Lincoln makes the proclamation sound very well thought out and carefully worded. It makes the proclamation sound like the deal he is offering is practically undeniable. The thing the Confederates would have disliked the most about this agreement is that they were no longer able to own slaves (“The Proclamation”).
The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction also showcases Lincoln’s ability to use repetition. Lincoln writes about the “liberation of slaves” and how the Confederates are no longer able to own slaves. He also uses repetition when writing about his pardoning power and that he will grant pardons to all the Confederates who participated in the rebellion, aside from the high-ranking leaders or those who committed war crimes, who have pledged their allegiance to the United States Constitution and the Union. Lincoln also emphasizes his plan to reconstruct and reorganize these state governments with repetition (“The Proclamation”).
The language used in the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction was fairly effective with the regular people. The radical group did not agree with the document whatsoever. They wanted the document to be harsher on the Confederates. The normal people were like Lincoln, in the way of wanting to get the Confederate states under the Union as soon as possible.
Results of …show more content…
The majority of people fit into the moderate Republican group. This moderate Republican group agreed with Lincoln and his plan to get the Confederate states restored as quickly as possible. Radical Republicans were the other group and their leader was Thaddeus Stevens in the House of Representatives and Ben Wade and Charles Sumner were the Senators. These radicals wished for full citizenship to the slaves before the states were reintegrated. They believed that congress should have been handling the reconstruction rather than Abraham Lincoln. This radical group originally rejected his plan, believing it would cause the re-enslavement of blacks. “In July 1864, the Radical Republicans passed the Wade-Davis Bill in response to Lincoln’s 10 percent plan”. The Wade-Davis called for over 50% of white men to take an oath, saying that they had never raised arms at the Union or supported the Confederacy. This oath was called the “ironclad oath”. The Wade-Davis bill demanded the abolition of slavery at the state’s constitutional convention. Anyone who had decided to raise arms at the Union, were not able to participate in these state conventions. Lincoln made the decision not to sign the Wade-Davis bill, this prevented it from becoming law. The how the issue of reconstruction remained on the night of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination (“Presidential”).
Lincoln wanted a fast process of reunification, but he was