Instantly after the Civil War had ended a huge debate broke out between Congress and the Presidents on how to rebuild the South’s Union after facing defeat. The disagreement, which began in 1865 and ended in 1877, was mainly focused on “how far should the federal government go to secure freedom and civil rights for 4 million former slaves” (Brands, Breen, Gross, & Williams, 2014)? The debate began with President Abraham Lincoln, whose plan suggested to “pardon all southerners, excluding specific Confederate leaders, who would take an oath of allegiance to the union and accept emancipation” (Brands, Breen, Gross, & Williams, 2014). This idea was known as the Ten Percent Plan. However, Congress did not agree with Lincoln’s proposal and as a
