The+Civil+War-cm

Reconstruction Begins

By the end of the Civil War, the South had suffered greatly and needed to be rebuilt (this includes rebuilding their economy).

In 1863, President Lincoln set his plan for reuniting the nation in the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. Instead of punishing the south for treason, he wanted to reconcile the South with the Union. To accomplish this, he offered a general amnesty.

A group known as -Radical Republicans immediately resisted Lincoln's plan.

Moderate Republicans felt that Lincoln was too lenient and the radicals were taking their support for African American equality too far. So the Moderate Republicans came up with the Wade-Davis Bill, an alternative to Lincoln's plan.