Reconstruction was a period of time following the Civil War (1865-1877) that was supposed to be the rebuilding of America. It was also the process used to readmit all Confederate states into the Union. There was controversy, however, over how to proceed to rebuild the nation. Abraham Lincoln proposed a lenient plan. After he was assassinated, Andrew Johnson proposed a very similar plan. The Radical Republicans, a group of legislators who favored freedmen's rights, opposed both plans as part of “Presidential Reconstruction.” They began “Congressional Reconstruction.” Due to conflicting opinions, there has been little cooperation between the executive and legislative branches. This led to many unsuccessful policies and the general end of reconstruction. Before he was assassinated, Lincoln proposed what he called the Amnesty and Reconstruction Proclamation, or the Ten Percent Plan. Under this plan, all Confederates would be pardoned except high-ranking officers and prisoners of war who had sworn allegiance to the Union. Once ten percent of a state's voting population had pledged allegiance, that state could begin forming a new state government and have representatives in Congress. Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia and Louisiana all began moving toward readmission. Radical Republicans were furious and launched the “Wade-Davis bill,” which proposed that Congress, not the president, take control of Reconstruction. He also understood that a state would need a majority, not ten percent, to pledge allegiance and be reinstated in the Union. Abraham Lincoln “pocket vetoed” this. If a bill is “passed less than ten days before the end of the session of Congress,” then the president can prevent it from becoming a… means of paper… the Union, was on behalf of the South terms. The reconstruction was not very successful and achieved only the most basic goals. With the compromise of 1877, the reconstruction came to an end. This occurred in part due to the current state of the economy, the new president, Rutherford B. Hayes, the lack of will of the North, and the Compromise of 1876. The constant power struggle between the president and Congress continued during the entire reconstruction. process, starting with Lincoln and, finally, Hayes. Eventually all the states were readmitted to the Union, yet the country was in ruins. Works Cited Murphy, C., Ms. "American Reconstruction." US Titles 1. North Warren Regional, Blairstown. May 2014. Conference. "Reconstruction 1865-1877." The American journey. vol. 4. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2007. 458-79. Press.