bolition movement was gaining significant momentum in the North and elsewhere. The publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and laws that further oppressed slaves outraged many and led to great cries for abolition across the nation. As such, the Civil War would erupt over many issues but by the time the conflict erupted the issues of slavery and abolition had taken center stage despite numerous other issues of significance that were among the causes leading to civil war. Ultimately, President Lincoln would sign the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves and overturning centuries of slavery in American society. When the war was over the South lie in ruins and challenges over how to handle masses of newly freed slaves created more conflict and debate in government.
The era or period of Reconstruction in the U.S. was a challenging one for both North and South, as the South began the long process of rebuilding its cities and businesses in the destructive aftermath of the war. Freed slaves added to the challenges in the South, along with what were known as carpetbaggers or opportunists who flooded the region following the war. Different plans for Reconstruction varied in their degree of harshness with respect to Southern retribution. Ultimately a plan that was lenient - including a Proclamation of Amnesty - was adopted despite radical republican opposition to a lenient plan of rebuilding and reunification.
When Andrew Johnson took office he pardoned
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