The+Team+Without+a+Name



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

** What should be done to the ex-Confederates? **

Moving forward from this time of division between the South and North, reunification is imperative. In order to successfully secure relationship of formerly opposing states as a nation, some steps must be made in regard to the ex-confederates in the South. ** ﻿ ** ** What exactly do you consider a confederate? ** Which would be what, to let everyone and anyone who might cause a treat to the new healing nation vote? The government must not deny any citizen the right to vote, no matter where their loyalty lay during the war. ** Even citizens who directly tried to dissolve the Union? Isn't this treason? Isn't treason illegal? ** Do you think the North will be angered by this approach? Do you consider black people to have the right to vote? There must be no sense of oppression felt by southerners- we are trying to bring the nation together, not to create bitter resentment because of elimination of rights. ** How does having people who tired to tear the country apart have a say in government help "bring the nation together"? ** However, it is also important that high-ranking leaders of the confederacy not hold powerful positions in government immediately following the war. They could still start rebellions and uprisings without holding office If you let them vote with enough supporting votes there could be major issues. We recognize that the ex-confederate leaders were great southern politicians, and they will regain the ability to run for office after a period of no less than 15 years. How is fifteen years going to change their views of the war? Won't they just wait until they have the opportunity to run again? To put it bluntly, I suspect most of the ex-Confederate leaders would be dead or extremely elderly after 15 years, meaning of course that they definitely will not wait until then to take some sort of action, especially if no policing unit is introduced. So the confederates will be bitter for 15 years and then take office again and will have learned there ways? During this time, the South can work towards becoming successful without dependence on slavery and citizens of the South can accept the reunification of the nation with the help of new leaders with fresh perspectives. ** How do you plan them becoming successful with out slavery? ** Do you just expect them to give up there livelihood that fast without anything to fall back on and follow your orders? I would demand what you imply I do for a living and how you are going to help me become successful without the old ways of slavery, HOW! HOW! How are you going to maintain peace?

**What should be done for the freedmen? **  As for the freedmen getting their first taste of liberty, they will immediately gain almost full citizenship.  What is almost full citizenship? This will anger the South, what will be done to maintain peace? In order for them to adapt to their drastic lifestyle change, it is important that the education of the freedmen become a priority so that they can establish themselves as successful members of society. Is the North going to pay for this or the South? Either way it wont end well... Who is going to pay for their education? Adult former slaves﻿ attempted to become literate, but truth was that it was simply too late. So, earliest and best case scenario, the next generation can become 's﻿uccessful members of society.' How will you get the money to do this? No one back then wanted to pay for african-americans to go to school. However, to protect both the relationship between the North and South and the freedmen themselves, former slaves will not gain immediate suffrage. Instead, there will be a period of two years where southerners have the opportunity to grow accustomed to the new status of the freedmen and the freedmen can get a firmer grasp on their political positions as citizens before they are granted full rights to vote, and after 8 year they will gain the right to hold positions in government. Is two years enough time to drastically change society? Is two years enough to learn to read and write? Does it only take us a period of two years learn to read? What classes are we taking now, oh yes one of them is English? This hopefully will give freedmen a chance to become part of southern society and will also diminish hate crimes towards the freedmen because of bitterness of white southerners. The KKK you mean? You have considered them in all of this correct? How will you oppress the KKK if they don't diminish (which is very likely)? This seems like a plan to only delay the inevitable hate crimes, not entirely eliminate them. I don't think two years is a long time at all. They'll keep out of trouble till they get their rights and their bottled up anger will most likely be worse.

Following the Civil War, turmoil in the South, as well as their animosity toward the North will play a role in who should be able to hold office. Therefore, in the spirit of reconstruction and reunification, all white males should be allowed to vote and hold office, with the exception of certain Confederate leaders. There are some pretty hateful normal white males in the south who were not leaders. Do you think that all white males in the South would be fair in government?Wouldn't they harvest anger as well? Wait, only the confederate leaders thought that certain confederate way, oh that's a relief LOL. <--Lulz <--Rofl Then, after people have become used to the idea that the freedmen are just that, free men, they can work their way into holding office in state governments. Who can work their way into holding office? However, they should be given the right to vote because they have the same rights as the white Southerners. In the last paragraph, it was stated that, 'former slaves will not gain immediate suffrage.' So which is it? I would also like to know the answer to that question thank you. <--They did answer that, they are making the slaves wait two years before giving them any sort of power or say in government. Just because it isn't fair doesn't mean you can forget it guys. Also, the Union soldiers that stay in the south Would union soldiers in the south anger the people and make them feel oppressed? should also be allowed to vote, since reunification would imply that these soldiers, as well as the freedmen and white Southern males, are all part of the same nation, and therefore have the same rights. Wouldn't having them all vote in one place cause extreme tension not unity?
 * Who should be able to vote and hold office in the new Southern state governments? **

