Life

Felicia Question 1-2  Bethany 3-4   Emily 5-6   Pat 7-8 **FINAL DRAFT**  1. In the victory of the North it is very important to avoid bitterness from the South by working diligently to rebuild the damage done in towns. It is important to unite the country as one and make the South feel receptacle to changes. The process however should be taken slowly which is why we would side more closely with moderate republicans of the time. Neither one extreme or the other would be in best interest for the united States. The ideal reconstruction would be comprise. However there should be some fundamental concepts accepted that came out of war. These are not to be tolerated nor settled upon. The federal power over the state should not be compromised with the South. Another principal of the reconstruction plan will be freedom. Under no circumstance will the government tolerate slavery. With these basic guidelines it is also important that we rebuild the civil rights and liberty of blacks. However, it is also understood that a drastic change to the white supremacist culture would bring bitterness and hatred from the South against the North. If we can be patient and diligent in our plan of reconstruction it will bring the nation together as the __U__nited States of America. 2. In the question of justice and punishment for the Southern generals and commanders, I do not believe it would be in the countries best interest to kill of the south's great symbols of pride. For just as the assassination of Abraham Lincoln has forever created bitterness against the South so would an unjust execution of Confederate supporters. Indeed leaving these generals to get away with their acts may pose as a threat to the American ways but overall the effect of killing commanders would create intense hatred and resistance to other changes made in favor of black civil rights. However in order to protect the government from being influenced by extreme racism I believe it would be in the country's best interest to prevent ex-Confederates from holding any federal or state office. This would be punishment enough for these men because without political power within the government they have no means to prevent civil rights of Blacks. In addition, in the event of an ex-Confederate committing a crime against a black man or women he would be imprisoned for the period of time that is given for high crimes such as murder. Getting a message across to the South that there will be no toleration for breaking Federal law would surely re-establish respect for the government. 3. Freedoms in the South for African Americans should be given but also limited. The freedoms should be slowly given to them, At first, blacks should not be guaranteed the right to vote because there would be too much resentment from the whites in the South and if the blacks were to vote, the fire would be stirred and would cause more harm than good. It is best for blacks to gain an education before they partake in political elections. To restore the South for the blacks, we would implement adequate and intensive public schools for all ages. In order to satisfy the funds for this type of system, children would be given simple jobs in which their wages would be only for tuition. In addition to this, new public schools would open up jobs for the educated whites. As children and adults learn who previously had no rights and were owned, they would now be able to move to more complicated jobs and then when they are out of school they would be equipped with an adequate about of work experience to get a job and support themselves. All in all, blacks would be allowed to buy and own property, live on their own, willfully work under someone else, and most importantly, they would have the right to be educated.

4. As mentioned before, we think that right away, the freedom to vote should be narrowed down to those who are white and had previously voted and those who are black and educated/well informed. Eventually all blacks would be able to vote, but that will take years of education and preparation to make their lives level with the whites. We also think that until black are more educated and they have pushed themselves to their greatest potential, only whites may be elected to hold office in the new Southern state governments. We chose this because if blacks were allowed to govern, the people would rebel and completely dishonor the government. It would cause chaos that is preventable. Again, eventually this will change... But it is the baby steps we must make first in order to adjust and not trip and fall. 5. Before the states regain full rights and representation, they would be required to sign/agree with the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. This would mean that blacks could no longer be slaves and that the government, or any group of people, couldn’t deny citizenship to anyone based on race or color. Passing these amendments would definitely push our plan further towards the goal and help out the anti-slavery efforts. Ex-confederates would eventually be able to vote in the elections however, they would not be allowed to hold office because during the entire length of the war, and even before, they wanted to secede from the United States. Few of them have changed their opinion enough to be able to successfully hold a leading government position without conflict. If one of them was put into office, similar problems to the ones that led to the war would arise once again.

6. The Southern economy is, obviously, not where it should be. First off, the former slaves need jobs to help the economy get back on track. A set minimum wage for both white and blacks would be set by the federal government and could be increased by state governments. A post office should be established to create jobs and to create ways of communication. Plantation owners should start hiring former slaves as their employees and pay them to do the work their slaves used to do. A lot of buildings got destroyed during the war and need to be fixed, too, so Southerners would be hired to help put the city back together. Building a railroad in the South would also be very beneficial to both the South and the North. Building the railroad would create jobs, as well as increase trade between the states. After the railroad is built, people will need to industrialize and create a factory system to spark trade and help the economy. Lastly, while reconstruction is going on, taxes for the Southerner’s will be decreased until their economy is more stable. Once they are steady again, the taxes will increase to the amount the Northerner’s are paying.

7. The United States of America would set up a federal police force that can enforce law and support peace especially in the South. They will primarily focus on keeping peace in the south in a time where all that reside in the south must adjust after such a draining defeat for their region. The force may be made up of faithful Northern or Southern Americans looking to uphold the common justice of the United States. The plan is temporary to whenever the South can reach a point of reliability to maintain peace and at that point, the grip of the police force on the south will loosen. However, if more problems were to arise, more police maybe implemented into the system to maintain further peace between the people of the South.

8. The process of reconstruction should be taken slowly. Ex-confederates would eventually be able to vote in the elections. The former slaves need jobs to help the economy get back on track. Building a railroad in the South would also be very beneficial to both the South and the North for its bartering benefits. Setting up a federal police force that can enforce law, support peace especially in the South, and stop violence against African Americans would greatly benefit the once again united country. Supporting all these ideas and many others, the United States will thrive in the Reconstruction era.

Robert M. -

1. I like your idea of moving slow and insisting compromise between the North and South. I think that will allow the two to work out their differences and come to terms better than moving too quickly and forcing opinions on the South. I also agree with your ideas on the no toleration policy for slavery. I think its important that the South understands slavery is not acceptable. 2. I agree with the idea of not killing the ex-Confederate generals after the war, but if they continued to show animosity and be cruel towards blacks, I think they should be subjected to death rather than jailed. In my opinion, I think killing them would get the message across a lot quicker than just jailing them. 3. The idea of having blacks become educated before voting is crucial because an uninformed voter is just as bad or worse than not voting at all in my opinion. 4. Once again, I like the idea of having blacks become educated but I do feel that there were some blacks educated enough to hold office at the time. 5. Even if they had changed their minds, I don't think ex-Confederate leaders should ever have the opportunity to hold office again because for one I feel its hard to give up racist feelings towards blacks after such a long life of having treated them as inferior. I also feel putting them back in power could stir even more animosity between the blacks and whites and lead to further disunion. 6. I think your ideas here are solid. The only part I disagree with is former slaves going back to work for plantation owners. If anything, that would probably stir up a lot more hate and issues between blacks and whites than anything else. 7. Police would probably be beneficial in upholding the new tenants of the US government, but I feel it could easily get out of control and become a corrupt system. 8. Once again, I don't agree with ex-Confederates running for office (reason stated above). All else was mentioned before and I agree with your ideas here.