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Lincoln and Johnson's Reconstruction Plans: A Comparison of Union Restoration Approaches, Study notes of African American History

An in-depth analysis of abraham lincoln and andrew johnson's reconstruction plans during the american civil war. The key principles, terms, and reactions to each plan, including the wade-davis bill and its aftermath. The document sheds light on the political climate and the competing visions for restoring the union.

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2021/2022

Uploaded on 09/12/2022

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Lincoln Reconstruction Plan
December 1863
Abraham Lincoln had thought about the process of restoring the Union from the earliest
days of the war. His guiding principles were to accomplish the task as rapidly as possible
and ignore calls for punishing the South. Unlike the Radical Republicans, it was
Lincoln’s belief that the Southern states had not really left the Union since it was never
constitutionally possible.
In late 1863, Lincoln announced a formal plan for reconstruction:
1. A general amnesty would be granted to all who would take an oath of loyalty to
the United States and pledge to obey all federal laws pertaining to slavery
2. High Confederate officials and military leaders were to be temporarily excluded
from the process
3. When one-tenth of the number of voters who had participated in the 1860 election
had taken the oath within a particular state, then that state could launch a new
government and elect representatives to Congress.
The states of Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee rapidly acted to comply with these
terms. However, the Lincoln plan was not acceptable to Congress.
The Radical Republicans voiced immediate opposition to Lincoln’s reconstruction plan,
objecting to its leniency and lack of protections for freed slaves. Congress refused to
accept the rehabilitation of Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana.
In July 1864, Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill, their own formula for restoring the
Union:
1. A state must have a majority within its borders take the oath of loyalty
2. A state must formally abolish slavery
3. No Confederate officials could participate in the new governments.
Lincoln did not approve of this plan and exercised his pocket veto.
An angry Congress would later pass the Wade-Davis Manifesto (August 1864), which
charged Lincoln with usurping the powers of Congress. This statement would have little
impact on the public as the military news from the South improved; Sherman’s Atlanta
Campaign restored Lincoln’s popularity and helped assure his reelection.
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Lincoln Reconstruction Plan

December 1863 Abraham Lincoln had thought about the process of restoring the Union from the earliest days of the war. His guiding principles were to accomplish the task as rapidly as possible and ignore calls for punishing the South. Unlike the Radical Republicans, it was Lincoln’s belief that the Southern states had not really left the Union since it was never constitutionally possible. In late 1863, Lincoln announced a formal plan for reconstruction:

  1. A general amnesty would be granted to all who would take an oath of loyalty to the United States and pledge to obey all federal laws pertaining to slavery
  2. High Confederate officials and military leaders were to be temporarily excluded from the process
  3. When one-tenth of the number of voters who had participated in the 1860 election had taken the oath within a particular state, then that state could launch a new government and elect representatives to Congress. The states of Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee rapidly acted to comply with these terms. However, the Lincoln plan was not acceptable to Congress. The Radical Republicans voiced immediate opposition to Lincoln’s reconstruction plan, objecting to its leniency and lack of protections for freed slaves. Congress refused to accept the rehabilitation of Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana. In July 1864, Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill, their own formula for restoring the Union:
  4. A state must have a majority within its borders take the oath of loyalty
  5. A state must formally abolish slavery
  6. No Confederate officials could participate in the new governments. Lincoln did not approve of this plan and exercised his pocket veto. An angry Congress would later pass the Wade-Davis Manifesto (August 1864), which charged Lincoln with usurping the powers of Congress. This statement would have little impact on the public as the military news from the South improved; Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign restored Lincoln’s popularity and helped assure his reelection.

Andrew Johnson Reconstruction Plan

The looming showdown between Lincoln and the Congress over competing reconstruction plans never occurred. The president was assassinated on April 14, 1865. His successor, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, lacked his predecessor’s skills in handling people; those skills would be badly missed. Johnson’s plan envisioned the following:

  • (^) Pardons would be granted to those taking a loyalty oath
  • (^) No pardons would be available to high Confederate officials and persons owning property valued in excess of $20,
  • (^) A state needed to abolish slavery before being readmitted (13th^ Amendment)
  • (^) A state was required to repeal its secession ordinance before being readmitted. What should be done for the Freedmen?
  • (^) African Americans should be guaranteed equal rights only if individual states want to grant them to the freedmen. The federal government should not force Southern governments to accept new laws regarding freedmen. Whether or not to give freedmen education, money, jobs, or other supports would be left up to the states
  • (^) African Americans should not be given the right to vote. Only certain Freedmen could be trusted to vote, like those who could read and write. Most of the seceded states began compliance with the president’s program. Congress was not in session, so there was no immediate objection from that quarter. However, Congress reconvened in December and refused to seat the Southern representatives. Reconstruction had produced another deadlock between the president and Congress

Reconstruction Plans

Plan Details Impact of the Plan +/- Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction Wade-Davis Bill Johnson’s plan Congressional Reconstruction