Civil War Reconstruction Essay

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At the beginning of the Civil War, many slaves were promised great things, however, the things they expected did not happen, because of the horrible leadership of the country. The Civil War was fought between the Union and the Confederacy; otherwise known as the north and the south. The Union fought for the freedom of slaves, while the Confederacy fought to keep slaves. At the time of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was President, and Republicans viewed him as a leader, because he also looked towards the abolition of slavery. His views and his election and caused many states to secede from the country, because they believed he favored the north over the south. On April 14th, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Booth was working …show more content…

Instead, Johnson made his own reconstruction plans, which were more lenient that Lincoln’s. Johnson’s plans stated that states could be in the Union and set up state governments by abolishing slavery and ratifying the thirteenth amendment. His plans caused an issues among the Radical Republican group. The Radical Republicans were Republicans who thought Lincoln’s plan should be written down so that black southerners were guaranteed equality among whites. The Radical Republicans felt that Johnson should not set the legislative policy for reconstruction, so they formed a Joint Committee to form a new reconstruction policy. During this time, southern states developed the Black Codes, which gave whites control over blacks. The Black Codes established curfews for blacks, and prevented them from renting land in any other area besides rural areas. Congress did not like these acts, so they passed the Civil Rights Act to outlaw the Black Codes; Johnson vetoed it. At this point, Congress is frustrated with Johnson, because the key point on reconstructing was making sure that blacks had some equal rights also. The former slaves are feeling conflicted and frustrated with the government, because Lincoln, the former President, was aiming for equality, but Johnson rejected the idea. Congress overpowered Johnson’s veto, and passed the fourteenth amendment, which gave

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