Select the correct answer. What was the primary difference between Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction plans? a.The Congressional plans were more conciliatory and aimed to reestablish the Union quickly. b.The Congressional plans were more punitive and aimed to promote social programs above all else. c. The Presidential plans were more conciliatory and aimed to reestablish the Union quickly. d. The Presidential plans were more punitive and aimed to promote political participation above all else.

 c. The Presidential plans were more conciliatory and aimed to reestablish the Union quickly.

• After the Civil War, the United States faced the challenge of rebuilding the South and integrating millions of newly freed African Americans into society. Two main approaches emerged, commonly referred to as Presidential Reconstruction and Congressional Reconstruction.
• Presidential Reconstruction was led by Presidents Abraham Lincoln and his successor, Andrew Johnson. Lincoln's approach, known as the "10 Percent Plan," was designed to be lenient and quick. It required that only 10 percent of a state's voters take an oath of allegiance to the Union and accept the end of slavery for the state to be readmitted to the Union. Although Lincoln was assassinated before he could implement his plan, Johnson largely took up Lincoln's approach but faced considerable opposition from Congress for being too lenient.
• Congressional Reconstruction, on the other hand, was led by the Radical Republicans in Congress who believed that Johnson’s approach was too forgiving and did not do enough to protect the rights of the freed slaves or ensure their social and economic integration. Congressional Reconstruction involved dividing the South into military districts and requiring Southern states to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment, which granted citizenship to the freed slaves, as well as to accept federal laws granting civil rights to African Americans.