As President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln had a plan for reconstruction after the tragic Civil War. The first step of his plan was to invite the states of rebellion back into the Union. This was the most important thing Lincoln sought to accomplish, the reason being that his goal as president was to unite the nation. Lincoln knew that peace would only be achieved if he forgave the confederacy and allowed them back into the Union. The only problem he faced was that he was trying to unite a whole nation that was just torn in half by war. Lincoln proposed the Proclamation of Amnesty. In this plan all that Lincoln asked of was that, an oath of allegiance to the constitution be taken by at least 10 percent of of the 1860 southern voting population, then they could be pardoned. But on April 14, 1865 all of Lincolns plans were put to a halt by John Wilkes Booth, when he was assassinated. From that point on Andrew Johnson was the man in charge of the nations reconstruction.
Now with a great responsibility on his shoulders, Andrew Johnson was President Lincolns, vice-president, and now was in charge of the nations future. He had to come up with a plan for reconstruction, and he did so by taking elements from "The Proclamation of Amnesty" and the Wade-Davis Bill. But, he greatly amplified the terms of the both of the previous proposals. Johnson plan excluded not only those Lincoln had excluded from pardon, but also everyone with taxable property worth more than $20,000. Those wealthy planters, bankers, and merchants were the people Johnson believed had led the South to secede. Those in the excluded groups might make special applications for pardon directly to the president, and before the year was out Johnson issued some 13,000 pardons. Lincolns 10 percent requirement was omitted. Each state, moreover, was to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, and also began the push for blacks to be able to vote or to "disarm the adversity."
Tindall, George and David Shi. (2007). America, A Narrative History. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.