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== Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction ==
[[File:andrewjohnson.jpg|thumbnail|250px|Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States]]
Andrew Johnson was of the opinion that the South needed to feel suffering for its act of rebellion. This line of reasoning was of no good to any party involved in reconstruction and perpetuated a feeling a vengeance among all. The violence in America during this period of history was astounding. According to statistics given at the Southern States Convention in 1871, approximately 1600 murders had taken place in Georgia alone since Reconstruction began. In total, the number of murders across the entire South was 20,000; the victims being free blacks and their white allies.<ref>Herbert Shapiro, “Afro-American Responses to Race Violence During Reconstruction”, ''Science and Society'' 36, no.2 (summer, 1972): 158, http://www.jstor.org/pss/40401634</ref> One act of mass violence took place in Louisiana in July 1866. Radical Republicans of that state recalled their delegates to meet at the statehouse with the goal of enfranchising black men. The delegates and their supporters were attacked by a group of white men, many of whom were wearing their Confederate uniforms. Federal troops were brought in to quell the violence but not before 146 people were wounded and 37 killed, 34 of which were black and the other three were white radicals.<ref>Louisiana State Museum, “Riot of 1866," http://www.lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab11.htm</ref>It was clear that the new state governments enabled by President Johnson were either unwilling or incapable of preventing violence against blacks and their supporters. In 1865 and 1866, the courts in Texas indicted 500 white men for the murder of black citizens; there were zero convictions.<ref>Eric Foner, ''A Short History of Reconstruction, 1863-1877'' (New York: Harper&Row, 1990), 85.</ref>
== Black Codes and the Freedmen's Bureau ==
Little more than a month following Lincoln’s last speech, Andrew Johnson made a proclamation regarding voting rights. His proclamation restored the Constitution in North Carolina to that which it was prior to secession and other states were soon to follow. The newly created governments of the former Confederate states were, of course, composed of white men who were elected by white men. Johnson believed, as he stated two years hence to congress, that “white men alone must manage the South.”<ref>Foner, ''A Short History of Reconstruction'', 84-85.</ref>By giving white men free reign to run their states, these newly established governments began enacted what were called, “Black Codes”. Among other things, these harsh regulations directed at newly liberated men entailed the regulation of labor. In Mississippi for example, the “Vagrant Law” required all black men to have proof of employment and those who did not were subject to fine and arrest.<ref>Eric Foner, ''Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History''(New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008), 320.</ref>These men, having no money to pay their fines, remained confined to a jail cell until someone, usually a plantation owner in need of hands, paid the fine. They were then required to labor in service of these men until the fine was repaid. All of these laws and regulations were enforced and punished by a police force and judicial department composed solely of white men.
[[File:Kkk-carpetbagger-cartoon.jpg|thumbnail|250px|A threat, printed by the KKK circa 1869, depicting the hanging of scalawags and carpetbaggers.]]
The Freedmen’s Bureau, which was enacted in March of 1865 for the purpose of helping newly freed slaves enter white society, was supposed to receive protection from the government while working in the hostile South. Often, the agents themselves came under violent attacks. Because of the threat to the Bureau's agents, a supplemental Freedmen’s Bureau was proposed by congress and quickly vetoed by Johnson in February of 1866. Two months hence, Johnson again used his veto power on the Civil Rights Bill passed by congress. On this occasion, however, congress had enough votes to override the president’s veto.
The Radical Republicans in congress and Democrat Andrew Johnson were unable to work together. Johnson was completely incapable of compromise, as were the radicals, which led to constant bickering between the two branches of Government and produced very little progress in reunifying the nation. Lincoln, on the other hand, was a savvy politician and adaptable. Where Johnson was governed by his ego and unyielding opinions, Lincoln’s proposals were “made in the hope” that they “may do good without danger of harm.”<ref>''Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln.''</ref>This selfless attitude was removed from the Executive Office by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865 at Ford’s Theater.
== Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address ==
