What were some of the desires for Reconstruction after the war ended (include both Andrew Johnson, the Radical Republicans, and others)? This independence included both individual and community autonomy, as black institutions – namely, churches and schools – were also freed from the white supervision (Foner 46). Fundamentally, these definitions had one underlying theme – the independence from the control exercised by the white people. To the African Americans, freedom also meant the end of injustice and access to the same rights that the white people enjoyed. Freedom was, of course, the absence of slavery, but it also extended far beyond that. In the early days of Reconstruction, the notion of freedom encompassed several definitions.
What was the definition of African American freedom early on in Reconstruction? The abolishment of slavery was a necessary requirement although the states were allowed to introduce some temporary measures regarding blacks as a “laboring, landless and serving class.” Apart from that, the so-called Ten Percent Plan aimed to establish loyal local governments in the South, if at least ten percent of voters pledged allegiance to the North (Foner 27). The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction presupposed the restoration of all rights to those Southerners who swore to accept the abolition, with the exception of some high-ranking officers. The initial plan did not yet include racial equality before the law and black suffrage but was merely intended to end the war.
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