Why Was Reconstruction Possible For The Confederate States?

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Even before the Civil War had concluded, Northern politicians were busy making Reconstruction plans for the Confederate States. Reconstruction—the process by which seceded states were to re-enter back into the Union—was a difficult process for the United States for two reasons. Firstly, civil rights had to be secured for the emancipated slaves, against Southern protest; and secondly, the Union needed to be reunited as quickly as possible, with as little “punishment” to the Southern states as possible. Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson made great strides to reunite the Union as quickly as possible, but sometimes overlooked Black civil rights in the process. Once the Radical Republicans in Congress took over the Reconstruction the Blacks gained more civil rights and the Southern states were treated more harshly than before. The definitive goal of Reconstruction was to secure rights for Blacks and reunite the Union as effectively as possible, though there was disagreement as to how best this should be done. …show more content…
His lenient Ten-Percent Plan allowed easy re-entry into the Union for previous Confederate states; when ten percent of the voters who had voted in the Election of 1860 pledged loyalty to the Union, that state would be allowed re-entry. Lincoln’s top priority was maintaining the unity of the nation at all costs. In his most famous speech, he said he wished to bring the nation together “…with malice toward none; with charity for all” to achieve “a just and lasting peace”. Though his top concern was not Black civil rights, he fought for fair treatment of the Southern states and as little “punishment” as possible. Lincoln’s Reconstruction was about maintaining the integrity of the Union; Black civil rights came