Reconstruction after the Civil War

After war After the civil war ended, the country still remained divided There was a great number of people who were left without means to live Large areas of the south were destroyed and in ruins from the battles There were large numbers of homeless refugees (african american and white former soldiers) who needed food shelter, and jobs Americans in the midst of these new hardships had to forge ahead to reunite the nation: Reconstruction is the concept of bringing north and south back together again.

Lincoln’s 10% plan Lincoln wanted to make it easy for Southern states to rejoin the union Dec 1863 he introduced the 10% plan: As soon as 10% of a state’s voters swore an oath of loyalty to the US, the voters could organize a new states government….then that gov would declare an end of slavery, and the state could send members to Congress. His plan gave amnesty to former confederate soldiers/believers who took the loyalty oath Amnesty: a gov declares it will overlook violations of an existing law. (It didn’t apply to gov leaders and top military officials.

The Wade Davis Bill Congress passed this new bill 6 months after Lincoln’s 10% plan Under the new bill 50% of voters would have to sign a loyalty oath before a state could return to the Union. Anyone who voluntarily fought for the confederacy would be barred from voting for delegates who could write a new state constitution Lincoln Never signed this new bill so It never became a law. Lincoln hoped his lenient approach would win over more support than forcing the issue.

Freedmen: enslaved people who earned freedom from the war Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1865. The duty of the bureau was to provide emergency relief to people displaced by war, education, and legal defense. The bureau set up schools to teach literacy (many teachers were women who yearned to work after the war) For the first time, southern states worked on developing more public schools to educate black and white students. The bureau also find jobs and resolve disputes between whites and blacks.

Notices like this were used To collect and provide support for Men after the war.

Examples of Freedmen’s Bureau Assistance

Follow Up Questions: Was Lincoln’s plan to be lenient with southern states the best way to gain support and reunite the nation? 2. How does something like the Freedmen’s Bureau work towards his goals? What resistance could the bureau be met with?