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Who Is Andrew Johnson Blueprint For Reconstruction

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In the spring of 1865, the Civil War came to a close with the North victorious, but that was not an end to the country’s problems. The question that was now at hand and on everyone’s mind was how to rebuild the broken and shattered nation. Lincoln during the Civil War had introduced the Ten Percent plan in which states that were in rebellion against the federal government could rejoin the union if ten percent of the state’s population took an oath of allegiance to the U.S and agreed to the emancipation of slaves. However, this plan was hardly a whole blueprint for reconstruction instead it was a wartime plan designed to tempt southern states with low moral to rejoin the union. What Lincoln’s full plan was for reconstruction is heavily …show more content…

Lincoln’s successor was his vice president Andrew Johnson. Some have tried to argue that Andrew Johnson’s plans for reconstruction would have been what Lincoln himself was going to do, but this cannot be further from the truth. Lincoln showed some of his intentions with his decision to revoke the invitation to state legislature of Virginia to meet and officially remove Virginia from the confederacy, and in his last public speech he openly advocated for limed black suffrage. Johnson on the other hand had a very different vision of reconstruction and black suffrage. 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. Johnson’s betrayal of reconstruction and black suffrage would have a huge impact on the country for decades …show more content…

At first Republicans had reason for hope with the new president. On the same day Johnson was sworn in a group of radical republicans led by the Senator from Ohio and the chairman of the Conduct of the War committee, Benjamin Wade, meet with Johnson and he reassured them, going as far as to say this to them “I can only say you can judge of my policy by the past. Everybody knows what that is. I hold this: Robbery is a crime; rape is a crime; treason is a crime; and crime must be punished. The law provides for it; the courts are open. Treason must be made infamous and traitors punished.”[3] At first Johnson seemed to be sincere with this statement, giving out harsh punishments to Lincoln’s assassins. Johnson true intentions were to become clear in the following months proving his tough talk was misleading. Johnson give out pardons to almost all white southerners who took an oath of allegiance to the Union with the exception of Confederate leaders and individuals with $20,000 or more dollars. In the end even most of the people excluded would end up getting pardoned. Johnson a strong believer in state rights, appointed provisional governors and ordered them to call conventions and elections with only whites and besides necessary requirements that the states end slavery, denounce secession and not pay confederate debt, Johnson give them a free hand in local affairs. Even these lenient terms

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This week I was going to bring Abraham Lincoln 's plan for reconstruction to the table. It is said that Lincoln started to plan for reconstruction post war. The plan was to address three key areas for concern. First the proclamation allowed full pardon and restoration of any property to anyone who was considered a rebellion or a member of the confederate army with exception of the highest officials and leaders (which is interesting). It also allowed for a state government to be formed once ten percent of the population took an oath of allegiance to the United States, and it encouraged the southern states to deal with slaves in such a way that it would not compromise their freedom.

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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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Johnson was loyal to the Union but did not agree completely with Lincoln’s view on the freedom of African Americans since he was from Tennessee. Andrew Johnson wanted to reconstruct the nation but did not think the freedom of African Americans had anything role in it. Johnson pardons confederate leaders and lets the southern states incorporate Black Codes into their state constitutions. Eric Foner explains that “what aroused the most opposition to Johnson’s Reconstruction policy were the Black Codes, laws passed by the new southern governments that attempted to regulate the lives of the former slaves”(565). The Black Codes kept African Americans freedom limited, which is not what the republicans wanted.

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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.

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Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865, this caused friction over the post war reconstruction policy and led to a disagreement between the next President Andrew Johnson and Congress. Reconstruction Era led by Andrew JohnsonIn 1864, Abraham Lincoln selected Andrew Johnson as his Vice-President. Andrew Johnson was a Democratic senator from Tennessee. Lincoln was looking for Southern support and hoped that by making Johnson the Vice-President, it would have some appeal to Southerners who did not want to leave the Union. After Lincoln’s assassination, Johnson’s plans raised questions.

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Eric Foner’s A Short History of Reconstruction, is an abridged version of the multiple award-winning Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution (1988), offers a summary of some of the most influential pieces of history with his arguments regarding themes, such as the way South was changed amid and after this time, the development of racial mentalities and designs and the part of African Americans in bringing change within the Reconstruction. Additionally, another subject that Foner states in the book, is the development of a national state through the Civil War and Reconstruction that confined another arrangement of purposes with level rights to all Americans paying little to their race and the way changes in the North’s economy after

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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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427 Words | 2 Pages

Several problems arose in the government. During the beginning of reconstruction in the south Lincoln was responsible for just about all of it. Then Lincoln was killed and his vice president became the leader of the United States Of America, Andrew Johnson. Johnson’s reconstruction plan was similar to Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan. Johnson’s reconstruction plan worked, but the nation was still divided when former

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They also felt Congress should manage the Reconstruction plan and not the president. Before the Reconstruction Plan was set in stone Abraham Lincoln was assassinated leaving the Vice President Andrew Johnson to issue

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Johnson also called for special state, abolish slavery, repudiate all debts incurred to aid the confederacy, and to ratify the 13th amendment. Many of Johnson's plans would divide congress and him. The election of 1866 widened that divide. This was bad for the nation since the president and congress had to agree for anything to happen. Congressional Reconstruction Plan: Congress wanted to replace Johnson's Reconstruction proclamation and is shown in the 14th Amendment.

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Furthermore, President Johnson’s plan, which was very similar to Lincolns, allowed the southern states to be readmitted to the union after they abolished slavery, repudiate all debts incurred to the confederacy, and ratify the 13th amendment. By the time they were readmitted, it was evident that there wasn’t much change in the state governments. Within Johnson’s Plan, southern legislatures were able to pass repressive Black Codes that prohibited

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990 Words | 4 Pages

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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847 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the history of the United States, there have been many decisions that have impacted the path that society would take and multiple possibilities for each decision. One such decision was related to the Civil War, more specifically the plans for reconstruction after the Civil War. After the Civil War the nation had to rebuild and three plans were provided that outlined a process for the reconstruction, Lincoln’s plan, Johnson’s plan, and the Radical Republican’s plan. Lincoln’s plan called for restoring the Union as quickly as possible with very little punishment for the Southern states. Lincoln’s plan included amnesty for those that pledged an oath to the United States, high ranking Confederate officials were excluded from that amnesty,

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631 Words | 3 Pages

This drove a wedge between him and congress. This stage of Reconstruction is known as Presidential Reconstruction, at which time Johnson decided to pardon all white Southerners except those who were leaders for the Confederacy during the Civil War. This included the restoration of both political rights as well as, rights to all property; all rights except rights to freed slaves. Many do ask what American society and politics would have been had Lincoln not been assassinated. It is well known that both he and Johnson approached Reconstruction in similar ways, as both chose to adopt a moderate and lenient approach.

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