Final answer:
Abraham Lincoln’s policy towards the Confederate states post-Civil War was lenient, focused on quick reintegration into the Union with his Ten Percent Plan and emancipation as a precondition. The Radical Republicans favored more stringent conditions for reintegration and civil rights guarantees. This fundamental disagreement marked the differences in their approaches to Reconstruction.
Step-by-step explanation:
President Abraham Lincoln viewed the Confederate states as integral parts of the Union that needed to be restored with as little friction as possible. His plan, the Ten Percent Plan, was a lenient approach towards the Confederacy post-Civil War. It required that only ten percent of the 1860 voters in Confederate states take an oath of allegiance to the Union to be readmitted. Moreover, he made emancipation a precondition for restoration but allowed the individual states to determine the process of abolishing slavery.
However, the Radical Republicans in Congress disagreed with Lincoln’s moderate stance. They sought stricter terms and a greater assurance of civil rights for the freedmen. Their approach was reflected in the Wade-Davis Bill, which proposed harsher requirements for reintegration of the Southern states and which was subsequently pocket vetoed by Lincoln. Throughout the Reconstruction period, the Radical Republicans continued to push for more stringent policies than what Lincoln had envisioned and would later conflict with Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson, leading to Johnson's impeachment.