Lincoln created the ten percent plan in 1863 to re-instate the southern states back into the union. After the Civil war ended a debate started about how the south would be punished and how to allow them back in to the union. While some believed that south should be punished so harshly they would never dare to do something like it again, Lincoln believed that the right way to gain the South’s trust was to show them leniency. He created a plan called the Ten Percent Plan.
Like in the name if ten of the population of the sates swore an oath of allegiance to the United States then they would be admitted back. They would also have to abolish slavery. From there all Sothern’s would receive full pardons except high-ranking officials and be allowed to send representatives from their states to Congress. From doing this he wanted to show the south he was willing to be lenient and show the south mercy. Many people agreed with Lincoln’s approach and were called Moderators. One of theses moderators called Salmon P. Chase wrote the prestend about the benefits of lienancy in this Document.
Image 1 of 4, Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833-1916.
Called the, Salmon P. Chase to Abraham Lincoln, Tuesday, April 11, 1865 (Reconstruction). The Transcript of what the letter says can be found here. Along with other primary source historical documents having to do with the reconstruction at the Library of Congress: Abraham Lincoln Papers.
However the party called the Radical Republicans wanted to take stricter approaches and create the wade Davis bill to counter it. You can learn about it from my good friend Taylor HERE. Before this plan was put into motion though Lincoln was assassinated.
Lincoln’s Ten percent plan brought up many questions. One very large one was who was to decided how the south was let back in; the Legislative Branch or the Executive Branch. This brought it back to the divide that had been there since the founding of America. Was America created by a group of people or was America created by a group of states? While the Congress argued that the states made up the Union and therefore they should be in charge of how the “States” are let back into the Union, President Lincoln though that America was made up of people there for giving him the power to pardon whoever he pleased.
Lincoln created the ten percent plan in 1863 to re-instate the southern states back into the union. After the Civil war ended a debate started about how the south would be punished and how to allow them back in to the union. While some believed that south should be punished so harshly they would never dare to do something like it again, Lincoln believed that the right way to gain the South’s trust was to show them leniency. He created a plan called the Ten Percent Plan.
Like in the name if ten of the population of the sates swore an oath of allegiance to the United States then they would be admitted back. They would also have to abolish slavery. From there all Sothern’s would receive full pardons except high-ranking officials and be allowed to send representatives from their states to Congress. From doing this he wanted to show the south he was willing to be lenient and show the south mercy. Many people agreed with Lincoln’s approach and were called Moderators. One of theses moderators called Salmon P. Chase wrote the prestend about the benefits of lienancy in this Document.
Called the,
Salmon P. Chase to Abraham Lincoln, Tuesday, April 11, 1865 (Reconstruction). The Transcript of what the letter says can be found here. Along with other primary source historical documents having to do with the reconstruction at the Library of Congress: Abraham Lincoln Papers.
However the party called the Radical Republicans wanted to take stricter approaches and create the wade Davis bill to counter it. You can learn about it from my good friend Taylor HERE. Before this plan was put into motion though Lincoln was assassinated.
Lincoln’s Ten percent plan brought up many questions. One very large one was who was to decided how the south was let back in; the Legislative Branch or the Executive Branch. This brought it back to the divide that had been there since the founding of America. Was America created by a group of people or was America created by a group of states? While the Congress argued that the states made up the Union and therefore they should be in charge of how the “States” are let back into the Union, President Lincoln though that America was made up of people there for giving him the power to pardon whoever he pleased.
As for secondary Sources I used the following for Research and for background into the Reconstruction.
http://www.oldstatehouse.com/exhibits/arkansas-politics/onthestump-4d2.asp
http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-9062406
http://msnichols5-5.wikispaces.com/file/view/Lincoln's+10+Percent+Plan.pdf
http://www.essortment.com/civil-war-reconstruction-plan-21004.html