I Dont Know What This Is

Part 1 – Complete the following chart using information from the lesson. One example appears for you.

Somebody ... | Wanted ... | But ... | So ... |

President Abraham Lincoln | the nation to heal as quickly as possible from the Civil War and planned to reunify the nation quickly | he was assassinated in 1865 only days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender | plans for Reconstruction were taken over by Vice President Andrew Johnson, who became president after Lincoln’s death |

President Andrew Johnson |  

the United States and promised they would obey federal laws related to end of slavery. |  patience for in changing the social structure of the South. It would take time for Southerners to accept black citizens as equals. |  

The state would have to repudiate Repudiate to deny or reject its debts, essentially giving them up to the federal government and further binding itself to the Union. |

Radical Republicans |  

wanted to permanently end slavery gurantee equal rights for African Americans. |  They believed the South needed punishment. |  wanted to control the South until they could be sure the South would not return to its pre-Civil War ways, including slavery. |

Southern Democrats |  

many former Confederate officials regained political office, infuriating the Radicals |  Southerners approved the plan and acted quickly to establish new state governments. |  They believed change for the South was not possible if former Confederates returned to power. |

Part 2 – Answer the following questions in a complete paragraph of your own words.

What was the main issue relating to Reconstruction that divided Republicans at the end of the Civil War? If you had been a member of Congress at the time, what type of plan for Reconstruction would you have supported and why?

Lincoln and other leaders thought they should make it simple for the South to rejoin the Union. They believed the sooner the nation reunited, the faster it would begin the healing process. The main...