Opposing Plans for Reconstruction (College Board AP® US History)

Summary

Timeline

April 15, 1854: Lincoln assassinated at Ford’s Theater

1865: 13^th Amendment ratified

1866: Civil Rights Act of 1866

1867: Reconstruction Act of 1867

1868: 14^th Amendment ratified

1870: 15^th Amendment ratified

As the Civil War drew to a close in 1865, the nation faced the big task of reintegrating the Southern states back into the Union and addressing the status of newly freed African Americans. 

President Lincoln wanted the unification process to take place quickly and with as little animosity as possible. He proposed the Ten Percent Plan. However, Lincoln’s assassination altered the course of Reconstruction. His successor, President Johnson, initially continued with a similar approach but faced opposition from Radical Republicans who wanted a more transformative process. They believed the Southern states should be forced to change their social and political systems, particularly regarding the rights of African Americans. The South was burdened with a Reconstruction that neither healed the nation nor gave relief to those emancipated by the war.

Ten Percent Plan & Reconstruction Amendments

Ten-Percent Plan

• The Ten-Percent Plan was proposed by President Abraham Lincoln

• It was Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction: reuniting the states

  • Southern states would be readmitted once ten per cent of the voters in the 1860 election pledged allegiance to the Union

  • States were required to abolish slavery

  • States were required to ratify the 13th Amendment

  • The plan allowed states to quickly re-establish state governments

• The purpose of the plan was to: 

  • minimize humiliation for the south

  • make reunification a quick process

  • encourage leniency to heal divisions and prevent prolonged animosity between North and South

• The assassination of Lincoln ended the implementation of the plan

  • He was shot on April 15th, 1854, at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC by John Wilkes Booth

• Vice President Andrew Johnson succeeded Lincoln and continued to support Lincoln’s plan, but faced opposition

Opposition to the Ten-Percent Plan

• Radical Republicans and abolitionists did not support the Ten-Percent Plan

  • Some saw it as too lenient

  • They believed it did not protect the rights of newly freed African Americans

  • They wanted stricter terms for Southern readmission and stronger enforcement of civil rights

• There was opposition to Andrew Johnson’s presidency as he supported the Ten-Percent Plan

  • Johnson was from North Carolina and his lenient policies were not supported by the Radical Republicans

  • Johnson attempted to remove Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton

    • Congress charged Johnson with violating the Tenure of Office Act

    • This led to his impeachment

    • The Senate failed to remove him from office

    • President Johnson was the first president to be impeached

Black Codes

• The Black Codes were a series of laws passed by Southern state governments to limit and restrict the rights of newly freed African Americans

• They reinforced a deep-rooted belief in white supremacy

• They restricted the rights of African Americans so that they could not:

  • own property

  • serve on juries

  • access legal protection

• African Americans were forced to work for low wages 

Radical Republicans and Congressional Reconstruction

• Radical Republicans wanted: 

  • to severely punish the South for rebellion 

  • to establish equality and civil rights for African Americans

  • reconstruction to be led by Congress, not the president

Key legislative actions

• The Civil Rights Act of 1866

  • Ensured equal protection under the law for African Americans

  • The Act was vetoed by President Johnson but the veto was overridden with two-thirds of the vote by Congress

• Reconstruction Acts: a series of four laws that defined reconstruction of the South

  • The Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the South into five military districts governed by military troops

  • Required states to draft new constitutions

  • Required states to ratify the 14th Amendment (which granted citizenship to all individuals born or naturalized, including former enslaved persons)

  • Tennessee was exempt from the military districts, as they already met the conditions

  • All acts were vetoed by President Johnson but overridden with a two-thirds vote by Congress 

• Reconstruction Amendments:

  • 13th Amendment (1865): abolished slavery

  • 14th Amendment (1868): granted citizenship to all individuals born or naturalized, including former enslaved persons

  • 15th Amendment (1870): guaranteed voting rights regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude

AWAITING IMAGE