The year between 1865-1877, in the U.S history was the period of readjustment following the end of civil war. President Lincoln began the tasks of restoration and reconstruction of U.S. Lincoln issued a declaration of amnesty and reconstruction for those areas of the confederacy occupied by union armies. He offered amnesty to any confederate who would pledge to defend the constitution and the union. Johnson who was Lincoln’s successor, antagonist to his predecessor, he publicly insisted that all rebellion were to be punished, His amnesty proclamation of 1965 was more severe that Lincoln’s (Stanchak, 2000).
President Ulysses S. Grant who succeeded Johnson presided over the last half of reconstruction; He supported the discharge for the former confederates which were furthered by a new amnesty Act of 1872. In this Act, more than 150,000 troops pardoned, and their rights to vote and to hold public offices were restored. In the same Act, more than 750 confederates were denied rights to hold office (Axelrod, 2007).
I consider myself to be temperate because I support Fourteenth Amendment which defines citizenship, but I also support pardoning policy because it is suitable for the union of the United States of America which is crucial in any nation that seeks to achieve in its economic, social and political growth. The fourteenth Amendment is also fundamental in an era that claims to have respect to human life. Taking or depriving this basic human right to any person within the United States jurisdiction can be termed to be inhuman.
Most people have always advocated having the Fourteenth Amendment and the pardoning policy be amended, but this has never been achieved in our political history. In all my life in politics I have witnessed innocent people get persecuted without proper procedures being observed. It is my opinion then that pardoning policy and the Fourteenth Amendment laws should be implemented accordingly by observing the correct procedures and there being transparency.
