Narrative Essay: My A + Plan For Reconstruction

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MY A+ PLAN FOR RECONSTRUCTION “It is called destruction before reconstruction. People will have to see the danger of war, the hopelessness of war, before things can improve.”-Elizabeth Joyce The United States, a dark place for the locals. Recovery from the Civil War (e.g. Sherman's march in the south) and Lincoln's death, the country is torn apart. Both the Radical republicans' and President Johnson's goal was to reunite the country in a stable and fair way. My A+ plan for reconstruction has southerners who rebelled to be punished differently, southern states who wish to be readmitted into the Union should give freedmen equal rights, and freedmen should establish new lives as free people. Southerners who rebelled should deserve what they have done. Mentioned in the Radical Republican's plan, I think it is a good idea to punish them by distributing their land to freedmen. In that way, it will also be beneficial to give freedmen new lives as free people. However, the idea of punishing the south can be risky, since there might be a possibility of intensifying their anger. That's why I also like some of Johnson's plan. Taking a verbal pledge most likely won't cause any harm, which …show more content…

Unlike President Johnson's, once it frees the slaves, it guarantees them rights like: full citizenship and the right to vote, instead of just freeing them without anywhere to start, like in President Johnson's. Though on the other hand, I like how he though the states should not be punished harshly for secession, and it was the best interest of the country to reunite all states. My original plan would be for the freedmen to have identical rights according to their education, (e.g. educated blacks have same rights as educated white people, uneducated blacks and whites have same rights) since I think that educated people should have more rights

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