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The 10 Percent Plan
Lincoln came up with the Ten Percent Plan. The Ten Percent Plan said that as long as 10 percent of the state’s voters swore loyalty to the US, that state could form a new state government and continue to have a voice in the Federal Government. Lincoln wanted the South to want to rejoin the Union. -
The Wade-Davis Bill
Many thought that the Ten Percent plan was too generous so they came up with the Wade-Davis Bill. The Wade-Davis Bill said that the majority of the white men had to swear to the Union and any Confederate volunteers didn’t have the right to vote. -
Radicals try to impeach Johnson
Because Johnson, as president, was in charge of enforcing the new laws he tried his best to limit their effect (he did this by firing military generals who supported Radical Reconstruction, etc.) Therefore, the House of Representatives decided to impeach Johnson. In the end, Johnson was one vote short from being connected. Johnson served his few remaining weeks in office before Ulysse Grant was elected. -
The Freedmen’s Bureau
A government agency that provided food, clothing, medical care, helped find jobs, and set up schools for newly freed African Americans. The new school systems were the bases to public schools for African Americans. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Unfortunately, Lincoln never got the chance to pursue his 10 Percent Plan because he was shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth (a famous actor) -
The Thirteenth Amendment
Slavery is banned throughout the nation. -
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Black Codes
Black Codes laws that limited the rights of African Americans. The Black Code laws allowed freedmen to legally marry and own some properties, but they were obviously made to keep African Americans from gaining any power (they forbade African Americans from voting, owning guns, etc. -
The Civil Rights Act
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act (it said that all African Americans born in the US were citizens.) -
The Reconstruction Act
The Reconstruction Act got rid of state governments that had refused to ratify the 14th amendment, it divided the South into five military districts (the union army enforced the Reconstruction in each of these five sections), it said that in order for the Southern states to join the union again, they had to write a new constitution, ratify the 14th amendment, and allow freedmen to vote. This allowed Radical Republicans to rise to power (all the freedmen would vote for Republicans) -
The Fourteenth Amendment
Radical Republicans were afraid that the Supreme Court would say the Civil Rights Act was unconstitutional, so they passed the 14th Amendment (It defines a citizen as anyone who is born in the US and says that they are all guaranteed equal protection of the laws. It also said that states couldn’t take a person’s liberty, life, or property unless the law says so. If a state didn’t let someone over the age of 21 vote because of their race, they would lose representation in Congress.) -
The Fifteenth Amendment
Congress passed the 15th amendment forbidding any state to deny a citizen's right to vote because of their race or color.