So Many Plans So Little Time

During the Reconstruction after the Civil War, the United States had to face the reprocussions from the war such as buildings, farmlands, agricultures and railroads were destroyed, the slaves were now freedmen, southern states were allowed to rejoin the Union, the plans to be done about the ex-confederates and so much more. During this time, two presidents came up with the plans to do about these reprocussions.

The first president who came up with the plan was Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president. The plan was issued on December 8, 1863. His plan was to give pardons to any one who committed crimes which included ex-confederates who would swear allegiance to the Union and take an oath. However the plan excluded the confederate military and government officals and those who had killed African American prisoners of war. For statehood, the state must create a new Constitution, endorse the Thirteenth Amendment and 10% of the number of people voted in the 1860 election must take oath. To the Radical Republican Congress, this plan was too moderate thus created the Wade-Davis Bill which required 50 % of the state male voters to take oath. Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill and was about to enforce his plan until he was assassinated in 1865.

Another plan was created and it was Andrew Johnson's. Johnson's plan was issued on May 29, 1856. His plan included pardons which anyone who will take oath to the Union, there was no exception or exclusion. For statehood, the states will have to create a new constitution, have to void secession, abolish slavery, ratify the Thirteenth Amendment and stop payments on war debts. During Johnson's presidency, the black codes were enacted in the south. Since Johnson's plan didn't include the freedmen, Radical Republicans tried to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1866 but Johnson vetoed it.

Now, there is one more plan but it wasn't issued by Lincoln or Johnson but the Radical Republican party. Their plan was to also include the rights given to the freedmen. Thus the Radical Republicans issued the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Also in their plan, it was to remove ex-confederates from Congress, issued the Military Reconstruction Act of 1867, for the statehood; the states were required to give equal rights for all and allowing the freedmen to vote, and the ratifications of both Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Thus, we have all three plans for the Reconstruction but there is one that I believe is the best and the most effective. It is the Radical Republicans' plan because they provided the rights of the freedmen while the other two didn't which led to the racial equality today. If it wasn't for their plan, the society we know today wouldn't exist.

The Black Codes of 1865

The Civil War has ended in 1864 as the Reconstruction began. The North and South have begun to rebuild while in the south, the slaves have won their freedom. Hold on a minute, did they really win their freedom?? Unfortunately, the answer is no. The white people still believed that they were more superior than the blacks and that the blacks must be under their authority. That was when the Black Codes created.

In 1865, the white southerners have long anticipated to maintain their sovereignty over the blacks. The Black Codes were created during Andrew Johnson's presidency. The purpose of the Black Codes was to keep the blacks under the white supremacy by limiting their rights. The Black Codes prohibited the blacks from voting, performing jury duty, testifying against the whites, or even performing occupations of their choice. The blacks can't even hold or sell property and they must have the permissions to enter any town.

The Black codes also targeted the unemployed. If anyone who is unemployed will be charged of vagrancy. This way, the person can get arrested or be fined. Because of the Black Codes prohibiting the rights to choose any occupation, the blacks were assigned as agricultural workers or domesticated servants. They were stuck with the Codes dictating the number of hours of labor a day and terms of labor until expiration. If they were to try and escape from labor or quit before expiration term then they will get arrested or be returned to their employers.

However this form of Black Codes didn't apply to all Southern states. There were so many different forms of Black Codes in each state but all of them imposed great restrictions on the blacks. For instance, in the state of Florida, the blacks weren't allowed to bear arms. If they were carrying weapons then they will have to surrender the weapons then be whipped thirty-nine times! Same penalty goes for the blacks having any association with the whites. However in Louisiana, the blacks weren't allowed to be on the streets after ten at night or the consequences will be working extra five days or paying five dollars. Now five dollars might seemed nothing to you but it was alot for a black person who didn't have any money.

Since the ending of the civil war, the blacks have never won the freedom they truly deserved; until the formations of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. During this time in 1865, the Radical Republicans tried to pass the Civil Rights Bill to protect the blacks from the Black Codes but the bill was vetoed by President Johnson. Ever since, the Radical Republicans had been prompting the idea of the bill until they finally passed it along with the Reconstruction Acts in 1867-1868; a year or two after the Black Codes were suspended. However, despite those acts, the white people gradually restored control over the southern governments when organizations such as Ku Kux Klan were able to frighten the blacks from voting in elections...