Johnson's plan of Amnesty and Reconstruction which he announced in May 1865 was vindictive in some respects, such as in barring from office anyone with assets of more than $20,000, it was in general more generous than Lincoln's and he showed even less disposition to compromise with Congress. Because of the rigidity of his approach and his tendency to surrender the initiative to southern politicians whom he trusted too much, Johnson incurred the wrath of the Republican majority in Congress which "had feared that [his] minimal policy of restoration would be inadequate [and] were given ample reason to oppose southern readmission to the new . . . Congress" (p. 36).
Chapter Two Reconstruction, 1866-1873
Perman says that the Radical Republicans wanted to displace completely the southern political, economic and social system and replace it with "free labor, universal education, and equal rights" (p. 47). Their plans to reform and restructure the South ran totally counter to President Johnson's accommodationist posture. However, Perman argues that
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