presidential and congressional reform

presidential and congressional reconstruction

• lincoln’s 10% plan
• 1863 - 1865
• what lincoln wants to do when the war ends
• the main point is that 10 % of the people of each confederate state who voted in the 1860 election needed to swear an oath of allegiance to the united states
• 10% is attainable
• high ranking military in the confederacy and civilian leaders would not be eligible for pardons
• would be stripped of their property and voting rights
• he doesn't want to be so strict that he is violent to the other side, but he still has to be strict
• limited expansion of limited civil and voting rights to african americans
• these people are war veterans, the educated, and those who owned property
• trying to create a compromise for both north and south
• the 13th amendment to the constitution must be ratified for the state to re enter the union
• congressional response to 10% plan, wade davis bill
• wade davis bill, 1864
• passed by congress with a republican majority
• conditions:
• an iron clad oath needs to be taken from each former rebel state
• president appoints temporary governors to make sure that everyone takes this oath
• high ranking confedercay leaders are srtipped of there property and voting rights
• abolished slavery altogether
• lincoln said no
• He pocket-vetoed the bill
• the congress did not have enough days to revote on the bill and it goes away
• then lincoln is assassinated
• his vice president is andrew johnson
• he was a jacksonian democrat
• was such a devoted state governor from kentucky, that he made sure it stayed part of the union and was rewarded with the vice presidency
• andrew johnson's plan
• 1865
• conditions:
• 50% of people who voted in to election of 1864 had to swear an oath to the united states
• going to pardon all white southerners who took an oath of allegiance except for confederate leaders and wealthy planters (whose property was worth 20 thousand dollars or more)
• believed that it was the elites drive for slavery that started the war
• southern state conventions were formed to ratify the 13th amendment
• at these conventions they had to repudiate succession
• had to promise to never succeed again
• had to figure out how to pay war debts
• johnsons plan goes into effect
• southern response to johnson's plan
• 1865
• congress creates a bureau called the freedmen's bureau
• to help the african americans to aid in the transition from slaves to freedmen
• the black codes
• answer to the freedmen's bureau
• to limit the rights of free slaves
• vigilante justice lead by white supremacy groups such as the kkk
• johnsons plan is not viewed as strong enough by the radical republicans
• the radicals plan
• 1867-1877
• conditions:
• rewrite state constitutions and remove black codes
• ratify 14th ammendment
• ratify the 15th amendment
• place the former confederate states under military control by dividing it into five military districts
• each district will be commanded by a us general
• can use any and all methods to keep law and order
• johnson was not really behind this, a bit too radical
• the radicals don't like him so they impeach him
• impeachment of andrew johnson
• tenure of office act
• president can't fire cabinet members without the approval of congress
• johnson broke this and fired one of his cabinet members
• missed being removed from office by one vote