American Reconstruction: Comparing Lincoln, Johnson and Congress' Plans

There were three basic plans of reconstruction, one created by President Abraham Lincoln, one by Congress and one by President Andrew Johnson. Lincoln's plan of 1863 called for 10 percent of a state's voters in the election of 1860 to take an oath of allegiance and pledge to adhere to emancipation. The state would then also have to set up a state government before being allowed back into the Union. This plan were relatively simple since Lincoln never believed that the Southern States had ever legally seceded.

The Republicans were shocked at how easily the Southern states were to be allowed back into the Union. They were afraid the South would reinstate slavery once back. To prevent this, the Republicans came up with the Wade-Davis Bill of 1864. It increased the requirement of ten percent of the voters to fifty percent. It also wanted stronger safeguards for emancipation. Lincoln, however, refused to sign the bill and it was never passed. This reconstruction plan showed the clashing between President Lincoln and the Congress. Congress believed that the states had left the Union and had given up their rights. The Republicans also split up into two groups. One group was moderate and agreed with Lincoln that the re-admittance of the states should be done as quickly as possible. The other side wanted the aristocratic planters to be punished and the South dealt with harshly.

Many believed that Johnson would agree with the up-hauling of the Southern social system. Instead, he issued his own Reconstruction plan on May 29, 1865. Johnson's plan called for special state conventions. These conventions would be held to repeal the state's decree of secession, disclaim all Confederate debts, and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. Johnson's plan did call for a quick re-admittance, but it also demanded that the leading Confederates be disfranchised. Johnson's plan was more similar to Lincoln's, but it also dealt with the Confederates slightly harsher, like the congressional plan. In the end, it was Johnson's plan that was put into action.

Essay 2: Was Reconstruction a noble experiment that failed, a vengeful northern punishment of the South, a weak effort that did not go far enough, or the best that could have been expected? What has been the historical legacy of the Reconstruction?

The Reconstruction was the best that could have been expected under the circumstances. Andrew Johnson was certainly no Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln was very capable in handling the different factions of the government. By the end of the war, he had the support of the people, and his plan of reconstruction was very simple. Andrew Johnson, however, was neither an inspiration for the politicians or a gathering point for the people. He kept locking horns with the Congress and that kept things from getting done.

The Reconstruction was bound to be a rough era, due to social and political stresses. The freed blacks who need to be provided for, and the rebelling Confederates would need to be dealt with. Along with all of these necessities, there would be, and was, social tension since the Southern planters were being forced to give up their slaves. The armies of the North did deal, relatively well, with the Southern states, making sure they enforced the thirteenth amendment. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan, however, were bound to disrupt whatever order was established.

The United States had just ended a civil war, lost its president, and freed its only reliable work force. Under these conditions, the reconstruction had gone as well as could be expected. Steps were taken to educate the blacks, amendments were ratified to grant them their civil rights, and the armies tried to enforce the emancipation as much as possible. The Freedmen's Bureau was set up, and the Civil Rights Bill was passed. The Reconstruction plan was fairly simple and allowed most of the states easy admittance into the Union. Although the Reconstruction plan had many good ideas, one of the largest problems was its effectiveness since the black codes were pretty well established in the South. Much more could have been done to lessen its impact on the blacks if President Johnson had not continually vetoed the Republican bills. Once again, the president was at heads with Congress. Johnson did not make equality and suffrage rights for blacks a priority and thus was at heads with all blacks and Republicans.

Since the war was a civil war and now the two enemies had to come together as one country, it is surprising how lenient Reconstruction was. Slavery had been a heavily argued concept for a very long time, and after having finally settled the dispute, there was bound to be violent outbursts and hurt pride. Under the given circumstances and the leader, however, the Reconstruction was the best that could have been expected.

The Reconstruction left behind a historical legacy of social tension and political distress. The white Southerners were upset that their entire social system had been uprooted. The aristocratic planters had lost their main form of wealth, slaves. This caused much social tension between the ex-slaves and their former masters. The blacks who had once worked for them were now free citizens, which was something that the Southerners considered a serious insult. They also had a new hatred for the Northerners, due to the civil war. Also, the government was now at odds since the Republicans thought that not enough had been done for the blacks and the Southerners thought that too much had been done. The ending of Reconstruction led to the era of Jim Crow Laws and segregation; however, Reconstruction later became the basis for attempts to end discrimination. Reconstruction had, after all, left behind three very important amendments to the Constitution that would one day lead to a "more perfect Union."

Sources:

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/recon