Civil War: Reconstruction Vs. Andrew Johnson

Words: 213
Pages: 1

Would reconstruction have been more successful under Abraham Lincoln’s direction rather than Andrew Johnson? Lincoln’s original plan for Reconstruction was to establish new governments in the Confederate states that would be run by those loyal to the Union. He also planned to grant amnesty to most Confederates as long as they agreed to accept that slavery was abolished. Lincoln’s plan was less a blueprint for rebuilding the South and more of an effort to separate whites from the Confederacy. Though when Lincoln initially announced his post-war plans in December 1863 he did not mention anything about the civil rights of free slaves, his plans evolved overtime and before his death he called for limited black suffrage in the South. Johnson