Reconstruction :: essays research papers fc

The Civil War was the bloodiest war to be fought on American soil. Although both sides expect the conflict to be over in a matter of days, it lasted four tumultuous years, from 1861-1865. The war pitted brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor. The period of reconstruction, the time when our land attempted to mend its broken relations with the southeasterly and rebuild after the destructive war, lasted until 1877. What many people dont know is that the original tone of the Civil War was to preserve the Union. Many factors went into Lincolns decision to also address thrall through this war. For one, the number of men enlisting in the war was dwindling, and it became apparent that black manpower would be absolutely necessary to win the war. Also, the increasingly upset Radical Republicans and abolitionists let their opinions be known and persuaded the citizens of the trade union that the war could not be won without attacking the issue of slavery. Finally, Lincoln beli eved that transforming the dispute from a conflict to preserve the Union to a crusade against slavery would dissuade the threatening British and French from supporting the Confederacy. With its new stated purpose, the Civil War would now have huge societal repercussions.The largest and most involved issue of Reconstruction was how to go about admitting the Confederate states back into the Union. President Lincolns plans were quite lenient, accepting the seceded states back into the Union even if by vote only a minority of a states white males took an oath of loyalty to the United States. However, John Wilkes Booth assassinated him ahead any of his plans could go into action. His replacement, vice president Andrew Johnson, a democrat, was left in a difficult predicament. Public opinion at the time favored that the South should face some sort of retribution for their past acts, and promise loyalty for the future before they were to be pardoned. At the time, many Northerners were Rep ublicans Southerners were largely democratic.The biggest supporters of an extreme Reconstruction process were the Radicals. Many of them argued that the confederate states had lost their constitutional identity however the Republicans would only go so far as to say that by seceding the southerners had waive their rights. They were to be kept out of the Union until they had demonstrated a proper spirit of repentance. Radicals convinced enough moderate Republicans of this that Congress passed the Wade-Davis bill, which postponed Reconstruction until a legal age of a states white males (not just 10%) took an oath of loyalty.