Presidential Reconstruction

Aim: Were Presidents Lincoln and Johnson too lenient on the South?

“Family well, Horses well, Hogs well & everything else are well so far as I know, if it was not for the free Negroes…. On their account everything is turned upside down. So much so that we do not know what to do with our land, nor who to hire if we wanted it worked…. We are in the midst of troublesome times & do not know what will turn up.”

--David Harris, southern farmer, June 1865

Emancipation Gen. Sherman offered “40 acres and a mule”

to all freedmen (Field Order 15) Promise was broken

Southern states enacted Black Codes to make freedmen subordinate to whites

African Americans couldn’t own guns, make insulting gestures, serve on juries, vote, etc.

Could only work in agriculture or domestic service

Lincoln’s Plan for ReconstructionA. 1865 - Thirteenth Amendment to the

Constitution banned slavery in the U.S.- hurt Southern economy,

B. Lincoln wanted a moderate plan that wouldn’t punish the South~ Ten Percent Plan - Pardoned rebellious Southerners once they took a loyalty oath

- Required 10% of a state’s voters to pledge for readmission to the Union

Congress Rejected Lincoln’s Plan

A. Radical Republican goals:1. Prevent Confederate leaders from returning to power2. Help African Americans achieve political equality

B. Introduced the Wade-Davis Bill- Required the majority of white male voters to take oath of loyalty- Much harsher than Lincoln’s plan- Lincoln blocked it with a pocket veto

C. Freedman’s Bureau- Helped freedmen find food, shelter, clothing, medicine, education, and employment

President Andrew Johnson

After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson became president. Followed Lincoln’s plan for

leniency Johnson faced tension from

Radical Republicans, who wanted to punish the South Johnson granted amnesty

(forgiveness) to most southerners

Congress impeached Johnson