Abraham Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan

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Abraham Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan was a lenient Reconstruction proposal during the American Civil War that offered rapid readmission of Southern states to the Union once a small fraction of their voters pledged loyalty and accepted emancipation.

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Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Reconstruction plan
United States federal policy proposal
allowedStatesTo elect new state governments
form new loyal state constitutions
alsoKnownAs Ten Percent Plan NERFINISHED
amnestyPolicy offered presidential pardons to most Confederates who took the oath
announcedIn Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction NERFINISHED
announcementDate 1863-12-08
appliesTo Confederate states NERFINISHED
conditionForReadmission 10 percent of 1860 voters take loyalty oath
acceptance of the abolition of slavery
formation of a new state government loyal to the Union
conflictContext American Civil War NERFINISHED
contrastedWith Wade–Davis Bill NERFINISHED
country United States of America
surface form: United States
didNotRequire black suffrage
full civil equality for freedpeople
land redistribution
excludedFromAmnesty Confederate diplomats
Confederate officers who mistreated Black prisoners of war
high-ranking Confederate civil officials
high-ranking Confederate military officers
historicalPeriod American Civil War NERFINISHED
historicalSignificance first formal presidential blueprint for Reconstruction
implementedInPartIn Arkansas NERFINISHED
Louisiana NERFINISHED
Tennessee NERFINISHED
influencedBy Lincoln’s desire for quick national reunification
legalStatus presidential proclamation rather than congressional statute
leniencyLevel lenient toward former Confederates
loyaltyRequirement oath of allegiance to the United States
pledge to abide by emancipation
loyaltyThreshold 10 percent of 1860 voters
mainGoal rapid readmission of seceded states to the Union
reestablish loyal governments in Southern states
offeredTo most former Confederates except high-ranking leaders
opposedBy Radical Republicans in Congress NERFINISHED
policyTowardSlavery did not itself fully define freedpeople’s civil rights
required acceptance of emancipation
politicalContext Presidential Reconstruction NERFINISHED
proposedBy Abraham Lincoln NERFINISHED
relatedConcept Presidential pardon power
Proclamation of Amnesty
Reconstruction era NERFINISHED
requiredOathFrom white male voters in seceded states
resultedIn creation of loyal governments in some occupied Southern states
supersededBy later Congressional Reconstruction policies
viewedAs moderate Reconstruction policy
too lenient by Radical Republicans
yearProposed 1863

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Wade–Davis Bill opposedPolicy Abraham Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan