Focus Question: Why was the Radical Republican

plan for Reconstruction considered radical?

Describe this
photograph.
When and
where do you
think this
photograph was
taken?
What are 3
things you think
people living in
this setting did
in the years
following the
photograph?

Vocabulary
radical - having extreme political
or social views that are not shared
by most people
Reconstruction - the period following
the Civil War between 1865-1877

The Civil War, 1861-1865

Fought between the United States
and the Confederate States of
America.
Caused mainly by slavery in the
Southern states and states rights.
The United States defeated the
Confederate States of America.

 Lincoln was assassinated and Andrew

Johnson became president, a
Southerner who sympathized with the
South
Many people in Congress opposed
Johnsonthey were called Radical
Republicans
Radical means extreme, and radicals
typically want to see extreme changes
in society.

 In the 1860s the Radical Republicans

wanted to punish the South for the Civil
War and they wanted freedmen to have
equal rights
Lincoln, if he lived, wished to forgive the
South and restore the Union as quick
as possible.

Major questions following the

Civil War:
1. How to rebuild

the South.
2. How to bring
Southern states
back to the
United States.
3. How to bring
former slaves
into the United
States as free
people.

Re-building the South

Over 1 million Americans lost their
lives during the Civil War:
- 664,928 Northern casualties
- 483,286 Southern casualties
After 4 years of war, could Northerners
and Southerners rebuild together?
Could they become unified as citizens
of the same country?

Consequences for
Confederate States

Should people who fought against

the United States be allowed to
become citizens? Should they be
punished?
What should be done to Southern
state governments that fought
against the U.S.?

Freedmen
How would freed
men and women
be treated in the
Southern states?
What do you
think were some
of the major
challenges faced
by former slaves?