At the end of the American Civil War the United States were on the eve of destruction. In order to avoid this destruction people in The Union had to come up with plans to rehabilitate. The first plan for reconstruction was created by Abraham Lincoln, but it had major faults in which Lincoln’s main focus was to get the states back together and he didn’t much care how. After Lincoln’s assassination Andrew Johnson not only took over the spot of presidency but he took over the responsibility for reconstruction. Johnson composed a plan that he believed would surely work, but he too had major flaws. Johnson’s flaws were Primarily based on his views of certain people and how he handled those views. The last plan was conceived by the congress. The people in congress looked over the two plans preceding them, saw their errors, and forged a plan of their own. Out of these three plans the one that would’ve been the most successful is the congressional reconstruction plan.
Abraham Lincoln’s views on reconstruction were that the south had never actually seceded, and this made his plan full of compassion and fault. Some may argue
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He also put African Americans in a situation similar to slavery. People could say that the place he put African Americans was where they needed to be for reconstruction to work and that it was in no way similar to slavery but where he put them was right back on the bottom of the food chain with no way to get out; They were once again working in the fields and the only difference was that they weren’t property. As for treating southern leaders to harsh it was dangerous because they were what everyone in the south looked up to. If these leaders asked them to once again revolt they surely would. Johnson’s harshness and bias view made his plan the one that would’ve been the least
During the period of reconstruction in the U.S., from 1865-1877, there were plans put in place by Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Congress in hopes of a brighter future. Reconstruction took place after the Civil War occurred in the U.S. from 1861-1865. Abraham Lincoln was the President during the Civil War, and he had plans prepared at the end of his presidency because he sensed that the nation would have to be rebuilt through a reconstruction period. Once he was assassinated in 1865, his successor, Andrew Johnson had his own ideas for the country involving the issue of reconstruction. In addition to those two Presidents, Congress was active throughout the reconstruction era. All of the plans set by Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson,
Every plan during this period of Reconstruction had their flaws and items that could have been improved upon, however, in my eyes, the Congressional Plan for Reconstruction benefitted the country more on a whole than either of the other two Presidential Reconstruction plans. For instance, both Lincoln and Johnson’s plan for Reconstruction dealt with a process of quick restoration of the South into the Union through a declaration of allegiance. This was not as effective as Congress’ plan for this plan encouraged no change in the social aspects of the planter aristocracy and almost ensured the idea of enslavement to resurface. Furthermore, as seen in Johnson’s Reconstruction plan, easy entrance of rebellious states into the Union not only resurrected
During Reconstruction there were massive changes in America’s culture, economy, and politics. Reconstruction for Lincoln was supposed to be a time for union and forgiveness. Who knows what would've happened if Lincoln could of cared out his plans, but Andrew Johnson took over and his plan for Reconstruction was very different. He believed the South had no right to succeed to begin with. He believed that the blacks should have no part in Reconstruction because today he's known as a racist. Andrew Johnson made sure to establish his all white government which to me looks like he's just copying the all white confederate government like before.
He had many good ideas and did many great things for our country. Andrew Jackson was the first president to run on the democratic party. He created it because he disagreed on all the other parties that were running against him and didn't want to be apart of them. He also served in the Revolutionary War and was a major general in the War of 1812. Jackson was a firm believer in fighting with his men and surrender was never in his vocabulary. Like he said in one of his quotes.”Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting terms.” And also he couldn't have said it better when John Meachem said about Jackson. “Always take all the time to reflect that circumstances permit, but when the time for action has come, stop thinking.” He was so determined to win he was shot in the Revolutionary War and he lived with a bullet in his heart until his death. The things is the bullet never seemed to bother him and was not a cause of his death. He was also the first Senator of Tennessee and the first Governor of Florida. He also was the first president censured by the Senate. Jackson was also the first president to be targeted for assassination. His greatest accomplishment was that he paid off national debt while in office. No other president to this day has ever done that. We were no longer in debt until he got out of
President Abraham Lincoln believed that reconstruction was a matter of executive responsibility. Congress just asserted its jurisdiction. They both had authority to devise a plan for reconstructing the Union. But they didn’t give much thought to the South’s land and labor. Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction aimed primarily at shortening the war and ending slavery. His terms got sent out by “Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction”. He first offered a full pardon, restoring property (except slaves), and political rights, to most rebels to renounce secession and to accept emancipation. His term enraged abolitionists. And Congress agreed that Lincoln’s plan was inadequate. So Congress put out a plan of their own, but Lincoln
President Johnson’s plan for reconstruction appeared simple at first, but makes you question his true motives behind his enthusiasm. There are multifactorial issues that seem irrational, given the change that was needed post wartime. On one hand he wanted the south to be independent but it seems like the socio -economic situation was very poor for the time being ,and help from the northerners would be beneficial to reconstruct and rebuild.
