Homework #2: Reconstruction after the Civil War
Name: ____________________________________________
The North’s victory had ended the Civil War, but the battle for peace had just begun.
Congressional Republicans and the White House clashed over a central question: how much
authority did the federal government have to impose conditions on the defeated states of the
South? Lincoln experimented with a lenient plan for returning the rebel states to the Union, but
his assassination strengthened the hands of those Republicans who supported harsher measures.
The difficult task of formulating a new policy fell to Vice President Andrew Johnson.
Presidential vs. Congressional Reconstruction
Issue
Readmission of
states to the Union
Presence of military
force in the South
Treatment of
Confederate leaders
Rights of newly
freed African
Americans
President’s Policy
A state can return to the Union if
10% of voters swear loyalty to the
Union. States must ratify the 13th
Amendment (abolishing slavery) to
enter the Union.
Congressional Policy
New state constitutions must
guarantee Blacks the right to vote
and hold office. States must ratify
the 14th Amendment guaranteeing
the rights of citizenship to African
Americans
Northern armies should be
The South is to be divided into five
withdrawn from the South.
military districts.
Punish leaders of the confederacy.
Punish leaders of Confederacy.
Amnesty granted on personal appeal Punish all who participated in the
to President Johnson.
Civil War by denying them seats in
Congress or state legislatures and the
right to vote.
Lincoln’s established Freedman’s
Expanded Freedman’s Bureau over
Bureau to help African Americans.
Johnson’s veto. Civil Rights Act
passed, promising equality under the
Johnson opposed Civil Rights Act
law. Fifteenth Amendment: African
(1866) and 14th Amendment.
American males have the right to
vote.
By the mid 1870’s a number of forces conspired to produce the downfall of Reconstruction. In the
South, the persistent tradition of individual rights and local control combined with a belief in white
supremacy, allowed the Democrats to topple a number of Republican state governments. A host of
influences including disillusionment with government corruption, economic strains, and general
weariness, convinced northerners it was time to abandon their experiment. In a series of decisions
the Supreme Court signaled the North’s retreat. The “Compromise of 1877,” which resolved the
disputed presidential election, marked the end of Reconstruction.
1. What caused the dispute between the President and Congress regarding Reconstruction?
2. Describe two ways the Presidential plan differed from the Congressional plan.
3. Evaluate which plan is more effective. Be sure to explain your response.
4. Why did the Reconstruction plan ultimately “fail?”