Who were the Radical Republicans, and what were their goals for Reconstruction?

• A. A faction seeking to end slavery gradually.
• B. Senators like Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner who pushed for federal protection of Black rights and restructuring the South.
• C. Northern Democrats opposing Reconstruction.
• D. Southern planters who supported Reconstruction.

Answer: (B)

Radical Republicans were a faction in Congress who believed Reconstruction required active federal intervention to protect the rights of newly freed Black people and to overhaul Southern governments. Led by Thaddeus Stevens in the House and Charles Sumner in the Senate, they pushed for federal guarantees of Black civil rights and for restructuring the South’s political system to ensure those rights were protected, often backing measures that placed the South under federal oversight to enforce equality. This focus on federal protection and systemic change is why the description of senators Stevens and Sumner pushing for federal protection of Black rights and restructuring the South is the best fit. The other options don’t match this stance: gradual abolition reflects earlier reform efforts, Northern Democrats did not embody the Radical Republican stance, and Southern planters supporting Reconstruction contradicts who the Radical Republicans were and fought for.