The Reconstruction Era of the 1860’s began before and continued well after the Civil War. The plans were designed to bring the union back together. Today some historians argue that reconstruction failed. Lincoln, Johnson, and the Radical Republicans, all had ideas and plans of how they wanted to bring the union back together. They all worked diligently to get their plans, laws, and proclamations into action.
President Abraham Lincoln’s plans consisted of a Proclamation of Amnesty, which was issued in 1863, for the states in the Confederacy. The proclamation promised a pardon if the states returned to the Union and swore to support the constitution but the fine print included some things that most of the southern states disagreed