Before states can be able to regain full rights and representation, they should meet with three requirements. First, they must prove through voting records that there are freedmen and Union soldiers that decided to stay in the South voting, and not just the Southern white males. Wouldn't this cause too much tension and heighten the extent of hate crimes? Isn't that a little harsh? It is just like the black codes. You can vote, you just have to have black people or one of our soldiers vote as well. Secondly, at least three-quarters of the state’s population should be literate. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%;">That is an incredible--almost impossible thing to ask of the 1870s South. <span style="color: #080cbc; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%;">Most of the state couldn't even read and understand what that sentence meant in the 1870s. This also leads to the third requirement that the education system must be revised so freedmen, as well as their children, can receive an education. Does the South have enough money to revise their educational system? Not to mention will the whites just pull their kids out of the schools or protest? <span style="color: #00ff00; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Does this education process only happen within that earlier mentioned two year period? These requirements would provide a foundation upon which the South could continue to rebuild. And, by meeting these requirements, the states will also all be starting from the same place, as they have been given the same foundations. <span style="color: #00ff00; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">A happy ending? Your explaining the results but not the processes in order to get to them. Where is the U.S. going to obtain the resources to fund this or are the poor states going to have to work individually to reach stability? <span style="color: #0717cd; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">This was a nice requirement, too bad they hadn't invented the money tree yet. Are you going to be taxing the South for this? Or the North? Or both? If you tax the South you will cause tensions and backlash, but if you only tax the North then they will get angry that they have to pay for the South who they believe started the war.
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">What requirements should be met before states regain full rights and representation? **

The Southern economy is in complete turmoil in the aftermath of the war. In order to restore the Union, the Southern economy must be sufficiently restored so that Southern planters will not feel a severe hatred towards the federal government, and also to the African Americans who will be their employees rather than their slaves. Do the freedmen have to be their employees? Wouldn't the farmers feel hatred at the idea of having to pay their former slaves? Wouldn't that just turn them back into slaves..? You can't guarantee fair treatment. <span style="color: #00ff00; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I agree would they even know if they were being treated with so little an education and who would stand up for them ? To achieve this goal, the federal government will absorb all Confederate state debts that were accumulated in the Civil War. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%;">So the country will now be paying even more money to help the South? I wonder how the North will react to that... Does the federal government have that much money to spend on restoring their economy? Doubtful. <span style="color: #00ff00; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">Some "ex"-confederates would point out that they use to have more cash flow before slavery was abolished, (which may be just a random shout out imagined one would blurt out loud). <span style="color: #0f07bd; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%;">I like how in all of your plans, money just falls from the sky. In doing this, the Southern states will be able to focus their attention on readjusting their economy from a plantation slave system into a system where whites and blacks are able to financially prosper. What will you do if they don't want to financially prosper together? Most of their plantation land was destroyed (i.e. Sherman's March) so what readjusted economic system do you propose they prosper off of? Will you introduce factories? Railroads? Sharecropping?
 * <span style="color: #ff6600; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">How should the Southern economy be restored? **

