The American Civil War occurred during 1861 – 1865 over the dispute of slavery, which led to eleven slave states in the South seceding from the Union and forming the Confederate States of America. In order for the South to be known as a nation, they needed to gain recognition from England. The Union disassembled the possibility of the South becoming their own nation by winning the war against the Confederates.Only five days after the war, President Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Suddenly, the bitterness towards the South from the North increased. The period of time from 1865 to 1877 was the Reconstruction era where America had to rebuild physically,morally,socially and politically. Soon after, Andrew Johnson, who was a former slaveholder and Lincoln’s vice president who held similar ideals with Lincoln yet hated wealthy Southerners became president. The angry Radical Republicans disliked Johnson’s ideas a lot more than Lincoln’s and felt that both presidents failed to confront the needs of ex-slaves. Although Johnson’s plan was straightforward, it didn’t hold the tranquility of President Lincoln’s nor the goals of gaining equal political and economic opportunities of the Radical Republicans’, which in sync could create the exemplary plan within pardons, loyalty pledge, and the amendments.
Each of the proposals towards pardons varied in different ways, such as Lincoln’s undemanding plan for Confederates considering what they had done, and Johnson’s, which was fair, but wasn’t as lenient as Lincoln’s; however, the Radical Republicans were strict and felt the opposite of Lincoln and Johnson . Lincoln wanted Amnesty/Forgiveness so he created the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. This meant that they would forgive the Confederates for any crimes if they pledged to the Union and followed the laws. Although, the high ranked Confederate officials would get delayed in the process. Similar to Lincoln, Johnson felt that they should be forgiven. Opposing to Lincoln and Johnson’s plans, the Radical Republicans wanted no pardons given to any Confederates. Both presidents’ plans angered them and they thought that any political power given to any previous must be broken. It’s true that Lincoln and Johnson were similar, yet, Johnson’s belief on pardons supported the states’ rights.
Along with the pardons, the Union had to restore the Union by the South taking a Loyalty Pledge. Lincoln had created the Ten Percent Plan, which would have the 1860 voting lists, containing 10 percent of those who were previously Confederate states pledge and then be allowed back into the Union with their representatives in Congress, and state governments as well. Unlike Lincoln, Johnson wanted to prevent all high ranked Confederate officials, especially wealthy landowners who had 20,000 or more, from entering the Congress. In response to the Ten Percent Plan, the Radical Republicans passed the Wade-Davis Bill, which stated that the 50 percent of the Confederates that were on the voting lists in 1860 would have to pledge and that Reconstruction belonged in the hands of the Congress. Lincoln was able to veto the law, which quickly angered the Radical Republicans and caused a controversy of power superiority.
While Johnson and Lincoln had similar ideas towards the amendments, the Radical Republicans wanted more from the amendments. Lincoln had agreed to the fact that slavery needed to be abolished hence the 13th amendment was passed. Along with Lincoln, Johnson accepted the 13th amendment. The Radical Republicans were eager for the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment. The 14th amendment also known as the civil rights amendment declared that there was equal protection under the law. While, the 15th amendment dealt with voting rights and stated that no one could be denied the right to vote due to their race, color and if they were previously a slave. To enforce the 15th amendment, the military would inspect the voting. Although the Radical Republicans were somewhat excessive, they were said to provide something that should have been obtained a long time ago.
Lincoln’s plan of the Proclamation of Amnesty gave those who made mistakes, an opportunity to regain themselves along with the Ten Percent Plan, which had a decent amount of those who were with the Confederacy a chance to pledge to the Union. The Radical Republicans’ plan allowed former slaves to become regular class people, paving the path towards the equality.