Why was President Lincoln unable to persuade Congress to accept his Reconstruction plan?

Question

1. President Lincoln’s plan did not allow Northerners to vote on the Reconstruction Acts.
2. Congress believed that the Freedmen’s Bureau should be responsible for Reconstruction.
3. Congress believed President Lincoln’s plan was too difficult for the South.
4. President Lincoln was assassinated before he was able to persuade Congress.

Answer 1

The correct answer is 4. President Lincoln was assassinated before he was able to persuade Congress.

Lincoln had a particular vision for Reconstruction that aimed for a relatively lenient approach to reintegrating the Southern states after the Civil War. However, he was assassinated in April 1865, just as the war was ending, and before he could fully implement his plan or effectively persuade Congress to adopt it. After his death, Congress, particularly with the rise of the Radical Republicans, shifted towards a more stringent approach to Reconstruction.