19.1 Restoring the Union pp. 604-608

Objectives: Describe how Lincoln and the Radical Republicans disagreed on Reconstruction plans. Explain why Lincoln wanted to pass the 13th Amendment.

A. Planning for Reconstruction (p. 604) During Reconstruction (1865-1877), Americans struggled to rebuild the South and reunite their war-torn nation. Reconstruction also refers to the government program by which the Union restored relations with the Confederate states after their defeat.

B. Lincoln’s Plan (p. 605) Lincoln called for amnesty, or official forgiveness, to Southerners who pledged loyalty to the U.S. and accepted slavery’s elimination. Once 10% of the number of voters in the 1860 election had taken the pledge, the loyal voters could set up a government. Congress would then vote to readmit the state into the Union.

C. Objections from Congress (p. 605) But many Republicans in Congress wanted to punish the rebellious Southern states and destroy all Southern economic and political power. They bitterly opposed slavery and saw the war as a chance to destroy it forever. Since many of their ideas were considered extreme, or radical , they became known as the Radical Republicans.

D. Wade-Davis Bill (p. 606) The Wade-Davis Bill (1864) proposed putting the South under military rule. It required a majority of a state’s electorate to take the loyalty oath, and required the new state constitutions to abolish slavery. Only delegates who had never willingly aided or fought for the Confederacy could take part in drafting the new state constitutions. Lincoln “pocket-vetoed” the bill.

E. Thirteenth Amendment (pp. 606-607) Fearing that the courts might declare the Emancipation Proclamation unconstitutional, Lincoln pushed for a constitutional amendment. In 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment was approved (Mississippi formally ratified the 13th Amendment on February 7, 2013). Slavery was abolished in the United States forever.

F. The Assassination (p. 608) Lincoln’s lenient plan for Reconstruction died when he was assassinated on April 14, 1865. Some Radical Republicans viewed the President’s death with feelings of both sadness and relief. Now they could enforce their own harsher policies.

Review: By what name is the post-war era of the South’s rebuilding known? Contrast the Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan with that of the Radical Republicans. Which amendment ended slavery in the U.S. forever? How did Lincoln’s assassination affect Reconstruction?