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Andrew Johnson's Plan Of Reconstruction

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Reconstruction occurred in three period after the United States Civil War when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union in 1865 through 1877. It may be the most controversial period in U.S. history due to many reasons. For one, the south needed to be completely rebuilt: socially, economically, politically, and physically. In order to do this, President Abraham Lincoln, President Andrew Johnson, and the Congressional Republicans put forth their very best effort to help accomplish this goal. President Lincoln’s main goal was to uphold the Constitution. He also wanted the country to remain united due to the fact that at this time, the north and south stood divided. The main goal of the Congressional Republicans was to integrate newly freed black as normal citizens …show more content…

After this, he introduced his own plan of Reconstruction. His plan reflects his own goals for the nation which he wished to accomplish during his presidency.Although Johnson claimed that his plan mirrored Lincoln’s, there were great differences. Johnson’s plan was different from Lincoln’s because it required fifty percent of people, not ten. Then, each state was required to write new constitutions adopting the 13th amendment. Johnson repudiated Confederate war debts, and he also supported Black Codes. Johnson did not protect the rights of the freed black men the way that Lincoln did. He took steps to defend a dependant black work force for the South, and restricted the rights of African-Americans . Freedmen were not allowed to marry interracially, perform jury duty, or give even testimony in court against whites. Johnson’s plan had many issues. For example, the requirement was that each state adopt the 13th amendment which was basically useless as it only dealt with elections in the federal government. Johnson guaranteed State voting rights to freedmen he was offering them hardly anything at

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The Presidential Reconstruction and Congressional Reconstruction plans were frequently different from one another. As I continue, I will state in my opinion the most significant differences between the two plans. To begin, Lincoln and Johnson’s plans were far too lenient with the Confederate states. The Presidential Reconstruction plan under Johnson allowed former Confederate states to be part of the Union, when they accepted the 13th amendment and swore to the Union. While, the Congressional Reconstruction plan was to allow those states to rejoin the Union if and only when they accepted the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.

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After Lincoln got assassinated, Andrew Johnson became president. During the summer of 1865 Johnson planned his reconstruction plan, and in his reconstruction said that states had to agree with the 13th amendment ( which abolished slavery ). February 1866 Congress passed the freedmen’s bureau and this gives the military responsibility for protecting the blacks, but Johnson vetoed the bill, surprising many republicans. Congress enacts the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on April 1866. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 means… “ it grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and guarantees them equal rights under the law.”

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With the assassination of president Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, a Southern democrat, came into office. Despite being staunchly pro-Union and anti-secession, Johnson's approach to reconstruction seemed far less attractive, perhaps due to the fact that he was a slave owner. Following Johnson's entrance, moderates and radicals formed an alliance for arguably two decisive reasons: both groups shared a parallel distrust and disliking for Johnson, and Johnson's measures seemed far too sparing in his efforts of reconciliation with Southern states. Moreover, during Johnson's presidency, Northerners recognized a South that had once again become unruly, which many believed was a result of the lenient tendencies that Johnson approached reconstruction with.

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During the Reconstruction Era, Abraham Lincoln was the president and he wanted to rebuild the Union since the Civil War split the nation into the Union and the Confederacy. Andrew Johnson was the vice president that served for Lincoln. Lincoln gave full amnesty to the Confederacy and welcomed them back with the Union. After Lincoln got assassinated in his 2nd term in office, Johnson became the new president. Andrew Johnson agreed with the idea of amnesty and kept it to help reconstruct the Union.

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The Reconstruction era had one utmost goal: to promote the relationship of our union. The goal of reconstruction is to bring our nation back together as a whole. The North and South were to both fully participate politically in the Union. The government thought that being united would assist with the issues of rights and relationships. For instance, the Whites could form relationships with the Blacks.

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He also wanted to keep slavery but also keep the union together. Andrew Johnson was a man that tried to persuade things to go his way for the benefit for himself. It was hard for him to pick a side because he was a democrat in a nation of republicans. Johnson was also chief diplomat.

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Johnson was a democrat and a previous slave owner, which didn’t make him an avid supporter of Lincoln’s plan of Southern Reconstruction. What Lincoln had previously intended on doing was have criminal amnesty to Confederates who pledged allegiance to the Union and allowed states to hold a constitutional convention along with setting up their state government. Though Johnson kept some of the plan intact, he called for there to be no limits on voter allegiance for the Southern states. This sparked opposition from the Radical Republicans, a group of congressmen who believed black southerners should be guaranteed equality with whites. They deduced that Johnson shouldn’t set legislative policy for reconstruction as it wouldn’t lead to a country of tolerance that they worked to achieve.

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Johnson also, did nothing with/for the freed slaves, like Lincoln. That means that the four million slaves still did not have a home or jobs. That four million African Americans were just wandering the streets and had no protection from the whites that still despised them. This only lasted for two years, 1865-1867. This plan only lasted two years because Johnson was a horrible president and the North was getting nowhere with the

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To repair a country that has been split in half requires making significant strides that will create harmony between both sides. After the American Civil War multiple phases were required in order to mend the broken country. These phases were Presidential Reconstruction and Radical Republican Restoration. Presidential Reconstruction was the reconstruction plan put in place by President Johnson who had to step into the role of the man who would fix the country after Lincoln’s assignation. While Johnson’s reconstruction plan did not anger the southerners whom he was trying to get to support, his methods were too lenient towards the south as he allowed for mostly states rights.

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Also, the initial reconstruction plan for high-ranking government and military officers quickly dissolved. Johnson would also veto legislation that extended civil rights and financial support for the former slaves, but Congress was able to override only a few of his vetoes. This constant conflict would set the stage for hostility between Congress and the president. Johnson’s command of the military as President would mitigate Congress' control of the military Reconstruction policy.

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Andrew Johnson was a former slave owner and vetoed the Freedmen’s Bureau, an important factor that needed to be a part of any reconstruction

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Johnson had a belief to have America to this “Great Society” he had plans to be. Johnson said his plan to a “Great Society” to be that it rests on plenty and freedom for the people and it demands an end to poverty and racial inequality, saying this is only the beginning of the society. It was clear Johnson had a plan for America and where he wanted it to go. Though, through his Presidency he had some issues with the war and he wanted to run again for a second term. It didn’t look good for Johnson though to be able to be President for a second term due to his approval rating being low because of Vietnam.

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The southern whites who worked around the Presidents moderate plan of Reconstruction did so in a manner that would be frowned upon today. The Southern whites had been guaranteed charity from Lincoln. “With his [Lincoln’s] enormous prestige as commander of the victorious North and as victor in the 1864 election, he was able to promise freedom to the Negro, charity to the southern white, security to the North” (page 3). An example of how Congress worked around Johnson’s disliked program of Reconstruction was passing through bills for him to sign. Johnson vetoed them and as a result Congress over ruled him and passed them anyway.

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The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).

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Reconstruction is the time period after the Civil War, where the country attempted to improve the Union. There were many successes, but what also comes along with success is failure. During the reconstruction many failures were present; such as the lack of racial equality and blatant racism towards blacks, a failing economy in the South, and tense relations between the North and the South. This created a very intense and challenging period of time for the Union.

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