The Union troops must delicately deal with policing, governing, and rebuilding the South. Won't the southerners rebel? <span style="color: #00ff00; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Wouldn't the southerners feel just a little bit like they where in a Communism with big brother "North" watching them? Wouldn't that make then feel more entitled to start another fight? To carefully restore the Union, the federal government proposes that the Union soldiers do not police the South. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">So who's going to keep order and protect the Blacks? <span style="color: #00ff00; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">What either they are "policing, governing, and rebuilding the South" as stated in your first sentence or they are not? All this will result in is angering Southern rebels and promoting more outbreaks and violence. In the government, Union troops will play a minimal role (as long as they are so much as there, the South won't be happy) <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><---Zing! as long as the legislature is redrafted to secure civil liberties for African Americans and commitment to the union. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Yes that is all good and well but WHO WILL BE ENFORCING THESE LAWS? You can't just make controversial laws with nothing to back them and expect people to follow. Will the laws truly change anything without consequences? Union troops won't 'police' the South.... but will still be there? Once the state meets the requirements previously mentioned to regain full rights and representation, the union troops will be completely withdrawn from the government. <span style="color: #0f1bcf; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Yah! the south will be free to do whatever they want to black people again! Once they regain representation the army is gone?What help will this been in restraining the KKK? Finally, Union troops should be active in rebuilding the South. They should help restore destroyed property and railroads, or other public buildings that were destroyed by Union troops during the Civil War. Why would union troops want to help the South? <span style="color: #0f18b0; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Wait, I thought all the troops were to be withdrawn from the government?
 * <span style="color: #ff6600; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">What role should Union troops play in policing, governing, or rebuilding the South? **

** Re-state the primary goal of reconstruction. (Thesis re-stated) ** <span style="display: inline ! important; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">In order to restore a more perfect union and unite the nation, the Ex-Confederate States must be rebuilt and reorganized in their economy, government, and social policies.

Camille Gonzalez's comments are in Orange!! Hannah Alday- I think your requirements are really smart to aid reunification, the way they help even the footing but how would it be paid for? Building schools, paying for the army and absorbing all the debt is expensive so where would the money come from? Also what would happen if the South took away the freedmens rights after the Union troops left? And would the freedmen be given land? I think you found a nice balance between placating the South but not making the North feel like the war was fought for nothing. <span style="color: #1bb8ee; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;">Alexa Constantine - <span style="color: #1bb8ee; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;">I think your plan is really good for the most part, but there are some points that I think would be harmful towards Reconstruction. First of all, wouldn’t the allowance of ex-Confederate leaders to hold office lead to north opposition? It could also potentially cause Confederate leaders to gain seats in Congress, which could backfire later when reconstruction policies or pro-North bills are needed to be ratified by the House and Senate. Also, wouldn’t the instant departure of Union troops from the South after their re-admission into the Union allow for violent groups such as the KKK to rise? Who would stop them from oppressing the blacks? Lastly, I think the plan for past slaves to simply work for their masters for pay would only create trouble. Yes, they would be getting paid, but wouldn’t this also help cement the belief that whites are superior to blacks? And wouldn’t this cause resentment for the white plantation owners? That’s it. Good job! :)

comments by Anna Shang. :)

Blue: by Saydie sorry Alexa, I stole your color.

Amy Husted's comments are this color

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Some kind of auburn color by Matt Zinik

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">﻿Why should every citizen be allowed to vote, won't the ex-Confederates vote for the evil person, therefore leading to a spiral downwards of reestablishment of slavery, states, rights, etc.? Time doesn't change anything, especially if people still get angry about the Civil War to this day. 15 years wait to be part of the government won't change any opinions; it will never be enough time for a fresh perspective. I agree with your plan of action concerning the freedmen, but the South will never "get used" to the former slaves being freedmen. The requirements for the states to gain full rights and representation are a little steep, especially in the education. Having the federal govt. pay for all the Confederation state debts is like Hamilton's assumption plan, except worse because of the tensions it will create between the North and the South. I agree that the Union troops should help with rebuilding the land. <span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Kirsten Wiltjer

<span style="color: #0c16b8; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Evan Skora did it in blue

<span style="color: #7c367c; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">﻿Lexi Smith: To start off you girls did a great job, especially considering most of us had 3 or 4 people to create our plan. Now, I agree with most everything my classmates are saying, which makes it hard for me to actually say my own ideas, however, one of the problems with your plan is that you didn't attempt to please every side. If the south is treated so harshly like you are suggesting than they are likely to secede again, you need to at least make an attempt to keep the south somewhat happy. Also, you didn't talk of much means of funding, how is the US supposed to pay to build schools, and armies. But don't get me wrong, yours is a very well thought out plan. But I do not agree with allowing every citizen to vote, this will upset the North (by letting confederate officers vote) and the South (by letting blacks vote). I also think that you should have addressed the problem of the KKK more directly. That is all, (: