On April 9th, 1865, America's bloodiest war finally came to its conclusion. The period that came after was known as the Reconstruction Era. One of the most prominent problems was "what to do with the South?". Many people from the Congress were completely agreeable with punishing the Southerners for seceding and for their crime of Slavery. However, President Andrew Johnson had quite a different plan of action in mind. He wanted to continue Lincoln's intention of forgiving the South and reuniting the Union. Johnson was well aware that this may have not been the most popular mindset, but he implemented what was known as "Executive Reconstruction" to force the South to endorse the 13th amendment and rejoin the Union. Throughout history many people have questioned if Johnson made the right decision, or if he should have listened to the Congress. It is time to dive deeper into this conflict of "forgive or punish?".
It is not acceptable to at any time forget that the South had thrived off Slavery; the practice of imprisoning human beings and forcing them to work for no pay. All the income the slave owners received was earned from the back-breaking work and sweat of hundreds of other human beings. Slavery itself should be a crime with a severe punishment, but the South didn't stop there. When faced with the conflicting views of the North, the decided to secede from the Union, another punishable act. These were the thoughts running through the minds of the Congress members that opposed Johnson. They wanted the South to get what they deserved. They wanted to see heads roll. However, upon further reflection, it is easy to realize that had the South been punished or even executed for their crimes, the body count would pile up even higher; the body count left behind by the Civil War. I believe that Johnson and Lincoln were right to forgive, because it benefited America overall, the fruits of which are still seen today. Revenge was not the answer then, and it is still not the answer for anything, because "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". Let us all learn to forgive and forget, and move on with our life.
It is not acceptable to at any time forget that the South had thrived off Slavery; the practice of imprisoning human beings and forcing them to work for no pay. All the income the slave owners received was earned from the back-breaking work and sweat of hundreds of other human beings. Slavery itself should be a crime with a severe punishment, but the South didn't stop there. When faced with the conflicting views of the North, the decided to secede from the Union, another punishable act. These were the thoughts running through the minds of the Congress members that opposed Johnson. They wanted the South to get what they deserved. They wanted to see heads roll. However, upon further reflection, it is easy to realize that had the South been punished or even executed for their crimes, the body count would pile up even higher; the body count left behind by the Civil War. I believe that Johnson and Lincoln were right to forgive, because it benefited America overall, the fruits of which are still seen today. Revenge was not the answer then, and it is still not the answer for anything, because "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". Let us all learn to forgive and forget, and move on with our life.
I agree with your idea of how revenge was not the answer for the civil war. Lincoln still felt that these were his fellow Americans that he was killing with the continuation of the civil war. Forgiveness is a great thing in this situation to prevent any sort of other blood shed, but I don't always agree with forget. Remembering the things that happened in the past can always be used as a reminder to us for the consequences of certain actions. I would say forgive, but remember, not as a grudge, but as a way to help better yourself. I also wanted to ask that, was Johnson really that forgiving of the south as he did utterly hate the plantation system?
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