1. Reconstruction
Punishment or Pardon?

2. Post-war South The south was extremely weak after the Civil War
The way of life in the south was DESTROYED
Southern industry had been ruined
Farm property had dropped over 70% in value
A generation of men had been lost (260,000 deaths)
That is 1/5 of white southern men
1 in 3 southern men were wounded or killed
The south was extremely weak after the Civil War

3. Black Southerners There were about 4 million newly freed slaves
As slaves, they had been provided food and shelter
Many black were now jobless, homeless, and hungry

4. Plantation Owners
Owners had lost over 3 BILLION dollars in slave labor
There property was either destroyed, taken from them, or nearly worthless
Many former plantation owners were in severe debt following the Civil War

5. Poor Whites They struggled to find work
They now had to compete with ex-slaves for work
Many migrated to frontier lands in search of better luck

6. Punishment or Pardon???
The question became what to do with southern states and all these newly freed black
This led to discussions in congress about recovery, rebuilding, and equality
This was a new issue never seen in the nations history
The constitution did not have the answers
✭ Should the south be forgiven or punished as a result of the Civil War???
✭How and when could southern states become active in the Union Government again???

7. ✭ Should the south be forgiven or punished as a result of the Civil War???
✭How and when could southern states become active in the Union Government again???

8. Lincoln’s Plan
In December of 1865 Lincoln proposed the Ten Percent Plan
The plan outlined the process for southern states to regain their place in the government

9. Lincoln’s Plan Continued
A pardon was offered to any confederate who took an oath of allegiance to the union, and accepted emancipation
Pardons were denied to any southerners who had killed African American war prisoners
Each state could hold a convention to create a new state constitution ONLY AFTER 10% of the voters of the state had pledged allegiance to the Union
Only they could states resume full participation in the government

10. Opposition Many did not support this forgiving and lenient plan
One group, the Radical Republicans did not like this plan at all
They believed the war was fought solely over the moral issue of slavery
GOAL: total reconstruction of society to ensure blacks true equality

11. Wade-Davis Act Passed by congress in 1864
A much more aggressive plan than Lincoln’s
Confederates had to pledge an oath of past and present loyalty to the union
They also had to declare that they had not willingly taken up arms against the Union
Lincoln Pocket Vetoed the act
A pocket veto occurs when a bill fails to become law because the president does not sign the bill and cannot return the bill to Congress within a 10-day period because Congress is not in session.
Benjamin Wade

12. Lincoln’s Assassination
April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth
A famous actor and Confederate sympathizer
It was an attempt to save the Confederacy
5 days after General Lee had surrendered at the Appomattox Court House in VA (ending the war)
Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C.