turning a nation against each other.

Before the Civil War started, the North and the South argued on two main topics: slavery and state rights. In my opinion, it was because of slavery that state rights were argued. When Western territories were annexed from Mexico, they were admitted to the Union with the condition that that slavery be banned through the Wilmot Proviso (History.com). Because of this, slave states felt they were unfairly treated and outnumbered. The religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening also gave way to new ideology. Combined with the growing abolitionist sentiment, Northern states began taking action against Southern states. Because their rights as

The novel March is one of the greatest depictions of the American Civil War in all of literature. March gives the reader an in-depth look at the everyday struggles of the United States through a soldier prospective during this time. It also show that even during this time of what was supposed to be revamping of the nation, many citizens and slaves alike in the broken mindsets that have led up to this point. One of the greatest examples of this is the relationship between Mr. Canning a lawyer for Illinois and the slaves at Oak Landing. This relationship is introduced to the reader in chapter six when the main character Mr. March who is a Chaplin in the union army is reassigned to this plantation. While at dinner with Mr. Canning on his very

The American Civil War, also known as the State’s War, was a conflict that arose mostly from the issue of slavery, but deep down was due to economic differences between the North and the South. The South seceded from the North and created their own self-government due to their belief in the lack of state’s rights versus the federal government and what they saw as a weakness in the Articles of Confederation. While the Confederacy of the United States depended on slave labor for their economy in regards to plantation farming of cotton, tobacco and rice, the Union, whom represented the United States of America, was a booming manufacturing industry due to railroads and machinery that allowed them to easily surpass the output of the South’s

A civil war is a prolonged high-intensity conflict between people, countries, or parties, which is usually barefaced and armed. Every war has its causes either acceptable or not and some are inevitable. Commonly, civil wars are between countries within a state. It results from one country aiming to make implementations on their governing policies or take control of certain areas within the state. 1Civil War refers to the American Civil War, which took place in the year 1861 to 1865 in the US. It was the greatest war in the world’s history since it took the most lives of Americans more than any other war.2

In 1863 during the Civil War and Lincoln’s presidency, Lincoln came out with “Lincoln’s 10% Plan.” The plan stated that if you were aloud to vote in 1860, therefore not black people, then you were able to swear an oath. The oath was to promise to be loyal to the Union. Ten percent meant that 10% of each states voters needed to accomplish this in order to be apart of the union again. The southerns also needed to agree that slavery was illegal. Once Lincoln made a plan for reuniting the states, his next plan was to reunite the white and black people within the United States.

President Lincoln’s reconstruction plan was fairly simple. He leaned more on the lenient side, in hopes that it would make for an easier transition to bring back peace in the nation. It is no doubt that he had one of the most important presidency of the United States history. No one wants to be the president who let the nation fall apart. After the stress of the Civil War was over, he was eager to begin the healing process for the country. Lincoln’s reconstruction plan became known as the ten percent plan. He decided that if ten percent of the citizens in a state swore to once again be loyal to the union and also, accept the Emancipation Proclamation, then the citizens of that state could vote again in their state governments. By making it only ten percent of the population, it was his hope

After the Civil War, the South was in ruins and America was on the road to Reconstruction. America was now faced with the challenges of overcoming Southern resentment, restoring the Union, and determining the meaning of black freedom. The process of reconstruction would be complicated and complex and would involve readmitting the Southern states that had seceded from the Union; physically reconstructing the South; and integrating the freedmen into America’s society. Various plans for Reconstruction were involved: Lincoln’s ten percent plan, the Wade-Davis Bill, Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan, and the Congressional Reconstruction Plan. Although the blacks gained their freedom after the war, their lives did not change drastically. The Reconstruction Era had brought upon change to the southern states as freedmen were able to work for themselves and had the ability to have their own families, but that does not mean that they were equal to the whites. The Thirteenth Amendment that was passed under Lincoln’s presidency formally abolished slavery and involuntary servitude but when his presidency was passed on to Andrew Johnson, the freedmen did not have as many rights. He did not pay any mind to the newly freed blacks in the South and in turn, the Southern states were able to pass the “black codes” which restricted the freedmen’s rights. This placed the blacks under a strict law and although they were not slaves anymore, they were living in fear. It wasn’t until the radical