Characteristics and Impacts of American Reconstruction
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Ashley Smith
Characteristics and Impacts of American Reconstruction
2/28/01
The key goals of Reconstruction were to readmit the South into the Union and to define the status of freedmen in American society. The Reconstruction era was marked by political, not violent, conflict. Some historical myths are that the South was victimized by Reconstruction, and that the various plans of Reconstruction were corrupt and unjust. Actually, the plans were quite lenient, enforcing military rule for only a short period of time, ignoring land reform, and granting pardons easily. The task of Reconstruction was to re-integrate America into a whole nation, securing the rights of each man and establishing order once again. There were three major Reconstruction plans; Lincoln, Johnson, and Congress each offered a strategy to unify the nation.
Lincolns plan, in 1864, required ten percent of the voting population of each state who had voted in the 1860 election to take an oath of allegiance to the Union and accept the abolition of slavery. Then that ten percent could create a state government that would be loyal to the Union. Confederate officials, army and naval officers, and civil officers who had resigned from office were all required to apply for presidential pardons (Boyer, 443). Lincolns plan did not at all deal with freedmens civil rights, which is a definite weakness. Under his ten percent rule, no freedmen could be part of a state government. Also, it did not address land reform, an economic weakness of Lincolns strategy. Finally, under Lincolns plan, no federal military occupation was required in Southern states. This left the freedmen at the mercy of the states for protection. Congress viewed this plan as far too lenient, and in 1864 passed the Wade-Davis bill. This bill required the majority of voters in each Southern state to take an oath of loyalty; only then could the state hold a convention to repeal secession and abolish slavery. Although Lincolns plan may have been too lenient, this bill would have been far too harsh and delayed readmission to the Union for a very long time. Lincoln did not sign the bill into law, or pocket-vetoed the bill, and was soon assassinated. Therefore, he did not have a chance to implement his plan of Reconstruction, and his goal was not met.
After Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency following Lincolns assassination in 1865, and he introduced his plan of Reconstruction. Although Johnson claimed that his plan mirrored Lincolns, there were great differences. Under Johnsons plan, fifty percent of the voters in each Southern state who had voted in the 1860 election had to take an oath of loyalty to the Union. Then, each state was required to write new constitutions adopting the 13th amendment (Boyer, 444). Johnson repudiated Confederate war debts, and he also supported Black Codes. Johnson seemed sympathetic to Southern opinion at the expense of freedmens rights. He took steps to insure a dependent
black work force for the South, and restricted the rights of African-Americans . Freedmen were not allowed to marry interracially, perform jury duty, or give testimony in court against whites. Johnsons plan was fatally flawed; his requirement that each state adopt the 13th amendment was practically useless as it only dealt with Federal elections. State elections were more important to citizens during the Reconstruction era, and unless Johnson guaranteed State voting rights to freedmen he was offering them hardly anything at all. Also, Johnson supported Black Codes against Northern public opinion, which damaged him politically in the North. Finally, Johnson did not deal with land reform or economic aid, which was economically unsound. In Congress, the Radicals and Moderates were forced to join forces to overturn Johnsons extremely lenient plan. Caught up in battles with Congress and an impeachment scandal until he left office, Johnson did not achieve his Reconstruction goals.
Congress finally implemented their plan in 1866. This is viewed as the most prevalent plan of Reconstruction. Under this strategy, the majority of each states voters had to take an oath of allegiance, and then the state had to write a new constitution. Congress would then review the constitutions and the applications for pardons from Confederate officers. The states also had to accept the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. Finally, the South would be divided into ten military districts and were to be under military law (Boyer, 448). Although this plan was harsher than Johnsons, it was still fairly forgiving to the South. The military occupation was actually quite light and did not last long. Also, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments dealt only with Federal laws, and did not extend to state elections or private policy. Congresss plan did nothing to aid freedmen or protect them from violence and race riots. Like Lincoln and Johnsons plans, it did not address land reform. However, the goal of Congresss plan was reached, at least partly.
Although Congress did not succeed in guaranteeing black suffrage, which was one of its original intentions during Reconstruction, it did begin the process of rebuilding the South. Reconstruction modernized Southern law codes, created more equal Congressional districts, a fairer tax system, and a public school system. What it failed to do was give freedmen social or legal equality, and protect them from white violence and oppression. By refusing to deal with land reform, the plan helped the rise of the share-cropping system, and by failing to guarantee state rights, it paved the way for segregation. However, the plan did provide a sense of closure to the nation, relieving it of the so-called “Southern question” (Boyer, 470). By 1875, the North was tiring of Reconstruction and devoted its focus to the Frontiers and Industrialization.
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