Which element was included in Johnson's Reconstruction plan regarding Confederate debts?

Which element was included in Johnson's Reconstruction plan regarding Confederate debts?

• A. States must pay war debts
• B. Erase all Confederate debts
• C. Forgive all Confederate debts and loans
• D. Create a new national debt to fund Reconstruction

Answer: (A)

Johnson’s plan tied the fate of the former Confederate states to their own responsibilities, not to federal action. He argued that debt from the Confederacy was a state matter, so the states should repay their war debts rather than have the federal government assume or cancel them. This is why the answer that states must pay war debts best fits his approach: it kept Confederate obligations with the states and avoided creating a new national debt or erasing those debts at the federal level. In contrast, erasing or forgiving Confederate debts or creating a new federal debt would contradict his intent to keep Reconstruction relatively lenient and limited in federal overreach, while still requiring readmission conditions.

Johnson’s plan tied the fate of the former Confederate states to their own responsibilities, not to federal action. He argued that debt from the Confederacy was a state matter, so the states should repay their war debts rather than have the federal government assume or cancel them. This is why the answer that states must pay war debts best fits his approach: it kept Confederate obligations with the states and avoided creating a new national debt or erasing those debts at the federal level. In contrast, erasing or forgiving Confederate debts or creating a new federal debt would contradict his intent to keep Reconstruction relatively lenient and limited in federal overreach, while still requiring readmission conditions.