Reconstruction Plans.

The American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was a clash between the United States of America ( the union) and the southern slave sates also known as the Confederate States of America. It all began when Abraham Lincoln, a republican who opposed the expansion of slavery, took the victory in the elections of 1860, resulting in some southern states declaring their secession for the Union. The Union saw this as a rebellion, therefore, when Lincoln took office, his goal was to preserve the Union. To do this, a war was necessary. After reaching an amazing number of hostilities, the Union came out victorious. The next step was reconstruction.
The reconstruction was an attempt to resolve the consequences of the civil war. It would need to address how the south would return to the union, the condition of the newly freed blacks, and decide what would happen to the ex-leaders of the confederacy. Lincoln, Johnson, and the Radical Republicans presented plans for reconstruction, among these were similarities and differences on how to confront the matter. However, the Radical Republican's plan presented the best soulution.
Lincoln's plan was based on a quick and painless reincorporation of the south to the Union. He began the ten percent plan, which stated that in order for a state to be readmitted, it needed just ten percent of voters to take a loyalty oath to the United States. He also wanted the south to discard the compact theory and welcome the contract theory. Lincoln's plans for reconstrutcion were very moderate compared to the Radical Republican's plans.
Johnson's plan was somewhat similar to Lincoln's, for he also requested a certain percentage ( fifty percent) of voters to swear loyalty and allegiance to the United States. Johnson also opted for a pardon to ex-confederates which in turn would help keep control of southern State Governments, southern lands and black people. Even though he enforced the acceptance of the thirteenth amendment, like Lincoln's plan, not much was done to enfranchise the south's black population.
Johnson's plan caused him to come into direct confrontation with the Radical Republicans, thus creating a struggle between the executive and legislative branch. In discontent with Johnson actions for reconstruction, the Radical Republicans wanted to destroy Johnson's plans. Unlike Lincoln's plan, the Radicals would guarantee the enfranchising of the blacks into the south, mainly because doing so would provide economic aid to the demolished south and keep the freedmen from job competition in the North. To further enfranchise blacks, they came up with the fourteenth amendment, which defined citizenship rights and had to ratified by states in order to be readmitted.
The similarities and differences between these plans at the end all provided good references to each other to come up with better alternatives for a reconstruction favorable to the United States economically and socially. Clearly, the one that did this the best were the Radical Republicans, since their plan was well thought, and it intergrated the freedman while at the same time helping the country's economy recover.