Reconstruction Plans Responses

Reconstruction Plans Responses

Responding to Classmate 1

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your post. If you remember the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the reasons for the proclamation to be issued was a strategy of war. This, too, can be said of Lincoln’s issuance of the 10% plan or the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. The Civil War tide favoured the Unions following the capturing of several Confederate States, and thus, Lincoln saw it as the right time to push for his version of the reconstruction of the US. He hoped to turn into a Unionist, a former rebellious Confederate. Lincoln would re-establish control by creating a pro-Union government without discouraging the white Southerners from rejoining the Union. Lincoln knew he had to tread lightly as this process was delicate (Peacock, 2002).

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References

Peacock, J. (2002). Reconstruction: Rebuilding After the Civil War. Capstone.

Responding to Classmate 2

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your post. You stated, “As we still see in current events, preferential treatment is often given to a class, a race, a social circle of people.” You couldn’t be more suitable. The divide in the 19^th century remains, albeit more subtly. The recent spate of street activism is evidence that history has a way of impacting our lives in the present. However, we need to give credit where it is due. The US has made some great strides (though they could be more significant) through Affirmative Action. These administrative practices, guidelines, policies, and laws are “intended to end and correct the effects of a specific form of discrimination, ” including voluntary-private, government-approved, or government-mandated programs. The drive for these laws is to correct the disadvantages brought by discrimination in the past and present (Cohen & Sterba, 2003)

Similar Post: Accounting Processes

Reference

Cohen, C., & Sterba, J. P. (2003). Affirmative Action and Racial Preference.

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Reconstruction Plans Responses

Classmate 1’s Post

Reconstruction Plans Responses

Hello Class and Professor,

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

• Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (10% Plan) – Lincoln
  • Lincoln knew that a reconstruction plan needed to be implemented following the war. The 10% Plan was designed to first” allow for a full pardon for and restoration of property to all Confederates engaged in the Civil War rebellion, with the exception of the highest Confederate officials and military leaders, secondly, allow for new state governments to be formed and readmitted to the Union when 10 percent of the eligible voters had taken an oath of allegiance to the United States, and lastly, the new governments of such Southern states were encouraged to enact plans to deal with the freed slaves (freedmen), as long as their freedom was not compromised (Abraham Lincoln, 2018).”
• Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan
• Johnson’s plan is related to that Lincoln’s 10 % Plan. Johnson wanted to return the South to how it was before the war. In doing so, he began pardoning ex-Confederates. Johnson’s plan implemented that.
  • Pardons would be granted to those taking a loyalty oath
  • No pardons would be available to high Confederate officials and persons owning property valued more than $20,000
  • A state needed to abolish slavery before being readmitted
  • A state was required to repeal its secession ordinance before being readmitted (Andrew’s Johnson…, n.d.).”
• Congressional Reconstruction Plan (Congress)
  • This occurred following the Civil War. The federal government initiated and tried to enforce equal suffrage in the ex-Confederate states. This plan for postwar recovery imposed harsh standards on the Southern states and supported newly freed slaves (freedmen) in pursuing political, economic, and social opportunities (Boundless, n.d.).

Then, address one (1) of the following for your selections:

• Explain how the American culture and society changed in the North versus the South during Reconstruction.

The North hastily modernized, becoming an industrial land, whereas the South continued to rely on agriculture. Immigrants chose the North as opposed to the South, which aided in further developing railroad track transportation and trades. The South lacked labourers due to slavery being prohibited. The reconstruction flipped the South upside down, making it difficult for them to proceed.

References

Abraham Lincoln. (2018, January 09). Retrieved July 28, 2020, from http://www.american- historama.org/1860-1865-civil-war-era/ten-percent-plan.htm

Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved July 28, 2020, from https://u-s-            history.com/pages/h179.html

Boundless. (n.d.). Boundless US History. Retrieved July 28, 2020, from    https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-battle-over-      reconstruction/

OpenStax. (2019). U.S. history. OpenStax CNX. Retrieved from https://cnx.org/contents/p7ovuIkl@6.18:gMXC1GEM@7/Introduction

Classmate 2’s Post

Hello everyone,

The Civil War left much of the South destroyed and without a plan or means to repair itself, necessitating a strategy to mend the confederacy’s economy and give the formerly enslaved people a fair opportunity to begin their lives as free individuals.  The freed slaves needed education, employment and housing; land needed to be fairly distributed, and the economy had to be put back on track; President Lincoln’s goal was to bring the North and South back together into one union and begin reconstruction to address these problems (Chamberlain University, n.d.).

Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction was also called the Ten Percent Plan.  With Lincoln’s primary concern being reunification and rebuilding the economy and people’s lives, his plan was largely forgiving of the people of the South, generously offering them absolution and the ability to form their government in exchange for ten percent of the Southern population swearing their devotion to the United States (Corbett et al., 2014).  Under this plan, the Confederate states were also promised reinstatement of representation by Congress if they agreed to go further by eliminating slavery and educating the black population (Chamberlain University, n.d.).  The more radical Republicans during this time disagreed with Lincoln’s plan, arguing that it was too kind to the Confederate rebels who tore the union apart and that they needed to be punished instead of rewarded for their treasonous actions and inhumane slavery practices. Still, he declined to go along with the counterproposed harsher Wade-Davis Bill that required a majority of citizens to pledge that they had never supported slavery or treasonous behaviour, excluding those who did not comply from political participation (Corbett et al., 2014).  Lincoln wanted a quick resolution to the conflict and felt that the Wade-Davis Bill would prolong reunification and reconstruction efforts.

After the assassination of Lincoln by white supremacist John Wilkes Booth, vice president Andrew Johnson had to step into his position.  Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan paralleled Lincoln’s plan in most ways, in that it was lenient toward the Southern states to reunite the South with the Union, and again upset Radical Republicans who wanted to chastise the South for their wrongdoings. He granted the South forgiveness and returned their land to them, only asking in return to gain their allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, except for higher-ranking or wealthy Confederates, as Lincoln had stipulated (Corbett et al., 2014).  He declined to grant voting rights to formerly enslaved people, which, in addition to leniency for the South, created party conflict in moving forward with Reconstruction (Corbett et al., 2014).  Like Lincoln, Johnson also met opposition from Congress for his reconstruction plan for not being aggressive enough to assist enslaved people formerly and hold the South responsible adequately. Still, he was more pigheaded in his approach to dealing with opposing viewpoints than Lincoln, not offering much flexibility or consideration.

The Congressional Reconstruction Plan prioritized rights for formerly enslaved people and a complete effort to rebuild the South, compared to Lincoln and Johnson’s plans, which placed more excellent value on a quick recovery and reunification.  Congress wanted a less excusing approach for the people of the South and more benefits for the released enslaved people to help them build their new lives as free people.  Congress recognized that some resentful southerners wanted to keep blacks oppressed, creating problems for formerly enslaved people’s pursuit of a dignified life. So in response, Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, a.k.a. Freedmen’s Bureau (Corbett et al., 2014).  The role of the Freedmen’s Bureau was to help enslaved people change from enslaved life to free life by providing necessities to make it possible, such as food, paid employment, reunion with lost family members, and education (Corbett et al., 2014).  Unfortunately, as Corbett et al. also wrote, President Johnson felt this duty of the federal government was unnecessary, which kept Congress and the president at odds for some time, further contributing to conflict (2014).

The political tug-of-war that occurred between the President and Congress in deciding what should occur in the best interest of the Union has been evident in reading about the post-Civil War efforts that were proposed and rejected by opposing sides of the argument.  As we still see in current events, preferential treatment is often given to a class, a race, or a social circle of people.  We can see this by looking back at historical events.

The Compromise of 1877, according to History.com editors, was an unofficial arrangement made between southern Democrats and Republican presidential candidate Rutherford Hayes’ associates to determine the outcome of the election, ultimately leading to ending Reconstruction efforts (2019).  This agreement ensured Hayes’ presidency win without Democratic meddling in exchange for Republicans removing their forces from the South, handing Democrats control over the South and subsequently phasing out of Reconstruction measures for African-Americans (History.com editors, 2019).  Following the Compromise of 1877, equal rights for blacks received significantly less protection, and black voter suppression ensued due to white supremacist threats and attacks, allowing white supremacists to gain control of the southern region (History.com editors, 2019).  Hayes also promised more autonomy for the southern government, with the less federal imposition of Reconstruction laws, which caused Reconstruction efforts to come to a halt, allowed implementation of the Jim Crow laws to segregate people of colour from the whites, and undermined civil rights of African-Americans until the 1960s (History.com editors).  Much of the work put into granting freed African Americans their civil rights was undone by the Compromise of 1877, which was inherently a corrupt deal for Hayes to win the presidency at the expense of African-Americans.

References

Chamberlain University. (n.d.). Week 4 Lesson: Civil War and Reconstruction. Retrieved from https://chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/66507/pages/week-4-lesson-civil-war-and-reconstruction?module_item_id=8714553

Corbett, P. S., Volker, J., Lund, J. M., Phannestiel, T., Waskiewicz, S., & Vickery, P. (2014). U.S. history. Houston, TX: OpenStax. Retrieved from https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/1-introduction

History.com editors. (2019). Compromise of 1877. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/compromise-of-1877