Radical Reconstruction

Examples of Radical Reconstruction in the following topics:

• Johnson's Battle with Congress

  • The Radical Reconstruction era was a period when the Radical Republicans held control of Congress and directed Reconstruction efforts.
  • During the era known as "Radical Reconstruction," Radical Republicans in Congress, led by Stevens and Sumner, paved the way for male freedmen suffrage.
  • As a result, Radical Republicans found themselves virtually powerless.
  • Following Reconstruction, many blacks became active in voting and political life.
  • With the Radicals in control, Congress passed four statutes, known as "Reconstruction Acts," on March 2, 1867.

• The Triumph of Congressional Reconstruction

  • Radical Reconstruction was a period of the Reconstruction Era during which the Radical Republicans held control of Reconstruction policies.
  • Radical Reconstruction was a period following the Civil War during which radical Republicans controlled Reconstruction policies, though they often clashed with President Johnson over pieces of legislation.
  • Radical Republicans in Congress, however, led by Stevens and Sumner, opened the way for male freedmen suffrage.
  • The "Reconstruction Amendments" (13th, 14th, and 15th) were adopted in the period from 1865-1870.
  • With the Radicals in control, Congress passed four statutes known as Reconstruction Acts on March 2, 1867.

• Reconstruction in the South

  • Reconstruction from 1865-1877 was characterized by the conflicting views of President Johnson and Congress over Reconstruction policy.
  • The Radicals, upset at President Johnson's opposition to Congressional Reconstruction, filed impeachment charges but the action failed by one vote in the Senate.
  • Grant supported Radical Reconstruction, using both the U.S.
  • Radical Republicans in Congress, led by Stevens and Sumner, opened the way to suffrage for male freedmen.
  • Historians generally refer to this period as Radical Reconstruction.

• The Radical Record

  • The Radical Republicans were a faction of American politicians within the Republican Party of the United States from about 1854 until the end of Reconstruction in 1877.
  • They called themselves "Radicals" and were opposed during the Civil War by moderate Republicans (led by Abraham Lincoln), conservative Republicans, and the largely proslavery (and later anti-Reconstruction) Democratic Party.
  • Sumner, teaming with House leader Thaddeus Stevens, battled Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plans and sought to impose a Radical program on the South.
  • Historians generally refer to this period as "Radical Reconstruction."
  • The Radical Republicans also passed the Reconstruction Amendments, which were directed at ending slavery and providing full citizenship to freedmen.

• Lincoln's Plan and Congress's Response

  • Radical Republicans believed that Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction was not harsh enough because, from their point of view, the South was guilty of starting the war and deserved to be punished as such.
  • Radical Republicans hoped to control the Reconstruction process, transform Southern society, disband the planter aristocracy, redistribute land, develop industry, and guarantee civil liberties for former slaves.
  • However, Congress continued to pass more radical legislation.
  • The Radical Republican vision for Reconstruction, also called "Radical Reconstruction," was further bolstered in the 1866 election, when more Republicans took office in Congress.
  • Congress also passed the Reconstruction Acts.

• The Impeachment and Trial of Johnson

  • Johnson was impeached because of his efforts to undermine Congressional policy; the impeachment was the culmination of a lengthy political battle between the moderate Johnson and the "Radical Republicans" who dominated Congress and sought control of Reconstruction policies.
  • Radical Republicans were convinced that as President, Johnson would enact their hard line Reconstruction policies, specifically protection for newly freed slaves and punishments for former slave owners, as well as for government and military officials.
  • After gaining majority in Congress during the midterm elections, the Radicals managed not only to pass civil rights legislation, but also to wrestle control of Reconstruction away from the president.
  • Stanton, a Radical Republican whose policies greatly differed from Johnson's, from being replaced as Secretary of War.
  • Although the conflict with Congress continued, the impeachment process convinced President Johnson to limit his obstruction of the reconstruction plans of the Radical Republicans.

• The Grant Years

  • The Radical Republicans sought out a candidate for president who would support their vision for Reconstruction.
  • Grant won favor with the Radicals after he allowed Edwin M.
  • Stanton, a Radical, to be reinstated as secretary of war.
  • Grant also opposed President Johnson by supporting the Reconstruction Acts passed by the Radicals.
  • Examine the policies enforced by the Grant administration to bolster Reconstruction

• Johnson's Plan

  • Unlike Radical Republicans, Johnson did not seek to make Southerners accountable for the war, but instead wanted to reintegrate them as easily as possible.
  • During the autumn of 1865, the Radical Republicans responded to the implementation of the Black Codes by blocking the readmission of the former rebellious states to Congress.
  • The amendment was ratified by December 6, 1865, leading Johnson to believe that Reconstruction was over.
  • The Radical-controlled Congress, however, rejected Johnson's moderate presidential Reconstruction, and organized the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, a 15-member panel that devised Reconstruction requirements for the Southern states to be restored to the Union.
  • Johnson was impeached because of his efforts to undermine congressional policy; the impeachment was the culmination of a lengthy political battle between the moderate Johnson and the Radical Republicans who dominated Congress and sought control of Reconstruction policies.

• The End of the War

  • President Lincoln was the leader of the moderate Republicans and wanted to speed up Reconstruction and reunite the nation painlessly and quickly.
  • Radical Republicans opposed Lincoln's plan, thinking it too lenient toward the Southern states.
  • Like Lincoln, Johnson rejected the Radical Republicans' program of harsh, lengthy Reconstruction and instead appointed his own governors in the Southern states in an effort to finish Reconstruction by the end of 1865.
  • The moderates wanted virtually all of them to vote, but the Radicals resisted.
  • Radical Republican leader Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania proposed, unsuccessfully, that all former Confederates lose the right to vote for five years.

• The Battle over Reconstruction

  • 'Reconstruction' was a set of federal policies that addressed the status of the former Confederate states after the Civil War.
  • Reconstruction policies were implemented when the Union Army controlled Confederate states.
  • However, Congress refused to count any of the votes from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, essentially rejecting Lincoln's moderate Reconstruction plan as too lenient.
  • Johnson's leadership proved to be an obstacle for the Radical Republicans in Congress, who attempted to completely overhaul the Southern government and economy.
  • Radical Republicans used this violation as an excuse to impeach Johnson, who the Senate acquitted by one vote.