Question

What was Lincoln Plan for reconstruction

Answer 1

There were three basic plans of reconstruction, one created by President Abraham Lincoln, one by Congress and one by President Andrew Johnson. Lincoln's plan of 1863 called for 10 percent of a state's voters in the election of 1860 to take an oath of allegiance and pledge to adhere to emancipation. The state would then also have to set up a state government before being allowed back into the Union. This plan were relatively simple since Lincoln never believed that the Southern States had ever legally seceded. 

The Republicans were shocked at how easily the Southern states were to be allowed back into the Union. They were afraid the South would reinstate slavery once back. To prevent this, the Republicans came up with the Wade-Davis Bill of 1864. It increased the requirement of ten percent of the voters to fifty percent. It also wanted stronger safeguards for emancipation. Lincoln, however, refused to sign the bill and it was never passed. This reconstruction plan showed the clashing between President Lincoln and the Congress. Congress believed that the states had left the Union and had given up their rights. The Republicans also split up into two groups. One group was moderate and agreed with Lincoln that the re-admittance of the states should be done as quickly as possible. The other side wanted the aristocratic planters to be punished and the South dealt with harshly. 

Many believed that Johnson would agree with the up-hauling of the Southern social system. Instead, he issued his own Reconstruction plan on May 29, 1865. Johnson's plan called for special state conventions. These conventions would be held to repeal the state's decree of secession, disclaim all Confederate debts, and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. Johnson's plan did call for a quick re-admittance, but it also demanded that the leading Confederates be disfranchised. Johnson's plan was more similar to Lincoln's, but it also dealt with the Confederates slightly harsher, like the congressional plan. In the end, it was Johnson's plan that was put into action.