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Analysis Of Andrew Johnson's Disagreement After The Civil War

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After the division of the states through the Civil War, people had different answers to the question of how to reunite the country. American politics now had to decide how to deal with racism, former enemy leaders and states, and the true definition of a citizen’s rights. This reconstructing process led to many disagreements. During this time, even congress and the president found themselves at odds.
After the Civil War, Congress and President Andrew Johnson had different tactics to reconstruct the states. While Andrew granted self-government back to the former confederate states quickly, Congress feared returning power to soon would result in confederate uprising and suppressed black freedom. Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment in order …show more content…

“Initially Johnson indicated that he intended to deal harshly with the South. He spoke of punishing ex-Confederate for their ‘treason.’ He also talked of the need to assist former slaves in their transition to freedom (Keene, 416).” Radical Republicans were in favor of such ideas and were pleased by Johnson’s plan. He later showed that his course of actions would look much different from what he originally suggested. Andrew Johnson instead was lenient toward the South. He set up a policy that would quickly reestablish the southern states. “It offered pardons, amnesty, and return of all confiscated property to the southerners who pledged allegiance to the Union (Keene, 416).” The only exception was former confederate leaders and wealthy planters would have to go to Johnson himself for a pardon. Johnson set up ways for the states to gain more self-government. He declared that the union was …show more content…

The Fourteenth Amendment declared all persons born or naturalized in the United states as citizens, that citizens were entitled to “equal protection of the laws” of the states where they lived, that high-ranking former Confederate officials could not hold office unless pardoned by congress, and that states that denied adult male citizens the right to vote would have less congressional representation. It also repudiated Confederate debt and prohibited financial compensation to ex-slave owners (Keene, 421).
When Radical republicans came to power in the South they helped many former slaves regain rights, but there was also tension and corruption. “Between 1869 and 1901, 22 African Americans would serve in congress (20 representatives and 2 senators) (Keene, 423).” Many white southerners became bitter at the “Negro rule” that the Republican government had established (Keene, 423). This bitterness caused the growth of white terrorist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan who often targeted Radical Republican officials and

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The Reconstruction of many Southern states from the year 1865 to 1877 is a failure, although reconstruction plans are set up, African Americans still face the same poor treatment they are given prior to the Civil War. The president at the time, Abraham Lincoln, puts in place a reconstruction plan to help rebuild the South in a way it has never been before, without slaves. Lincoln also puts the thirteenth amendment in place, which abolishes slavery. However, after Lincoln’s death, his Vice President, Andrew Johnson takes over and overrules his reconstruction plan, and puts in place his own, which favors the former Confederate states. Johnson fights with congress over the passing of the fourteenth amendemnet, but Congress overrules his vetoes,

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After the civil war, the question of “what’s next” was the main focus throughout politics, the government and the country. Abraham Lincoln was president during that time and he had a plan for reconstruction he hoped would bring the nation back together quickly and easily without too many harsh punishments or difficulties. Unfortunately, after Lincoln was murdered, his Vice President, Andrew Johnson had a plan for reconstruction that was different than Lincoln’s and many disagreed with Johnson’s views and ideas. Radical Republicans, were a large majority of the people who did not like Johnson the most, and so they came up with a reconstruction plan of their own as well, however only one was put into place and it changed the future of the United States forever.

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Which, was due to the veto from President Jonson against Freedmen’s Bureau bill and the Civil Rights bill the radical republicans retaliated by passing through congress the Reconstruction Acts. These Acts were set up in two part fist the 14th Amendment and second the 15th Amendment. The 14th Amendment was written by Senator Jacob M. Howard of Michigan on July 9, 1868. The 14th Amendment gave equal rights and protect to all citizens and to all who were born in the United States along with all the slaves who emancipated after the Civil War. The 15th Amendment was passed 1870 this assured any person of color or from previous condition of servitude the right to vote.

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As shown Andrew Johnson had many personal issues and things that he disliked about the Reconstruction plan and the rights that were being given to Blacks. His opinions are mainly what made him a limited leader and not very likable by the standards of most of the American people. The mindset and the way that people saw Johnson started to change in a bad way, once they saw how he truly felt. His thoughts on civil rights and political rights contradicted those of Lincoln’s which were embraced by many across the nation. Rules and regulations that Abraham Lincoln had wanted and designed were edited for the worse.

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This allowed southern states to enact “black codes”. In 1867, Congress enacted the Reconstruction Act of 1867 which was the start of the Radical Reconstruction. This act temporarily divided the South into 5 military districts and outlined how governments based on universal suffrage were to be organized. The law also required states to ratify the 14th amendment. This amendment broadened the definition of citizenship to grant equal protection to former slaves.

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Once Johnson was no longer in charge congress put into place the Civil Rights Act, an act that declared everyone who was born in the United states to be granted a citizen no matter their race or previous conditions. This meant all former slaves could become true legal citizens. Similarly, the 14th amendment made it so that each state was to give equal protection of the laws to everyone because it too declared all citizens were equal. This amendment also would not allow for confederate political leaders to hold positions and it would not forgive any debts of the confederacy. Following the civil rights act and the 14th amendment the 15th amendment and then another civil rights act were also put into effect.

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Finally, with the ratification the fifteenth amendment in 1870s, it secured the vote for the African Americans, and it forbid states from denying any citizens from the right to vote based on race, color, or “previous condition of servitude.” These three amendments were significant changes during the Reconstruction period because all people, not just white, can fully enjoy being an American citizen without worrying over their race or

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One of reasons the confederacy failed was because the U.S. Congress, with Lincoln’s support, proposed the 13th amendment which would abolish slavery in America. Although the confederate peace delegation was unwilling to accept a future without slavery, the radical and moderate Republicans designed a way to takeover the reconstruction program. The Radical Republicans wanted full citizenship rights for African Americans and wanted to implement harsh reconstruction policies toward the south. The radical republican views made up the majority of the Congress and helped to pass the 14th amendment which guaranteed equality under the law for all citizens, and protected freedmen from presidential vetoes, southern state legislatures, and federal court decisions. In 1869, Congress passed the fifteenth amendment stating that no citizen can be denied the right to vote because of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

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