The+Group,+Deux



**What is the primary goal of reconstruction? Reunification, punishment, civil rights, other? (Thesis)**

In a complex problem such as the reunification of the United States of America, carelessness must be avoided at all costs; as the well being of America sits on extremely thin ice. We have extensively reviewed many possible options, and have are now able to present a plan for the future that will firmly establish the price of treason in the minds of the Confederates, without breaking the unification of these states. This plan is supported by a system of weighted punishment based on status in regard to involvement with the war, slaveholding, and hate crimes. We suggest this range from prohibition from the legal system to military intervention, depending on the magnitude, legality, and general impact of their crimes. This removal of powerful Confederate figures will be accompanied by a gradual, large scale integration of the freedman into society through government aid programs, taxes on previous slaveholders, and through the ratification of the 13th 14th and 15th amendments (which will require a much higher approval rate than the suggested 10%), and through the balancing of these two aspects, we plan to lead the country back onto stable ground.

What should be done to the ex-Confederates?

After waging war against them for so long, Union leaders had a difficult time agreeing on what the fate of the ex-Confederate soldiers and leaders should be. Some of the Union leaders proposed execution for high ranking Confederates; some proposed to forget the past and move on to the future by pardoning all Confederates. Our group has analyzed the issue, and melded the two extreme viewpoints into one efficient plan to reunite our country. While we acknowledge that the Confederate politicians and generals could pose a threat to reconstruction efforts, executing them would obviously do nothing more than inflame the passions of the ex-Confederates, and then reunification would be next to impossible. Instead, we decided to ban the higher-ups from ever holding public office, and to institute laws to insure that they cause no more trouble. For example, all former slave-owners will be forced to pay a fine, the amount being dependent on how many slaves they owned. This money will be put towards the Freedman’s Bureau, to help offset the financial difference between whites and blacks. Additionally, laws will be passed to establish penalties for those convicted of hate crimes, which may include a confiscation of one’s property (to be redistributed to former slaves) and a jail sentence of five to ten years. While it may be next to impossible to change how these former rebels feel about those with darker skin, these laws will discourage them from acting violently towards the black community.

What should be done for the freedmen?

After freedom is granted to slaves, they will have a very tough time adjusting into the flow of economy, education, and a normal life to withhold. Freedmen are uneducated, penniless, and alienated in white society. In order for them to //begin// a steady lifestyle, our group decided that the government shall pass an act called the Freedmen Security Act. This act will allow the government to aid Freedmen financially in property and the basic necessities, such as food, water, clothing, education, and shelter. Land westward of the South, such as the land of the Louisiana Purchase, will be advertised for Freedmen to plot down settlements the can finally own for themselves. Union troops will protect the traveling rights of Freedmen, for they were deprived of these rights beforehand. The Freedmen Security Act will also help Freedmen find jobs for people who choose to work, and once the Freedmen create a steady income rate and are settled down with their lifestyle, their aids from the government will no longer be granted, for the Act only applies to those in need of beginning a life Freedmen once never had. As far as education, government will build public schools and colleges for both whites and blacks, granting Freedmen specifically the opportunities to become properly educated and well-equipped for jobs. Aside from the Security Act, our group is opt on Congress ratifying the 14th and 15th amendments, granting Freedmen the right to vote as well. Freedmen will also have the right to serve in the Unites States Army, as evenly as any white citizen.

Who should be able to vote and hold office in the new Southern state governments?

As our group discussed about ratifying the 14th amendment, Freedmen will be granted the right to vote. Ex-Confederates will be restricted of holding office due to their crimes and probations, but only when they are under their probations. After they have paid their jail times, fines, and guilt, AND apologies, then they will be allowed to run for Southern offices. but will still be given the right to vote. As far as holding office goes, there will be certain educational and experience requirements that must be met in order for Freedmen and other Southerners to run for office. Under our Freedmen Security Act, public schools will be open for all citizens, as well as colleges for further education. Although the previous precedents to hold the presidency are still concrete, a specific amount of years is required in lower offices in order to run for higher offices.

What requirements must be met before states regain full rights and representation?

