How did President Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction treat Southern states

President Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction was known as the ’10 Percent Plan’. It allowed for the re-admittance of Southern states once 10% of the population had sworn an oath of loyalty to the US and agreed to the abolition of slavery. After the 10 Percent Plan was passed, President Lincoln was assassinated and President Johnson’s plan, the ‘Radical Plan’, took over. This plan was much harsher and did not allow the South to re-enter the Union until they had ratified the 14th Amendment and adopted a new state constitution.

Explanation

The answer given above describes how President Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction and President Johnson’s Radical Plan treated the Southern states. Lincoln’s 10 Percent Plan allowed for the re-admittance of Southern states once 10% of the population had sworn an oath of loyalty to the US and agreed to the abolition of slavery. President Johnson’s Radical Plan was much harsher and did not allow the South to re-enter the Union until they had ratified the 14th Amendment and adopted a new state constitution.

The importance of the 14th Amendment was that it granted citizenship to all people born in the United States and prohibited states from denying any person “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” or from denying “equal protection of the laws.” The 14th Amendment was an important step towards greater civil rights for African Americans.

The implications of President Lincoln’s and President Johnson’s plans for Reconstruction were significant for the future of the United States. By granting African Americans citizenship and allowing them to vote, the plans laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century and the dismantling of Jim Crow laws in the South. These plans also allowed the US to come together again after the Civil War and begin the process of healing and rebuilding.