History of the United States I / Unit 16 USH1 2261 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Johnson's Amnesty
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The idea
Johnson's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction of May eighteen sixty-five offered sweeping pardon and returned property, except enslaved people, on affirmation of support for the Constitution.
In practice
Lincoln's position that secession was legally invalid, so states retained their rights of self-government.
Where people slip
Johnson wanted quick, lenient reincorporation and rejected federal provision of voting rights for formerly enslaved people, which is what angered the Radicals.
Your place on the trail
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Builds on
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