 For the South to be properly reinstated to the Union, it is a priority that they accept several key principles.A 66% (two-thirds) majority that swears loyalty to the Union, renounces the Confederacy and slavery, and promises to uphold the new-found rights of blacks is necessary for the state to be re-enfranchised. It is imperative that they accept the equality of African Americans, especially after Union troops are be removed from the South. Black labor unions must be organized and protected, not only for safety at the workplace but also for those vulnerable to race riots and lynch mobs. Ex-Confederates also must swallow the fact that they will be under martial law, and will be subjected to harsh repercussions if they commit any race-related crimes. The Army has the power to put down insurrections, so violence is not an option for Southerners. Laws passed by Congress and upheld by the Supreme Court must be accepted, and will be enforced by Union troops in the absence of a legitimate police force. This means unconditional ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments with the right to prosecute violations to the full extent of the law, even if it means that the offender is to be taken farther North in order to ensure a more justly prosecuted trial. Federal law takes precedence over state law in every case, and this means that ex-Confederate leaders will not be allowed to hold office. By losing the war and surrendering, the South has admitted that they have been bested on the field of battle. They have no basis on which to dictate the terms of Reconstruction, and are required to accept these terms if they want to be involved in the affairs of their own government. If they don’t accept, they are leaving themselves vulnerable to the “Northern exploitation” that they are fond of complaining about.

How should the Southern economy be restored?

The Southern economy is the key to reintegrating our Southern brothers back into the Union. If we are unable to kick-start the Southern economy, we risk the chance of making them a burden upon Northern taxpayers, who would make us pay dearly next election in such an event. We have devised a plan that is to be nicknamed the three I’s: Investment, Industrialization, and Infrastructure.To fund the rebuilding, Northern investors combined with foreign investors must be made willing to put capital into the South. Companies will be formed to begin rebuilding the South and stocks/bonds will be advertised at low prices not only in affluent areas of the United States, but in Western Europe as well. English investors fat off the recent Second Opium War in China will have enough capital to make low risk, high reward investments and are to be seen as easy targets for advertising. Taxation should only be an auxiliary at most to this; if Southerners of Northerners are overtaxed then dissent will become an issue. Fines and taxes should go towards paying elected officials, and if there is not enough to pay then the government is to pay the differential.To rebuild the South we cannot make it seem like a solely Northern effort, lest they grow angry at the progress being made. Instead we will reach out to British and French investors, who will be eager to invest in a new business venture: one of a nation they nearly allied with beginning the long road to progress. This, combined with substantial Northern investments, should be able to provide enough money to flow into the South to begin industrialization. Industrial centers will be focused around several major cities, but not the entire South must be industrialized because of the high demand for cotton and agriculture. The countryside not being improved as infrastructure will be preserved as farmland, as the skill set of many Southerners remains that of agriculture.Infrastructure must be rebuilt so the transfer of goods becomes more efficient, effectively lowering prices for the population. However this must not be simply given to them, they must earn it. Infrastructure will be an incentive to cooperate with Union soldiers, counties with the least KKK activity will have infrastructure built. The issue with rapid rebuilding would be a potential lack of funding, so these steps must be ready to be made gradually. Railroads are to be the focal point of improved infrastructure, with river transport and highways playing a supporting role. The main manpower pool who will be working on these projects will be unemployed blacks and whites willing to make money enough to not care about working alongside blacks. In the event of a lack of manpower, immigrants and the unemployed of the North will be informed of the abundance of work in the South.

What role should Union troops play in policing, governing, or rebuilding the South?

During this period of reconciliation, reform, and reunification, the risk of violence from hardline Confederates will pose a very real threat to any reconstruction efforts. As such, the use of military personnel for the purpose of maintaining order will be necessary. One of the major sources of violent criminal activities will be the Ku Klux Klan, who, despite lacking the intellectual capacity to properly spell ‘clan’, possess the supplies, manpower, and intent to pose a threat to the safety of members of the black community. The Klan will most likely be targeting ‘carpetbaggers’, black men with good influence in their communities, and Republican politicians. In order to ensure the safety of these respected individuals, plain-clothes US Army soldiers will be posted in major cities for the purpose of protecting the populace and working to exterminate the KKK. Since membership in the Klan or another such violent white-supremacist will be punishable by death under the law, these soldiers will have the ability to fight the Klan wherever it is found. Additionally, bounties will be placed on the heads of Klan members, with the bounty increasing for higher ranking KKK members. At the same time as this, a propaganda campaign will be launched to diminish popular support for the Klan. With the US Army policing the streets, the transition from two warring nations to one unified one should be much smoother.

**Re-state the primary goal of reconstruction. (Thesis re-stated)**

This country is due for a purge of all the junk the Confederates shoved down our pipes. While the south has a morale that is far from easily broken; the quieting down of those who quite ironically cry out for “freedom” will greatly benefit the prosperity of the country in the future. With the reestablished flow of currency, and the removal of extremely harmful entities such as the Ku Klux Klan; the south will be well on its way to solidly re-rooting itself as a part of the United States of America. This will absolutely REQUIRE the subjugation of currently influential entities, and it will REQUIRE that each problem is given an answer of the right magnitude.