Question

Reconstruction was a time that focused on helping ex-slaves adjust to freedom and readmitting the states who left the union during the civil war. reconstruction officially started prior to the end of the war when president lincoln planned the reunification of the country. he was more moderate in his approach, as he never believed the southern states had truly left the union. he stated that a state could be readmitted to the union when 10% of the population gave oath of allegiance. after lincoln's assassination, andrew johnson took office. though he favored the same ideas as lincoln, the radical republicans wanted to see more strict laws that protected african americans and punished slave owners

Answer 1

Reconstruction was the post-Civil War era where strategies were devised for the Southern states' re-entry into the Union and for defining freedmen's rights. The moderate 'ten percent plan' by President Lincoln conflicted with Radical Republicans' stricter proposals, creating a political struggle that intensified after Lincoln's death and the succession of Andrew Johnson.

Step-by-step explanation:

Understanding Reconstruction

Reconstruction, spanning from 1865 to 1877, was an era in which the United States endeavored to reintegrate the Southern states into the Union and to establish the rights of freedmen within that union. This period began before the conclusion of the Civil War, with President Abraham Lincoln initiating the process of reunification. Lincoln’s ten percent plan proposed that once ten percent of a state's voting population took an oath of allegiance, that state could form a new government and be readmitted to the Union. Radical Republicans, however, found Lincoln's terms too lenient and sought to enforce more stringent conditions to protect African Americans and restructure Southern society. After Lincoln's assassination, President Andrew Johnson attempted to follow Lincoln’s approach, but clashed with the Congress’s more radical approaches. This set the stage for a significant power struggle over the direction of Reconstruction.