6
Reconstruction and the
Gilded Age
T
hree hours after Lincoln died, Andrew Johnson took the
oath of office as President, and the Radical Republicans were ec-
static. They thought they would have no difficulty determining the
course by which the rebellious South would be reconstructed. They
reckoned that they could control this Tennessean and that he would
summon them to a special session of Congress or wait until they recon-
vened in December 1865 before initiating any presidential action.
They thought wrong. With the final surrender of the Confederate
forces, President Johnson basically adopted Lincoln’s plan and recog-
nized the governments already established in Arkansas, Louisiana,
Tennessee, and Virginia by the late President. Johnson also issued two
proclamations in which he appointed provisional governors in the re-
maining seven southern states for the purpose of calling state conven-
tions that were e x p e c te d to nu l l i f y t he ord i n a nce s of s e ce s sion , re pud iate
their Confederate debt, and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. He
granted amnesty to all rebels who took an oath of allegiance, but he
exempted those who had held high office in the Confederate govern-
ment or the military. He also exempted from amnesty those who owned
$ 20 , 000 or more in property, a prejudice against the rich and upper
classes of southern society that reflected his bitterness over the poverty
he suffered as a youth. However, those exempted could apply directly