U.S._Senator

UNITED STATES SENATOR PAPER As a United States Senator during the Reconstruction Period, I’m writing this so that the future of America can realize that this period in history truly made an impact on United States of America. The Civil War was the bloodiest war that was fought on American Soil. Although both sides expected the conflicts to be over in just matter of days, it lasted for tumultuous years. From 1861’ to 1865’, the war pitted brother against brothers, neighbor, against neighbors. This period of Reconstruction was the time when our nation attempted to mend its broken relations with the South and rebuild after destructive war and lasted until 1877’. The Radical Republicans were a loose faction of American Politicians with the Republican Party from 1854’ which was before the American Civil War. The Radical Republicans had been opposed to slavery during the war and after the war to support equal rights for freedmen “the newly freed slaves”, such as the measures ensuring the rights to vote; passage of the Reconstructions Acts, and also harsh treatment of Ex-Confederates. The Radicals were vigorously opposed by the Democratic Party and also sometimes by more moderate Republicans. The Radical Republicans opposed President Abraham Lincoln’s terms for reuniting the U.S. during the Reconstruction, Which begun in 1863’ this was viewed as to lenient, they proposed an “Ironclad Oath”(which Lincoln Blocked) and Wade-Davis Bill whom (which vetoed) in 1864’. But the Radicals did control the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, where they demanded a more aggressive prosecution of war, the faster end to slavery and also the total destruction of the Confederacy. After the assassination of Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson became president, although he appeared at first to be a Radical, he broke with them and the Radicals and Johnson became embroiled in a bitter struggle. After Johnson violated the Tenure of Office Act by dismissing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, the House of Representative voted to impeach him; also he escaped removal from office by the Senate by a single vote in 1868’, but also had lost most of his power. After the 1866’ elections, the Radicals generally controlled Congress, Johnson vetoed 21 Bills Passed by Congress during his term, but the Radicals overrode 15 of them, including the Reconstruction Acts and Force Acts, which rewrote the election laws for the South and allowed blacks to vote. As a result of the newly empowered freedmen, the republicans took power away from the ex-Confederates whom Johnson had appointed, The Radicals generally promoted these states Republican regimes until the last remaining three collapsed in 1877’. During the American Civil War, and later into the primary part of Reconstruction, the leading Radicals were Thaddeus Stevens in the House and Charles Sumner in the Senate. Ulysses S. Grant was elected as a Republican in 1868; after the election he generally sided with the Radicals on Reconstruction policies (signing the Civil Right Acts of 1871’ into laws). The Radicals split in 1872 over Grant’s reelection, and lost power after the Democrats gained control of Congress in the elections of 1874’. The Moderate Republican agreed with Lincoln that the seceded states should be restored to the Union as simply and swiftly as reasonable but only Congress plans, not the presidents. The Radical republicans on the other hand believed that the south needed to be painfully punished for their sins. The Radical Republicans wanted the South’s social structure to be uprooted, and the planters punished and the newly enunciated blacks protected by Federal Powers before they could resort back into the Union. The Moderate the Moderate Republicans believed that the Southern States should have been punished but they did not want them to be brought up on any severe charges, Furthermore they believed that the Executive Branch of Government. The President Andrew Johnson should ensure the rights of the freed slaves without giving to much freedom. But also at the same time many of the Northerners believed that this war fair treatment towards the South. It was noted that the Republican Party was unable to reach an agreement which led to the instability in Washington, due to the fact that Moderate Republicans were willing to accept Johnson’s approach to Reconstruction, while the Radical Republican would refuse to accept any of this plans, which caused a bitter battle between the two sides. As a United States Senator as I finish up this historical event in history I want the people of the future to realize and know that this original intent of the Civil War was to preserve the Union, and that many factors went into Lincoln’s decision to also addressed slavery through this war. First of all, the number of men enlisted in the war was dwindling and it became apparent that the black manpower would be absolutely necessary to win this war. Second of all, the increasingly upset Radical Republicans and abolitionists that let their opinions be known and persuaded the citizens of the North that the war couldn’t be won without attacking the issue of slavery. Last of all, Lincoln believed that the 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 a huge societal repercussion’s. The largest and most complex issue of Reconstruction was how to go about admitting that the Confederate states back into the Union. President Lincoln’s plans were quite lenient, and accepting the seceded states back into the Union even if it was by vote a minority of a state’s white males took an oath of loyalty to the United States. But John Wilkes Booth assassinated him before any of his plans could go into action his replacements, Vice President Andrew Johnson; a democrat was left in a difficult predicament. The Public opinion in this time period favored the South should face some sort of retribution for their past acts, and promise loyalty for the future before we were to be pardoned. At this time many of the Northerners were Republicans; Southerners were largely democratic. Republicans; 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; but however the Republicans would only go so far as to say that by seceding the southerners would had forfeited their rights. They also 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 majority of a state’s white males which was (not just 10%) took an oath of loyalty. Lincoln didn’t want to abandon his own approach, which pocket vetoed the bill. There were many issues when it came to the Reconstruction Period, but another issue that made this period of time historical was the issue to be dealt with blacks voting rights, although this was once only an issue among radicals a clear minority, all of the congress was beginning to give it light, the Republicans now realized that only black voters would guarantee loyalty in the South, as a result of Jonson’s Reconstruction Acts which gave black males suffrage. This time Period will be known to the future as the Reconstruction, which was a huge turning point in our history, by abolishing slavery, the industrial North forced the South to abandon its agricultural-based economy. Black now free was adjusting to this new world where they could become educated and live on their own. Acceptable relations between the seceded states and the national government had been fashioned. American truly was the United States once again. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstruction_Era_of_the_United_States www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson www.senate.gov Cached - Similar Cached - SimilarCached