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Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation Of Amnesty And Reconstruction

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Within this emancipated nation, of that which the founding fathers and the men and women of the Civil War so dutifully fought for, the monumental words of President Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address resonate even into today: “... that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” ("Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln," 2018). Such words that, in their time, provided much more than a symbol of hope. In just over a month from the delivery of these words, the conclusion of the Civil War would initiate. May 13, 1865, the official end to an internal conflict unlike anything this country has ever experienced, ignited an era of great political, economic, and social change. Incorporating the successes …show more content…

President Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction on December 8, 1863, began the reunification stages of post-war America. Attempting to incorporate the common good in two strongly opposing sides, it addressed three main areas of concern. First, granting full pardon for and restoration of property to all members of the Confederate army with the exception of the highest ranking officials and military leaders. Second, the proclamation permitted a new state government to be created when ten percent of all eligible voters had pledged their allegiance to the entire United States. Finally, the readmitted southern states that had taken this oath were to accept the elimination of slavery and enact plans that would advance freed slaves toward an independent conduct ("Lincoln issues Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction," 2018). Following this proclamation, most southerners struggled to accept freed African Americans. Lincoln’s political approach to Reconstruction is still considered one of the most important political changes of the time because of its foundation in forgiveness. This charitable outline of requests accelerated the reunification process of America, whereas the price of victory in the North may have included harsh demands. Unfortunately, this peaceful appeal could not prepare the populace for the years of bitter racism and …show more content…

Slavery had been abolished in the former Confederacy by the Emancipation Proclamation, delivered by Lincoln in 1863. The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment two years later emphasized the legitimacy of emancipation. Although many white southerners believed freedom meant the ability to control their destiny without interference from the North, the formality of the Thirteenth Amendment displayed great advances for freedom by proclaiming an entire race free from centuries of manipulation. In the immediate aftermath of the amendment’s ratification, nothing changed and the lives of many were not affected. Former slaves did not know where to go or what to do, and some plantation owners even refused to inform their slaves of what had happened. The effectiveness of this major social change would not be seen until time would create an opportunity for the government to enforce it in all areas of the

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The end of the Civil War brought along social uneasiness within the Union. Prior to the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln declared the emancipation of slavery throughout the nation, excluding the border states, with their new found freedom came the need of new rights that the federal government must enforce. The federal government granted them citizenship, civil rights, and suffrage (Document G). The illustration found in the “Harper’s Weekly” showed how African American men were given the right to vote freely without the oppression of white supremacy, although this was the Union’s intended goal, this was not the reality of the South. There was an immense change to the lifestyle of the south.

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Reconstruction from 1865 to 1877 aimed to reunify, or rather reconstruct, the Union following the Civil War and abolishment of slavery. The goal of Abraham Lincoln, the president who introduced the 10% plan and charted the Freedmen’s Bureau, was to introduce the Confederate States back into the United States, ensure their loyalty, and improve Black people’s conditions. The ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, as well as the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau and other educational reforms, gave way to a rise of radical Republicanism that introduced bold and transformative actions that were unheard of. Although the impact and success were limited to its premature end by the 1877 Compromise, the fundamentals of Reconstruction

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The Reconstruction, one of the roughest and controversial era in American history, took place after the Civil War between 1865 and 1877. This began the process of bringing the Nation back together and giving former slaves equals rights by three new Constitutional amendments.    From the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, Lincoln’s goal was the restoration of the Confederate states to the Union. In 1863, Lincoln proposed the Ten Percent Plan that granted amnesty to those Confederate states which swore an oath of allegiance to the Union. It would have given a general pardon to all southerners excluding high-ranking Confederate army officers and government officials.

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Introduction: With the Emancipation Proclamation being declared in 1863 by Lincoln and the 13th Amendment being enacted later in 1865 all the slaves were emancipated. Due to the large number of freed slaves many of whom were non educated the equality that became immediately present had to be solved. Unlike other social gaps present in America at the time blacks were not only subjected to the ongoing philosophy of white supremacy but were also the targets of state laws which prohibited blacks from rights guaranteed by the constitution.

