How did Lincoln and Johnson approach Reconstruction differently? Lincoln and Johnson both supported the Ten Percent Plan .However, Johnson lacked Lincoln's moral sense and political judgement. He was a War Democrat who disagreed with the Republicans. The South would rejoin the Union on his terms. But, Johnson, who had long talked down against southern planters, allied himself with ex-Confederate leaders, forgiving them when they appealed for pardons.
Abraham Lincoln’s vs Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan Lincoln shared the uncommon belief that the confederate states could still be part of the union and that the cause of the rebellion was only a few within the states which lead him to begin the reconstruction in December of 1863. This resulted in plans with lenient guidelines and although they were challenged by Wade-Davis Bill, Lincoln still rejected his ideas and kept his policies in place. Lincoln also allowed land to be given the newly freed slave or homeless white by distributing the land that had been confiscated from former land owners however this fell through once Johnson took office. After Lincoln’s death when Johnson was elected many things started to turn away from giving blacks equal rights and resulted in many things such a black codes which kept newly freed slaves from having the same rights as whites. When Lincoln first acted after the civil war, he offered policies that would allow the confederate slaves to become part of the union again and would allow a pardon for those states.
The actions and words of Andrew Johnson were very contradictory. The cartoon states: "Treason is a crime and must be made odious, and traitors must be punished". He told the people of a reconstruction plan that was supposed to punish the confederate rebels. Johnson did the opposite by ordering many pardons The Northern Republicans in Congress were ostracized because he continually vetoed their attempts at 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.
Both President Abraham Lincoln, and the Republicans thought that they should lead the process of reconstruction. The Radical Republicans was led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens. The Republicans opposed Lincoln's easy terms for reuniting the United States. Their terms wanted more forceful status toward the war and more protection for the freed slaves. During this Reconstruction, the Radical Republicans
Many Americans had high hopes for life after the Civil War. This period was called Reconstruction and happened partially in the Southern starters from 1865 to 1877. During this time, the government was focused on restoring the landscape destroyed during the war but also regaining the unity of the people and states. For Radical Republicans, Reconstruction was an opportunity for freedmen to finally gain their rights back and to punish the South for their actions. On the other hand, President Andrew Johnson had a different plan for Reconstruction, this included giving former Confederate officials the right to hold office and not granting equality to all freedmen.
Johnson believed in state rights and thought that the federal government should be minimally involved in the affairs of the states. Furthermore, Johnson held deeply racist views and didn’t believe in black suffrage at all. These two positions would be the foundation of Johnson’s plans for reconstruction and they would put him in direct conflict with the Republican controlled congress that believed in black suffrage and a strong role for the federal government in reconstruction.
Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction era in the United States was a turbulent time in history. It was a period marked by political and economic changes resulting from the end of slavery and emancipation. Historian Eric Foner describes Reconstruction as a moment when the nation grappled with the concept of equality for the time although it didn't fully achieve its ambitious goals (Gross). Key figures during this period included Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, whose differing approaches to Reconstruction highlighted the complexities and difficulties faced during this transition. Abraham Lincoln, serving as President during the Civil War, embodied a strategy of "Hard War, Soft Peace."
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.
Andrew Johnson, a southerner himself, believed that the blacks should have no role in the reconstruction. Between 1865 and 1867 Johnson ordered new provisional governors to establish new all white governments, that ruled similarly to the racist confederates before them. Some things did change for the former slaves as Universities and primary and secondary schools were established for them by the Freedman’s Bureau. Now the freedman’s bureau didn’t grant the slaves the one thing they wanted most, land. To the blacks, land was as essential part of truly becoming free.
“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.
The US is a beacon of democracy and constitutionality and was constructed as such by the Founding Fathers. Nevertheless, certain administrations have been viewed as having attempted to suppress the democratic space as envisioned and outlined by the constitution. For this paper, Andrew Johnson, one such president whose tenure was punctuated by impeachments, will be discussed. The paper will discuss the nature of American democracy, and the manner in which President Andrew Johnson’s administration breached the constitution, particularly with regard to separation of powers between the Executive and the Congress, and therefore undermining the American democracy. American democracy is based on the essence of representation.
Within the history of the United States, the term “Reconstruction Era” has two different meanings: the first meaning is the entire coverage of the history of the Reconstruction era from 1865 to 1877; the second meaning focuses on the the transformation of the Southern states that goes from 1863 to 1877. In between 1863 and 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and Vice President Andrew Johnson took fairly moderate positions that were mainly designed to bring the Southern states back to normal as quickly as possible. For the Radical Republicans, they used Congress to block the President and Vice Presidents moderate stance, impose harsher punishments and provide better rights for the freedmen. Johnson’s interpretations of the policies Lincoln created
Abraham Lincoln once said, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” Though he never lived to see the changing of the social structure in the South, his idea was taken as a vital element in the Reconstruction and caused differences between Andrew Johnson and the Radical Republicans with regard to fixing the South. Even though the Reconstruction ended tragically with African Americans becoming second class citizens, it became an inspiration for the Civil Rights Movement that emphasized on asserting the political, social, and economic rights of African Americans using nonviolent strategies a century later. As mentioned, there were major differences of the Reconstruction plans between President Andrew Johnson and the Congress. Johnson’s plan
After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson was placed into office. Johnson placed a new plan of Reconstruction into action. His plan was comparable to Lincoln’s as it was