Following the end of the civil war, President Lincoln proposed a Reconstruction of the South as a way of bringing them back into the Union. The Reconstruction was Lincoln's effort to reconcile the North and South into and solidify equality in the South. Unfortunately, equal rights would not be established until much later and many Southerners still hated the North. Overall, Reconstruction was a failure because it failed in reconciling the North and South and replaced slavery with an equally cruel and unfair system.
Lincoln also believed surrendering in the face of secessionist threats would undermine the democratic principle of majority rule. He opposed secession because he considered it to be unlawful, would disintegrate into anarchy, destroy the world's only existing democracy, and argued the U.S was better-off as a united, single entity. Furthermore, the North's business community didn’t want to endure the permanent loss of the South as a market and source of raw materials. Slavery and the status of African Americans were at the heart of the Civil War crisis. While some Confederate soldiers went to war to preserve slavery, other Union soldiers fought to end it.
As the dispute on how to handle the South continued, Lincoln was unexpectedly assassinated and Andrew Johnson was brought into presidency. Johnson turned out to be a much different president than Lincoln. Johnson himself was, “openly hostile to the freed slave and unwilling to support any plans that guaranteed them civil equality or enfranchisement” (Brinkley 415). However, since he was now President, Reconstruction and how to go about it was left up to Johnson, no matter how unpleasant he was. His Reconstruction plan turned out to be quite similar to Lincoln. He decided to, “offer amnesty to those Southerners who would take an oath of allegiance (high ranking Confederated officials and any white Southerner with land worth $20,000 or more would have to apply
Viewing Lincoln's plans for Reconstruction as a "kindness" is an interesting perspective. His plan, involving what would be the slow but steady economic return of the South, was certainly much more lenient than what more radical members of Congress wanted. However, I think it's more so that Lincoln simply persisted with his original intentions on the reunification of the Union. After all, it'd be difficult to have a whole state when one half of it is still left in the ruination of a lost war. Lincoln always thought ahead, and I believe he knew if the North and Washington did nothing to help the South after the end of the Civil War, bad feelings would remain and make it more difficult to truly
Presidential reconstruction was a plan favored by The President Johnson to preserve the union by; being lenient on the south while still punishing some, all while still being lenient on the south. to the side is a map showing the south for those who don't know what i am referring to. President Johnson at the time was supposed to continue Lincoln’s plan which he did partially, Abraham Lincoln, wanted to unite the union and the confederacy. He knew that punishing the south would not be a permanent answer to the problem and that it would only cause them to . Waiting till the perfect moment to strike. President Lincoln wanted the south's support, so he was not hard on them. For example when germany was punished for ww1, in inadvertantly caused
Reconstruction was the foremost goal for many after the civil war. Yet, various individuals and political parties held a plethora of contrasting beliefs concerning how to face this reconstruction task. In terms of the Reconstruction, two ideas permeated the political field: who would have the authority to enact these changes and in what ways would national unity be accomplished. It is obvious that throughout this time the power held within the federal government would be challenged by southern state governments. The struggles reflected the inability of reaching a concurrent decision. During Johnson’s presidency Republicans did not agree with the meager actions in regards to ex-rebels. Republicans did not agree with how the government
Discuss the characteristics of the different attempts at Reconstruction (wartime, Lincoln’s plan, Johnson’s plan, and Radical)
After the war, the Union needed to effectively bring the South back into the country on equal footing, revive their economy, and rebuild their shattered landscape. Nevertheless, divisions in the federal government over Reconstruction caused a failure to achieve these goals. Lincoln first proposed the 10% plan, which offered a lenient way for Southern States to rejoin the Union. However, once Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson, a former owner of slaves, became president and initiated his own plan for Reconstruction. Although his plan initially worked, former Confederates eventually worked their way into the government and were elected to the United States Congress. The Republican dominated Congress refused to seat these Southerners. Furthermore, even the Republican Party itself was divided. Moderates and conservatives wanted the South to be readily admitted into the Union and Congress. These Republicans also wanted more reforms than those Johnson was providing. At the same time, radical Republicans wanted drastic change, desiring to "remake the South in the image of the North." These tensions within the Republican Party, and the
Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States and completely opposed the idea of southern secession. He viewed secession as an illegal act that violated the Constitution. No state legally had the right to break themselves away from the Union. The Constitution was in place as a type of contract between the states, agreeing to be part of the U.S.A. Later on, in his address he says, “Plainly the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy.”. If the government were to allow for this secession than the country would fall apart into anarchy and be unable to function. Anarchy meant that South didn’t want to live under a form of government. If the United States government was to fall apart it would destroy one of the world’s strongest democracies and make other countries think that a country governed by the people would be unable to succeed. If the war was lost, it wouldn’t the end of