Abraham Lincoln And Soft Reconstruction After The Civil War

Following the Civil War America was finally making amends and on its way to executing Lincoln’s plan of soft resurrection. However, this plan was ruined when John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln at Ford’s Theater. His death would lead to the end of soft reconstruction and despair all over the country. After his death, “Lincoln’s mourners cried as they recorded their emotions, smudging the ink in their journals and letters.” Lincoln’s death not only shifted the spirits of the country; it also changed soft reconstruction to hard reconstruction, which was carried out by the Vice President Andrew Johnson. Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States of America. He implemented many things to improve America, including his Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. After the Civil War ended, Lincoln was going to utilize soft reconstruction to try and bring the once united country back together again. This soft reconstruction used certain methods, which “evolved a plan for harmonious reconstruction of the Union”. However, these methods would not be put into

Johnson attempted to implement soft reconstruction, however, he ultimately ended up implementing hard reconstruction. This hard reconstruction had more negative effects on the Southern states than the Northern. The Southern states were under military rule until the new and improved government could be formed. Johnson also limited some former Confederate officials and officers from being able to vote and work in public office. Although the new reconstruction had negative effects on the Southern states, it had positive effects on African Americans. The reconstruction acts gave former slaves the right to vote and hold public office. It also established the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments that gave African Americans discriminatory rights and guaranteed African American men the right to