HIST 405N Week 4 Discussion 2: Reconstruction and the Compromise of 1877 – Graded An A+

HIST 405N Week 4 Discussion 2: Reconstruction and the Compromise of 1877 – Graded An A+ Week 4 Discussion 2: Reconstruction and the Compromise of 1877 The decade that followed the American Civ ile war tumultuous as the efforts to impose Union control on the already defeated Southern states would face a fierce backlash from vigilante and terrorist organizations that emerged (Corbett et al., 2017). The period of reconstruction was one of the most controversial and turbulent eras in American history, beginning in 1865 and ending in 1877. During this period, attempts were made to redress the inequalities that had been brought about by slavery as well as solving the problems of readmitting the 11 states that had seceded, back to the Union (Foner, 2020). The journey towards Reconstruction began during the civil war when in 1863, President Lincoln issued the Ten Percent Plan. This was the Proclamation for Amnesty and Reconstruction that allowed a full pardon and restoration of property for those engaged in the rebellion except for the military leaders and highest confederate officials (H, 2020). It also paved way for the formation of a new state government where 10 percent of eligible voters had taken an oath of allegiance to the United States. Also, the Southern states that were readmitted to the Union in this fashion were encouraged to enact plans to deal with the freed slaves without compromising their freedom. While this was an easy plan for the Southerners to accept, the emancipation of slaves was still a bitter pill for them to swallow. The assassination of President Lincoln in 1865 would precede a period of heated disagreements over post-war reconstruction policies pitting President Andrew Johnson against Congress. President Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan of 1865 – 1867 would follow President Lincoln’s Proclamation for Amnesty and Reconstruction. In this plan, pardons were offered to the Southern whites except for the wealthy planters and the Confederate leaders, and their political and property rights except the slaves were restored (Foner, 2020). The plan also outlined how the new state governments would be created, granting them a free hand in managing their affairs after they abolish slavery, repudiates secession, and abrogates the Confederate debt. President Johnson’s plan policies were however viewed as too lenient paving the way for the creation of such discriminatory laws as the Black Codes. He would also reject the extension of life for the Freedman’s Bureau and rejected that the blacks had the same rights as the whites as envisioned in the Civil Rights Act. As a result, Johson’s policies were overwhelmingly repudiated by the Northern voters, and the Congressional Reconstruction Plan was adopted as Congress sought to begin reconstruction anew. Congress passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, which divided the South into five military districts and outlined the manner through which new governments would be formed based on manhood suffrage without regard to race. The period of Congressional Reconstruction lasted until 1877. Reconstruction had failed, and while the black slaves had been given their freedom, the American culture and society had adopted a white supremacists stance that did not recognize the blacks as being equal to them. References Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T. J., Vickery, P. S., & Roberts, O. (2017). US history. OpenStax, Rice University.