President Lincoln wanted to heal the wounds of the nation. He wanted to look past the war, and ahead to peace. President Lincoln spoke of this in his second inaugural address. His main purpose of Reconstruction was restoring national unity. President Lincoln wanted to do this by getting the states to come together. To be able to do this, Lincoln proposed the 10% Plan. This plan stated that once 10% of the registered voters in a state had renounced succession, then they could rewrite a state constitution, and submit it for reentrance into the Union. Lincoln said, if they come back now, the Union would respect all property, except slaves.

Soon after Lincoln had proposed these ideas, John Wilkes Booth assassinated him. When this

of how the United States is today. It not only helped to reunite the country, but also changed the lives of many people, black and white. Reconstruction helped the blacks gain the personal rights that they deserved, and worked hard for. It also played a very big role in the development of education. Because of the development of these things, reconstruction was a success.

occurred Andrew Johnson took over as president. Very soon after he was sworn in, Johnson announced his plan of reconstruction, which was very similar to Lincoln's. Andrew Johnson with the help of Congress drew up the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. These acts were very similar to Lincoln's plan in that they required the states to draw up new constitutions before they could be readmitted to the Union. Through these acts, education soared. Every state started a system of public education, and began building schools. Each state also trained teachers to fill the open spots in the schools. Through education, the nation gradually came to unity, and President Abraham Lincoln's dream came true. Reconstruction was successful in restoring the nation's unity.

Reconstruction played a big role in the development

Reconstruction not only restored the nation's unity, but it helped the slaves to gain personal rights. During this time, a freedman's

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