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Reconstruction of the south encompassed three major political initiatives: restoration of the Union, transformation of southern society, and enactment of progressive legislation favoring the rights of freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction—issued in 1863, two years before the war even ended—mapped out the first of these initiatives, his Ten-Percent Plan. Under the plan, each southern state would be readmitted to the Union after 10 percent of its voting population had pledged future loyalty to the United States, and all Confederates except high-ranking government and military officials would be pardoned. After Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, President Andrew Johnson adopted the Ten-Percent Plan and pardoned thousands of Confederate officials. Radical Republicans in Congress, however, called for harsher measures, demanding a

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After the civil war both Lincoln and the South had differing ideas for reconstruction. Although the North had won the war, tensions were still high between the two sides of the country. Lincoln wanted no persecutions, no bloody work, and to let prisoners of war go; he had no interest in continuing the killing that the civil war had brought upon the nation. Lincoln also wanted them to draft a new constitution, he did not want to punish the south, he wanted to amalgamate them with the union as fast as possible. Radical republicans however did not want to the country to reunify, they also did not agree with Lincoln’s peaceful solution to end slavery.

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The Reconstruction era of 1865 was an attempted unify the states of the United States of America after the Civil War. This proved to be terribly difficult and contentious process. The three main issues the federal government had to deal with included how to deal with states as they re-joined the Union, how Southern whites should be treated, and how to deal with the freed slaves. Furthermore, President Lincoln’s reconstruction plan included that states never truly seceded from the Union as this was not legally possible, and therefore they should not necessarily be punished. The plan had two major provisions: Pardons of Southerners who participated in the war if the took an oath of allegiance to the United States and Readmission of a state if 10% of white voters in that state took

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Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction as one of his many goals was to regain representation by abolishing slavery. (Reconstruction Power Point). “…a state could be reintegrated into the Union when 10 percent of its voters… had taken oath of allegiance to the United States and pledged to abide by emancipation.” (Piehl 353). After having the Ten Percent plan introduced and Lincolns assassination, the Thirteenth Amendment freed the slaves, weakening the south.

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With the end of the Civil War the country began its Reconstruction to repair the damages the South had cause when the Confederates withdrawal from the Union. One of the questions asked should the South be punished or pardoned for their crimes committed against the Union. President Lincoln began proposing a Ten Percent Plan for the Reconstruction of the South which was in leniency for the Confederates, which entailed pardoning crimes, to any Confederate who would take an oath of allegiance to the Union and accept federal policy on slavery. There was much antagonistic views on Lincoln’s plan for the Reconstructing the South, with the Radical Republicans being adamant that the Reconstruction should be a total reconstruction of the society to guarantee African American true equality.

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Soon after the war was over, President Abraham Lincoln introduced his reconstruction plan to reunite the nation, and have it function the way it used to. On December 1863, President Lincoln issued his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction; it offered “full pardon” and the restoration of property to white Southerners. However, the prerequisites to receive full pardon include swearing an oath of allegiance to the United States and its laws; the only people excluded from the offer were Prominent Confederate military and civil leaders. On December 8, 1865, President Lincoln announced the terms of another reconstructive plan, known as “Lincoln’s Ten-Percent

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The 13th amendment was passed by the congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the states on december 6, 1865. President Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” The Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation But it started to help abolishing slavery and making it and

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Throughout the war, the secession of the southern states had created that both houses of Congress were dominated by Republican majorities. However, there were differences between whether people wanted the immediate abolition of slavery, to wait to abolish slavery, or even to not abolish slavery at all. The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 freed African Americans in rebel states, and after the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment emancipated all U.S. slaves wherever they were. During the years after the war, black and white teachers from the North and South, missionary organizations, churches, and schools worked tirelessly to give the emancipated population the opportunity to learn. Former slaves of every age took advantage of the opportunity to become literate.

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After the Civil War was over and the Union had won the war, four million enslaved workers had gained their freedom (p511). The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, also known as the Reconstruction amendments, were passed to abolish slavery, give citizenship to all persons born in the United States, equal protection of the laws and suffrage to all men. The nation succeeded in restoring the South after having lost many lives and property (p512). After the war, former slaves were able to establish their own African American churches and schools, where they learned to read and write. Immediately after President Hayes withdrew federal troops from Louisiana and South Carolina, Republican governments collapsed and Radical Republican legislation

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The thirteenth amendment stated that all former slaves were granted freedom. The reconstruction period, “did create the essential constitutional foundation for further advances in the quest for equality”. It laid the building blocks for the future building for civil rights not just for blacks but women and other minorities. Former slaves, “ found comfort in their family and in the churches they established”. Blacks took community in each other and bonded over the mutual idea of freedom .

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