The Approach to the Task of Reconstruction of President Andrew Johnson - Essay Example

President Andrew Johnson’s approach to the task of Reconstruction President Andrew Johnson began implementing the reconstruction in May 1865, when the congress was out of session, and he did so in two proclamations. The first one was the amnesty proclamation whereby any southerner who took an oath of allegiance was granted amnesty, with the exclusion of wealthy landowners, Confederate officials, and officers. Those who were not eligible for amnesty could appeal for a pardon. In the other proclamation, President Johnson appointed governors on a provisional basis and gave them the authority to establish state conventions (Kennedy 12).

How Congress reacted to Johnson’s measures during Radical Reconstruction. The congress refused to recognize the senators and representatives, newly elected from the south as per Johnson’s application. The Congressional Joint Committee on Reconstruction came up with the Fourteenth Amendment to the constitution. In addition, Congress enacted its own Reconstruction program which pushed for the Command of the Army Act, as well the Tenure of Office Act. With all this, Congress was able to push for the impeachment of President Johnson (Kennedy 14).

What led to the end of the Reconstruction ultimately, the Reconstruction era had to come to an end firstly because Northerners became tired of all the efforts it took and because they lost interest in the benefits they would gain from the south. Secondly, it was because the civil liberties of blacks had suffered due to the continuous disapproval of the Radical Republican legislation by the conservative Supreme Court and the white community. Finally, the exclusion of the federal troops from the South and the 1877 Compromise signaled the end of the Reconstruction era (Kennedy 15).

How Reconstruction affected the lives of African Americans according to the first reconstruction act, blacks attained the right to vote and to be recognized by Congress. Blacks were also able to participate in most conventions and become delegates in South Carolina. The Fifteenth Amendment provided for blacks the right to vote, regardless of their race. On the downside, there was the establishment of the "Black Code," which limited the freedom of the freedmen and, at the same time, makes sure plantation owners had a cheap and stable labor force (Kennedy 18).