Reconstruction

Where do we begin??

1st: Should the South be . . .

OR

PUNISHEDFORGIVEN

2nd: Since S. states seceded from the Union did they now need to be formally READMITTED into the Union?

• Presidential Plan: It is not possible to secede from the Union so the confederate states never officially seceded so they DID NOT need to be READMITTED into the Union

• Congressional Plan: It is possible to secede from the Union so the confederate states did officially secede and DID need to be READMITTED into the Union

3rd: What support/aid would freedmen receive in their adjustment from slavery to freedom?

4th: How would confederate political and military leaders be dealt with?

The 2 plans were:

• #1: The Presidential Plan – created by President Lincoln, but implemented by President Andrew Johnson

• #2: The Congressional Plan – created by the Radical Republicans in Congress

Presidential Plan

Instituted April 1865

RR believe nothing is

different in the South under the Pres. Plan

RR Plan InstitutedDecember

1865

The 2 Plans: Side by SidePunish or Forgive??

Presidential Plan

• Plan that treated the South with leniency to forgive and move forward– Offered leaders amnesty and

pardon– Created a simple procedure for

reestablishing state governments– Allowed South to send traditional

representatives to Washington– No support given to Freedmen –

states should handle this on their own

– States had to ratify 13th

Congressional Plan

• Plan that demanded the South be punished and the war justified– Refused to seat new

Congressmen from the South– Established Joint Committee on

Reconstruction to investigate– Passed Civil Rights Act– Extended the Freedmen’s Bureau– Established military occupation

of the South (5 military districts)– States had to ratify 13th, 14th, and

15th Amendments

The Battle Begins:President Johnson V. Congressional Republicans

RADICAL

The Battle:

Congress passes

extension of funding for F.B. and the Civil Rights

Act

President Johnson vetoes both.

Congress overrides

veto & Johnson

loses support of Moderates

More of the Battle:

Legislature• The job of the Legislative

branch is to:

• M A K E L A W S

Executive• The job of the Executive

branch is to:

• E N F O R C E L A W S

And so the battled continued:President Johnson:

Chose to not enforce the Civil Rights Act

and to not provide the funds for the

Freedmen’s Bureau

Congress’ anger

towards Pres. builds

Without enforcement of Civil Rights Act the rights of freedmen

continued to be violated by Southerners

Without the extension of the funding for the F.B. the resources to help blacks

adjust to freedom were limited at best and non-existent at worst.

The battle rages on Johns

on refuses to enfor

ce Civil Rights Act and

extension of

funding for F.B.

The South continues

to violate the rights

of freedmen since there is no enforcement of the Civil Rights Act

These violations led to the creation of

the 14th Amendment

And on . . .

Congress passes 14th

Amendment

14th Amendment now needs to be ratified by ¾ of

the state legislatures

Johnson convinces 10

Southern states to refuse to ratify 14th

Amendment

RR make states ratify 14th Amendment in

order to be reinstated into the Union

The Congressional Plan wins

• What motivated them to create their own plan?– Believed none of the post war goals were being

met– No equal citizenship or economic independence

for freedmen– Republicans risked losing power in Congress if

they did not act quickly – why?

The Congressional Plan

• Leaders: Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner