Reconstruction Dbq

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During the reconstruction era, as Tennessee worked hard to rebuild, there was a lot of political conflict between the Radical’s and Conservatives. The Conservatives were supporters of President Lincoln’s plan for the Confederate states to rejoin the Union; while the Radicals were those individuals who thought that Lincoln’s plan was too forgiving and did nothing to punish the Confederate states for their treason. After Andrew Johnson ascended to President after Lincoln was shot, William Brownlow took over as postwar governor of Tennessee. Brownlow, who was a staunch supporter of the Union, felt that President Johnson, like Lincoln, was being too lenient against the Confederate states and sided with the Radicals. Brownlow knew that if the Conservatives …show more content…
The fourteenth amendment, which was passed by Congress, addressed the rights all blacks and minimized the power of ex-Rebels within southern states. When his opponents tried to block the ratification by preventing a quorum, Brownlow had them arrested. In order to establish a quorum, he had them brought to the capitol where he confined them in a room and counted them as being present but not voting. Soon after the ratification, Tennessee was admitted back into the …show more content…
With the support of most freedmen behind him, Brownlow wanted to make certain that nothing could stand in his way. He therefore concocted a story in which the Conservatives were planning on overthrowing the state government in order to convince the legislature to create a military force. By doing this, Brownlow was able to use the State Guard to protect the freedmen’s votes and also into intimidated the registered voters to vote for him and his administration. Consequently, Brownlow was able to win the election quite

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