Comparing Reconstruction Plans- Lincoln, Johnson, and Congressional Approaches

Comparing Reconstruction Plans- Lincoln, Johnson, and Congressional Approaches

Lincoln’s intention for the Reconstruction detailed a 10% unconditional plan on the southern states that maintained that they could be readmitted to the Union when about 10% of their voters pledged an oath of allegiance. Conversely, Johnson’s plan insisted on pardoning persons who took the oath of loyalty. Also, there would not be pardons to high Confederate officials and people who owned property that exceeded 20, 000$. On the other hand, Congress had a more radical Reconstruction that maintained imposing harsh standards on the States in the South and supported the freed slaves during the pursuit of social, political, and economic opportunities. Doubtless, the Congressional Reconstruction was the most efficacious because it provided America with a radical front to unite. In this case, their harshness on the South guaranteed that the South would be incapacitated and dependent on the rest of the North. Lincoln’s was also successful because it allowed a more lenient approach to the Reconstruction. By so doing, the leniency also helped end the war quickly.

Furthermore, after the war, the South was in total chaos, and it could have been treated as a defeated nation because of the goals that the South had at first, and their culture was essentially destroyed. Despite demands that the South be treated as a rebellious nation by a section of the radical politicians, doing so would foster animosity and create a situation that had the South rise in revolt against the North. Besides, the fallout of the United States also implied that they were not at their full capacity, and an external aggressor could have defeated the nation. Consequently, having leniency to the South and giving those ultimatums that they could meet implied that the Union would be restored in the end (“Lincoln on Secession,” 2021). The leniency that Lincoln showed implied that he was committed to preventing the country from falling into total anarchy if they could be allowed to secede from the Union.

References

Lincoln on Secession. www.nps.gov. (2021). https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/secessiontableofcontents.htm.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

---

Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, craft a response comparing the three (3) Reconstruction plans:

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (10% Plan) – Lincoln

Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan
Congressional Reconstruction Plan (Congress)
Then, address one (1) of the following for your selections:

Analyze if the South should have been treated as a defeated nation or as a rebellious state.
Explain how the American culture and society changed in the North versus the South during Reconstruction.
Analyze the impact of the Compromise of 1877 that ended Reconstruction on African Americans.