During the years of 1864 through 1877 there were three major plans that were established: Lincoln’s “10 percent” Reconstruction plan in 1863, Johnson’s plan in 1865, and the Radical’s plan which began in 1867. Andrew Johnson’s plan was similar to Lincoln’s because they both wanted reunite the southern states back into the Union. On the contrary the Radical’s plan was different from both Lincoln’s and Johnson’s because their plan was more based around the idea of vengeance and punishing the South for the catastrophic outcomes of the war. Lincoln’s plan is called the “10 percent” Reconstruction plan which granted forgiveness to the Southern States and any confederate from the South who pledged allegiance to the United States. Lincoln’s plan also asserts that if 10 percent of its overall voters participate in the election of 1860, Southern states would be accepted into the Union and a brand-new constitution would be established for those states.
Lincoln’s intentions in establishing the “10 percent” Reconstruction plan was not to penalize the South, instead he desired to reunite the Union as a whole. Before this plan could be enforced, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Johnson was named president after Lincoln’s assassination therefore he created his own version of Lincoln’s “10 percent” Reconstruction plan on May 29, 1865. Andrew Johnson agreed with Lincoln that those states who seceded from the Union were never legalized. As a result, Johnson acknowledged some of the points made from Lincoln’s plan.
Just like Lincoln, Johnson granted forgiveness to those loyal to the United States however he excluded confederate leaders and or officials. In order to get pardon by the president you would have to ask him personally if you owned land that was worth more than 20,000 dollars. The only difference between Abraham Lincoln’s plans and Andrew Johnson’s is that Johnson was more reluctant in providing protection to the freed black men. In the eyes of the Radicals, Johnson’s and Lincoln’s plan was too lenient to the South. The radicals plan was completely different from Johnson’s and Lincoln’s because the Radicals main focus was to punish the South for causing the war.
In fact, the radicals were unlike Johnson because the Radicals provided more protection to the freed black men. The Radical’s plan declares that any former Confederate or any civilian who supported the Confederates would not be allowed to vote. In addition to establishing their own plan, the radicals created the Wade Davis Bill in response to Lincoln’s “10 percent” reconstruction plan. The Wade Davis Bill states, that 50 percent of all voters need to take the pledge of allegiance, however it did not matter since Lincoln vetoed the bill anyways. Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson had similar plans to a limited extent. Lincoln’s and Johnson’s main focus was to reunite the union as a whole as quickly as possible. The radicals on the other hand did not like the route Lincoln and Johnson were taking. They thought the Southern states should be punished for starting the war.
The radicals focused more on punishment for the south and providing protection to the freed blacks which Johnson did not provide.
