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How Did Lincoln's Plan For Reconstruction

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President Lincoln early in the war realized that if the Union was to win the war against the Confederacy, that steps would need to be taken to return the seceded states back into the Union and stabilize the United States as one front to the rest of the world. President Lincoln also understood that part of the reason for secession of southern states was due to Federal Government infringing on state’s rights and to mitigate this issue he believed that a more moderate approach was needed for a quick a successful reconstruction to occur. Under Lincoln’s original plan, the Confederacy and its people would not be sought out for punishment, but as equals in a joint effort to return the United States to its prewar era. His plan for Reconstruction was …show more content…

In one example, President Lincoln sent a letter to General Shepley addressing his concern for Federal/ Union officers to attempting to obtain a seat a Congressmen for a Confederate state and in this case Louisiana.1 This would later be called “carpet bagging”, which would undermine his plan for a joint effort for Reconstruction that included southern men to remain in position of power and represent their respected states.2 With this being established, Lincoln allowed for General Shepley to hold elections in Louisiana for a position in Congress and as a result two ant secessionist southerners were elected and admitted to …show more content…

President Lincoln and Congress, which was controlled by Radical Republicans, agreed on many policies and the ultimate objective to Reconstruction, but the method and deliverance of Reconstruction is what separated the two.7 Congress believed that Reconstruction should be swift, which required military intervention to impose Union ideals and decisive punishment of anyone who supported secession and/or stood against the Union.8 This was contrary to President Lincoln’s now moderate and relatively successful Reconstruction up to 1863. Congress, continued to fight the President by utilizing its legislative powers by issuing the Habeas Corpus Act of 1863 and the Wade-Davis reconstruction bill of 1864.9 Even with the difference in methods of Reconstruction, Lincoln was still able to work with Congress to root his moderate approach to Reconstruction. This was until his assassination on April 15, 1865 and momentum of President Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan came to a halt. Vice President Johnson attempted to continue Lincoln’s method of reconstruction, but it was not the same as Lincoln who had established his position with Congress and gained trust with select southern states. Congress saw its opportunity to take control of Reconstruction and the beginning of Radical Reconstruction began. Eventually,

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