1. Lincoln's Death
1.1. President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865. Andrew Johnson became President.
2. Early Steps Toward Reconstruction
2.1. Competing Reconstruction Plans
2.1.1. Wade-Davis Bill
2.1.1.1. A rival Republican plan. Lincoln refused to sign the bill. A majority of white men in each southern state had to swear loyalty to the Union. Anyone who had volunteered to fight for the Confederacy would be denied the right to vote or hold office.
2.1.2. Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan
2.1.2.1. Ten Percent Plan A southern state could form a new government after 10 percent of its voters swore an oath of loyalty to the United States. The new government had to abolish slavery. Voters could then once again elect members of Congress. The plan offered amnesty, or a government pardon, to Confederates who swore loyalty to the Union. Former Confederate leaders could not be given amnesty, however.
2.1.3. Andrew Johnson's Plan
2.1.3.1. A majority of voters in each southern state had to pledge loyalty to the Union.
2.1.3.2. Each state had to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, which banned slavery throughout the nation.
2.1.3.3. After Lincoln's assassination, Andrew Johnson became President. He proposed a Reconstruction plan:
2.1.3.4. The southern states quickly met Johnson’s conditions. The President approved their new state governments in late 1865.
2.1.3.5. Southern voters elected representatives to the Senate and House.
2.1.3.6. Republicans in Congress were outraged that many of those elected had held office in the Confederacy. No southern state allowed African Americans to vote.
2.1.3.7. Congress refused to let southern representatives take their seats. Instead, they set up a Joint Committee on Reconstruction to form a new Reconstruction plan.
2.2. Freedman's Bureau
2.2.1. Congress and the President did agree on one plan. One month before Lee surrendered, Congress passed a bill creating the Freedmen’s Bureau, a government agency to help former slaves. The agency helped poor whites as well. Gave food and clothing to former slaves. Tried to find jobs for freedmen. Provided medical care. Set up schools. Most of the teachers were volunteers from the North. The Bureau created colleges for African Americans, including Howard, Morehouse, and Fisk.
3. Postwar Problems
3.1. North
3.1.1. Returning Union soldiers needed jobs. Yet, because the government was canceling war orders, factories were laying off workers.
3.2. South
3.2.1. Destruction—Homes, barns, bridges and the railroad system were destroyed. The cities of Columbia, Richmond, and Atlanta had been leveled.
3.2.2. Economic ruin—After the war, Confederate money was worthless. People who had loaned money to the Confederacy were never repaid. Many banks closed, and depositors lost their savings.
3.2.3. A changed society—Almost overnight, there was a new class of freedmen—men and women who had been slaves. What would become of them.