1. Presidential Reconstruction Begins
SSUSH10 The student will identify legal, political, and social dimensions of Reconstruction.
a. Compare and contrast Presidential Reconstruction with Radical Republican Reconstruction.

2. The Cost of the Civil War
The South was destroyed: 9,000 miles of RR track, cities, homes, ports, and machinery were completely destroyed, the value of Southern farms had lost 70% of its value before the war
A generation of young men were dead: 364,000 in the North, 260,000 in the South (1 out of 3)
The society of Southerners was turned upside down – slaves were homeless and jobless, Plantations were destroyed and had lost their laborers, poor whites faced job competition from freed slaves

3. Ending the war Questions to be answered:
How and when should Southern states be allowed to rejoin the Union?
Should the South be punished?
What should happen to freed slaves? What should their rights be?
Who had the power to make these choices?

4. Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan
Lincoln began his plan for Reconstruction in December 1863
Lincoln favored a lenient Reconstruction policy
He also believed that secession was Unconstitutional and therefore the Confederate states had never left the Union
Because it was individuals that rebelled and not states, Lincoln believed the Constitution gave the President the power to pardon individuals
Lincoln favored making the South’s return to the Union as quick as possible

5. Lincoln’s plan (sometimes called the Ten-Percent Plan)
1. it offered a pardon to pay any Confederate who would take an oath of allegiance to the Union and accept the federal policy on slavery
2. it denied pardons all military or government officials or civilians who had killed African American war prisoners
3. each state could hold a convention to create a new state constitution after 10 percent of the citizens had sworn allegiance
4. states could then hold elections to resume full government participation
Radical Republicans in Lincoln’s party opposed this plan – they viewed it as too lenient

6. Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan
With Lincoln’s death, Andrew Johnson became President
Johnson was a former slave owner who grew up poor – because of this he hated rich planters
Johnson did believe that the Southern states had seceded and therefore needed to be readmitted to the Union

7. Johnson’s Plan:
1. pardoned southerners who swore allegiance to the Union
2. permitted each state to hold a constitutional convention
3. states were required to void secession, abolish slavery, and repudiate Confederate debt
4. states could then hold elections and rejoin the Union
Johnson’s plan was more generous to the South but denied pardons to all Confederate leaders unless they asked for forgiveness

8. Radical Republicans in Congress disagree with the Plan
Radical Republicans, a minority in Congress, were angered by both plans
They viewed secession as legitimate and felt that the south could not resume full participation in the government until they met all conditions Congress set forth
They wanted to destroy all of the political power of former slaveholders
They also wanted African Americans to be given full citizenship and the right to vote – this was a very radical idea in 1865
They will quickly set their up their own terms for readmittance to the Union:
Ratify the 14th Amendment
Accept the Freedmen’s Bureau
Fulfill the requirements of the Reconstruction Act of 1867

9. The South Complies
Most southern states quickly complied with Johnson’s plan
In December 1865, newly elected southern Senators and Representatives arrived in Washington to take their places – most had been Confederate Congressmen, cabinet members, and generals
Northern Senators and Representatives refuse to allow to participate
Johnson pardoned all the Southern delegates which infuriated the Radical Republicans and made African Americans feel betrayed
Johnson declared Reconstruction complete – the Radical Republicans disagree