Which government body proposed the Wade-Davis Bill?

• A. Congress
• B. Supreme Court
• C. State legislatures
• D. The President

Answer: (A)

Reconstruction policy and who controls it are the ideas at play. The Wade-Davis Bill was a Congressional initiative, drafted in 1864 by Radical Republicans Benjamin Wade and Henry Winter Davis. It argued for much stricter terms for readmitting Confederate states, including a loyalty oath by a majority of white male citizens and limits on former Confederates’ political rights. This shows Congress taking the lead on Reconstruction instead of leaving it to the President, as Lincoln had proposed with his Ten Percent Plan. The bill passed Congress but was vetoed by Lincoln, highlighting the clash between the branches. So the government body that proposed it was Congress.