Compare And Contrast The Kennedy And Johnson Approach To Reconstruction

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.

Originating in Tennessee, the Klan was comprised of predominately yeomen and southern elites, with Nathan Bedford Forest, a former confederate general, as one of prime leaders behind the organization. With a fervent desire to establish the racial line that had defined Southern status in past years, Klan members primarily targeted unionists and freedmen. They proved careful in not attacking union officers of the military districts for they understood this would illicit a legal response; as they came to recognize, their measures could go a long way before finally being addressed by the

While they mainly targeted the Klan, whom Southern elites had promised the North they would help control and eliminate, they also attacked and intimidated other groups, most notably freedmen that they believed had stepped out of line economically and socially. In many ways, their efforts paralleled with the Klan in the violence and intimidation they exercised to marginalize opposing groups that held contrasting interests of the elites. The North tended to turn much of a blind eye to this brutality, for while their efforts proved violent, they also remained organized and promoted order and stability in the South. They didn't emulate the sinister and strange appearance the Klan utilized; for this reason, the North had little objection to their efforts on how they would regain power in the South. With Southern elites back in a position power, they essentially controlled much of the route that reconstruction underwent from