Abraham Lincoln began planning for Reconstruction long before the end of the Civil War. His main goal was to see the nation reunited. Most Americans supported Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan. He wanted to quickly bring the nation back together. Hopes for a fair and speedy Reconstruction died with Lincoln.
Andrew Johnson took office and began what he called “Restoration.” It was a fitting name for a plan that was to restore the South to the way it had been before the war. The same leaders would be free to return to power. They would also be free to decide the fate of the freed slaves. Congress rejected Johnson’s ideas. In the end, Johnson’s Restoration was a failure.
