How did the Wade-Davis Bill differ from Lincoln's plan, and what happened to it?

• A. It required a majority of white male citizens to swear loyalty, banned former Confederates from office, Lincoln vetoed it, and Congress failed to override the veto.
• B. It offered universal male suffrage and immediate citizenship for freedpeople, and Lincoln supported it.
• C. It allowed Confederate leaders to return only after paying a fine.
• D. It required ratification of the 13th Amendment.

Answer: (A)

The question is about contrasting approaches to bringing the former Confederacy back into the Union and what happened to the stricter plan. The Wade-Davis Bill embodied a harsher path: it insisted that a majority of white male citizens in each former Confederate state take an oath of loyalty to the United States, and it barred former Confederates from holding office. This would have slowed reintegration and ensured a firmer purge of old leaders. Lincoln rejected this approach, vetoing the bill because it would have made reconstruction far more punitive and centralized power in Congress. Congress did not override the veto, so the bill never became law. In contrast, Lincoln’s plan was more lenient and aimed to quicken readmission, a difference that underscore the split between presidential and congressional visions for Reconstruction.