Reconstruction Policy and the SouthTopicReconstruction Policy, Its Effects on the South, the Nation, and Beyond (the 20th Century). What was Reconstruction? What did this do to the country? How did this affect the South for years?I. Hook's Statement: The 1860s to 1870s were full of change, Lincoln was inaugurated a second time after presenting his ideas for Reconstruction and black rights, we had just received a surrender from Robert E. Lee and we were recovering. of war.a. Thesis Statement: Reconstruction at the time shifted from the search for peace and unity to a power struggle between Lincoln and Congress for which plan would work best. The changes that would ultimately be implemented would now transform the way the North governed the South. Main Point - The Ten Percent Plan was Lincoln's first idea on how to reunify the North and South as quickly and effortlessly as possible. The basis of this plan is that Lincoln could allow a minority completely loyal to him to enter the state and form a government with him as leader, but only after a vote with at least 10% of the electorate of the State in his favor. c. Main Point - The radical members of Congress did not wish to comply with the plan outlined by Lincoln, these members were led by Thaddeus Stevens. Members thought Lincoln's plan was too "soft" and wanted to create their own plan instead. First, members of Congress had to get rid of Lincoln's ten percent plan. To do this, they decided that all votes from the state governments of Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana created by Lincoln's plan would not be counted. got along so well with Lincoln and they were forced... middle of paper ... it seemed like a much more rational plan on paper, but Lincoln did not agree with the required measures, he wanted a government that was loyal while being fair to the Confederates so that they would be inclined to join the North. ii. Whether or not the Wade-Davis bill would have worked better remains a mystery, but Lincoln's veto of the bill appears to have been the best choice given the outcome. Another quoted sentence from your source (appropriate embedded citation)i. Your words linking it to the thesis ii. Your words linking it to the thesis. From this evidence, it appears that Lincoln probably intended some sort of Reconstruction policy that would draw on the old Whig and Unionist elements of the South to create the possibility of a Republican Party (or a Union Party of a Kind) with Southern Congressional delegations..