Civil War Reconstruction Research Paper

There were two Presidents who had the difficult issues to be dealt with during the Reconstruction Era. During the Reconstruction Era there were three main plans. Abraham Lincoln offered his plan for reunification of the United States with his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. The citizens of the South had to take an oath of loyalty, and once 10% of the state had taken the oath the state could rejoin the Union. It was known as the 10% Plan. Andrew Johnson, at the time was Abraham Lincoln’s Vice-President. Once he became President, his plan for reconstruction was the same as Lincoln's but military officials and people with property that was worth more than $20,000 had to apply directly to the President for a pardon. Dealing with the Radical Republican made things worse for them. The radical plan wanted to punish the south, while Lincoln and Johnson wanted to reunite …show more content…
Lincoln had some hindsight, during the Civil War it was clear to him that he needed to make some preliminary plans for the post-war reconstruction. Union Armies had already captured most of the sections of the South, and some of those states already wanted their government to be rebuilt. Lincoln’s proclamation addressed three main areas. Except for the highest ranking Confederate officials and military leaders who were part of the rebels, it allowed a full pardon as well as full restoration of the property to everyone that was part of the rebellion. Secondly, a new state government could be formed if ten percent of the voters took the oath of allegiance to the United States. Then finally, the Southern states had to enact plans that dealt with freeing the slaves if their freedom was not going to become