Team+Waffle



With the end of the Civil War, this nation faces an overwhelming challenge: reconstruction. In order to rebuild our country and our societies, the most important component is reunification. If we remain divided, we can never hope to repair the great laceration that split us. Both sides of the argument must concede on some points, but in the end, we hope to recreate the United States as a place where everyone is free, and where everyone can be prosperous. We propose to reunify the country by upholding the United States’ tradition of justice as well as through compromise so that no one party is left completely victimized.

The ex-Confederates will be treated with a certain level of respect, as is guaranteed by the principles of this country. However, they cannot be exempted from their crimes without due justice. Therefore, former Confederate leaders (generals, government leaders, other high officials of the military) will be tried before the Supreme Court for war crimes. Lower ranking and common soldiers will receive a pardon, unless they killed over 200 Union soldiers throughout the course of the war, in which case they will be tried by local courts. In addition, Confederate leaders will not be allowed to return to any political positions that they held before the war. New officials can be elected as each respective state re-enters the Union, the process of which will be explained later.

The main focus of this program is reunification, but we cannot achieve a lasting unity if all of our citizens are not treated with equality. However, the tensions (to say the least) between the white and black populations of the South are obviously an issue to be considered. So, for the time being, we propose to enact a system of segregation without delay. This will hopefully help to prevent the immediate clashes between the races that are sure to follow emancipation. This system of segregation will be slowly diminished over a period of 25 years, at which time freedmen will be given complete civil rights. Although we are enacting a system of segregation, freedmen will be protected from subjugation by an arrangement of “separate but equal” facilities. Since it is unlikely that sameness in the quality of services will be the reality, we propose to bring in an undercover police force to the south (specifically) that will help to monitor restaurants, shops, bathrooms, theaters, places of employment, etc., to periodically ensure that facilities are actually “separate but equal”. (Undercover police force to be described later).

As for the former confederate states, several conditions must be met before they are allowed readmission to the Union. With this readmission, full rights and representation will be granted. Until these requirements are met, the states in question (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee) will be held in “territory” status. That is, they will be under the jurisdiction of the United States of America, where Congress has the authority under the Constitution to place territorial governments and political divisions, and where matters of law are dictated by the Supreme Court. While considered a territory, the areas encompassing the states before mentioned will not have an electoral vote. Once they are readmitted, these rights will be restored.

We do not wish to make readmission overly difficult, since we must rebuild the nation as a whole, but certain precautions must be taken in order to ensure fairness to all citizens of this country. Therefore, the former confederate states are obligated to: 1. Accept the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution. In addition, the states must visibly demonstrate (as determined by the undercover police force, as well as regular reports from local government administrators) their compliance with these measures for a period of 5 years. This monitored period will be extended if sufficient levels of observance of these laws are not met. As amendments to the Constitution of this country, these laws are to be strictly observed from hereafter. 2. Show a decrease in unemployment rates by at least 15% and show evidence of continuing improvement, if possible. For states truly devastated by the war, reconsiderations can be considered by petition. 3. Once the evaluation period is over, the states must pledge allegiance to the United States of America.

Instead of occupying the south with Union troops, we have decided to use an undercover police force. This would be composed of both colored and white union troops, dressed in ordinary clothing, that are sent to live in the south. They will have the same authority as stationed troops, but we believe that this course will cause less resentment toward the north than a complete domination by northern soldiers. The police force will derive its authority from the Union army, and WILL be backed by military force if it is deemed absolutely necessary. As we have stated before, our goal is reunification, and we do not wish to overly penalize the south, but we must also protect the rights of freedmen and the northerners. As aforementioned, these troops will oversee the enforcing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and monitor segregation, as well as keeping general law and order.

Both white and colored men will be allowed to vote and hold office in the new southern state governments. The five year “territory” period will provide the states with some time to adjust to this drastic change, as will the policy of segregation. The same system that will be set up to monitor the “separate but equal” policy will be employed to keep a check on governmental elections, to ensure that all citizens (both white and colored) are allowed equal opportunity. The issue of the southern economy is a daunting one. In order to help the economy after the devastation of the Civil War, we plan to provide southern land owners with a provisional preliminary supply of crops from the West in order to help restore their farms. In exchange for their crops and livestock, westerners will be offered free land further toward the Pacific. In addition to this, we plan on building the transcontinental railroad from the west through the south and up to the north. We realize that this may not be built immediately due to the lack of money after the war, but as soon as it can be afforded we promise for it to pass through the South. Southerners (both black and white) can also be hired to build the railroad to create more jobs. This is an especially good opportunity for freedmen who do not have skill in a trade.

We cannot stress enough the importance of reunifying our country. The primary goal of reconstruction must be reunification. With the establishment of unity, civil rights and justice will follow.




 * RESPONSE(S) TO TEAM PLAN:**

Hey you guys! It looks good I just wanted to point out a few things that could cause conflict. Well first I think that trying the leaders of the confederate will really make the majority of the south upset because they would feel like they are getting unfair treatment. Because the North did things just as bad and they are not being tried for war crimes. I also feel like segregation by the government even if it is "equal" will only stunt the equality of races in the future because southerners will feel that it is okay to segregate because the government passed a law saying it was okay. And I think the secret police is a good idea but I just can't imagine who would take that job because there was racism all over the country, there is only going to be few people willing to protect the equality of both people. So I feel that while the secret police are good in theory it is not plausible. Lastly I feel that having less than 15% unemployment rate is not possible because you have new freedmen who are concentrated in the south and lands devestated by the war that there is going to be a lot of unemployment and you can't set a standard for re admittence in the Union that is not possible. But overall it looks good.