3 plans of reconstuction

Three Plans of Reconstruction

The reconstruction period took place after the Civil war, from 1865-77. The south was ruined from the war. As a result of this the eleven Confederate states had to be reunited with the Union, and the free slaves from the south, now had to be defined as something other than slaves. There were three different ways or plans on how this “reconstruction” process should be executed. One of the three was the plan of the Radical Republicans. Unlike Lincoln and Johnson’s plans, the Radicals did not want the Union and the Confederacy to be reunited because they felt this way they passed the Wade-Davis Bill in July of 1864. This bill basically made it where no state could enter into the Union unless 50% of their males swear the "Ironclad Oath", which stated that they never supported the Confederacy. This bill never took effect because it was vetoed by Lincoln. Lincoln wanted a strong republican party in the South, and on December 8, 1863 he passed the proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction. This stated that a state could re-enter into the Union if ten percent of its voters who would accept that slavery was abolished, and be in total support of the Union. But Northerners did not like Lincoln’s plan, and felt that he was being too nice, he was not making it challenging to enter the Union. But Lincoln did not really care because he mainly wanted to preserve the Union. The radicals were more so in agreement with Johnson’s plan over Lincoln’s. Johnson was stricter in what he wanted and how he wanted compared to Lincoln. Johnson felt that the Union should be reunited with The Confederacy. His plan included things such as the proclamation of amnesty (May 29, 1865) , which offered pardon to those who would take the oath of allegiance, but if they were in any high rank in the military of owned land worth ore than $20,000 they would have to apply for individual pardons.
There were differences and similarities of the three major Reconstruction plans: Lincoln’s, Johnson’s and the Radical Republicans’. The thing that all three had in common in some way was the freedom of the slaves. But the difference came when the topic of how and if the Union and the Confederacy would be reunited. The top two strongest of the three would be Lincoln’s plan and Johnson’s plan. The both agreed on the same things for the most part, but Johnson was more forceful in getting what he wanted, under his rule the 13th amendment was ratified, and every ex- confederate state other than Texas was reestablished to civil government. That is why Johnson had the best plan of the three.
In order to be able to stand strong and make rules, which was why Johnson was not as lenient as Lincoln when it came to Reconstruction. Lincoln did not have the support of the Radicals but Johnson did, and this was also a plus for him. Johnson passed the May 29, 1865 proclamation of amnesty which offered pardon to those who would take the oath of allegiance, but if they were in any high rank in the military of owned land worth ore than $20,000 they would have to apply for individual pardons. The Radicals agreed with this because it made it more difficult than what Lincoln was making it to re-enter the Union.
Johnson did believe with the abolishment of slavery. It was under is presidency in 1865 that the 13th amendment was ratified. But some of the things that Johnson supported did cause some segregation between blacks and whites. One of these things being the “black codes”. They gave blacks the rights to own personal property, to marry and sue in court, these things were good. But on the other hand they also gave separation between blacks and whites in public facilities and placed restrictions on black’s status as a free laborer, the right to own real estate, and the right to testify in court. Even though Johnson’s plan had some racial set backs, this was still the strongest because it was showing progress in reconstruction.
The main purpose of reconstruction was to restore the South from the damage the Civil War and the reunite the South with the North. In doing this the Union and the Confederacy would be able to work together. Lincoln along with the Radicals made some progression towards the reconstruction cause. Nut Johnson made the most. Another example of this was that Johnson was able to get every ex- confederate state other than Texas to be reestablished to civil government. Reconstruction was the period after the civil war when political, social, and economic problems needed to be fixed. The Radical Republicans, Lincoln and Johnson all had plans to how these problems should be fixed. The radical republicans did not want the union to reunite with the confederacy. Lincoln wanted to preserve the Union so bad that his was of getting were too lineate, leaving Johnson. Due to the assassination of Lincoln Johnson knew president, making it more possible for his plan to be put into play. Out of the three Johnson had the best plan.