which statement best describes the wade-davis bill
Which statement best describes the Wade-Davis Bill?
Answer: The Wade-Davis Bill, formulated in 1864, was a significant piece of legislation during the Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War. The bill was crafted by two Radical Republicans, Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Congressman Henry Winter Davis of Maryland, reflecting their belief that the Confederate states needed stricter terms for re-admittance to the Union than those proposed by President Abraham Lincoln.
Description: The most accurate description of the Wade-Davis Bill is:
“The Wade-Davis Bill required 50% of a seceded state’s white male citizens to take an ‘ironclad’ oath of loyalty to the Union before they could draft a new state constitution and elect new government officials.”
Key Points of the Wade-Davis Bill:
-
Higher Loyalty Oath Requirement: The Bill mandated that a majority (50%) of the white male citizens of a former Confederate state must swear an oath of loyalty to the Union before the state could commence the process of reconstruction. This was significantly higher than Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan, which only required 10% of voters to take a loyalty oath.
-
Ironclad Oath: This oath required individuals to swear that they had never supported the Confederacy in the past, ensuring that those who were actively involved in the Confederate cause could not assume positions of power in the reconstituted states.
-
Exclusion of Former Confederates: Any individual who had voluntarily taken up arms against the Union or held office under the Confederacy was excluded from participating in the political restoration of their state.
-
Deferment of State Governments: The Bill proposed that only states where a majority of white males took this stringent oath could form new state governments, elect new officials, and gain representation in Congress.
-
Provisions for Freedmen’s Rights: It required new state constitutions to abolish slavery, although it did not specify black suffrage, reflecting the era’s complex and often contradictory politics regarding African American rights.
Lincoln’s Response and Pocket Veto:
President Lincoln viewed the Wade-Davis Bill as too harsh and feared it would delay the Reconstruction process. Instead, he preferred a more lenient approach to quickly restore the Union. Consequently, he employed a pocket veto, allowing the bill to expire without his signature, leading to tension between the president and the Radical Republicans.
The Wade-Davis Bill ultimately highlighted the deep divisions among lawmakers regarding how best to reunify the country and address the legacies of slavery and rebellion, setting the stage for the intense political battles that characterized the Reconstruction Era.