Question

Which statement characterizes President Lincoln's Reconstruction goals? He wanted to modernize and industrialize the Southern economy. He wanted to punish the Southern states for starting the Civil War. He wanted to reunite the nation without imposing harsh conditions on the South. He wanted to make sure that African Americans stayed in the South.

Answer 1

He wanted to reunite the nation without imposing harsh conditions on the South.

Step-by-step explanation:

After the Civil War, Republicans were divided in their opinions of what they needed to do with the South. Some Republicans believed that the South needed to be severely punished so that they would never repeat something similar again. On the other hand, other Republicans believed this to be unnecessarily harsh, and they would argue this would only mean that the nation would take longer to heal. Lincoln belonged to the second group. He believed that the Union would be permanently damaged if the South was so harshly punished.

Answer 2

The statement that best characterizes President Lincoln's Reconstruction goals would be that "He wanted to reunite the nation without imposing harsh conditions on the South," since he knew that punishment would only delay the reunification of the nation.