The Struggle Between The South And Reconstruction

After the Civil War, the Congress and the President had bitter disputes about how to bring the north and the south together and unify our country. There were further battles between the north and the south, which caused great racial tensions between whites and blacks. To further compound the issue, Congress passed laws, but then did not enforce them fully. America today is still dealing with the aftermath of the feud between the north and the south and Reconstruction.
Racial, political and social economic problems plague our country, and some of them might have been eliminated had Congress and the President made more compromises. Reconstruction was about the former Confederacy being reincorporated into the United States and freed slaves receiving citizenship. President Lincoln was the first to begin this task. After the war, there were conflicts between Congress and President Lincoln about how to reconstruct America. The President proposed the “Ten Percent Plan” that would have reinstated the former confederate states quickly where ten percent of voters would sign loyalty oaths and states abolish slavery. While radical Republicans wanted black suffrage federal protection of African Americans. Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill in 1864 to counter Lincoln’s “Ten Percent Plan;” however before they could come to a compromise, Lincoln was …show more content…
Andrew Johnson, by contrast, sought to pardon former Confederate planters as quickly as possible and readmit the southern states to the union with few conditions. However, there were still struggles between the President and Congress and what the goals of Reconstruction were. President Johnson advocated the Thirteen Amendment, which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude. The new legislators responded by passing the Black Codes that restricted the rights of newly freed slave and allowed whites to maintain supremacy. These repressive measures have lasted for