Compare the reconstruction plans of President Andrew Johnson with those of the Radical Republicans in Congress. Note, this is not referring to the Wade-Davis Bill but the reconstruction plan put into effect by Congress beginning in 1866. Which of these two plans do you think was the best and why?"

Unlike the Radical Republicans in Congress President Johnson didn't regard the South as a vanquished foe deserving of punishment. He wanted to reincorporate the Southern states back into the Union as soon as possible. His Reconstruction plans were therefore a good deal more lenient than those of the Radical Republicans.
For one, Johnson offered a pardon to all white Southerners except Confederate leaders and wealthy plantation owners, and authorized them to create new governments. The newly-freed slaves were to be denied any role in this process. Most of the land that had been set aside for them to form the basis of their future economic autonomy was to be taken from them under Johnson's plan and given back to its previous (white) owners.
The Radical Republicans' plans were a good deal more harsh towards the South and considerably more beneficial to the newly-freed slaves. They argued for direct intervention of the Federal government to ensure that the enforcement of civil rights, which they rightly believed would not be enforced if left to the state legislatures and courts of the South.
The Radical Republicans also worked to extend the life of the Freedmen's Bureau, which had done so much to empower African-Americans, both politically and economically.
There seems little doubt that the Radical Republicans' plan was the most appropriate. It demonstrated the necessity of sustained involvement in the Federal government in ensuring the protection of civil rights. Failure to recognize this led to the establishment of the Jim Crow laws across the South, which would take another hundred years to undo.

When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated just days after the Civil War ended, Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency. Lincoln had a plan for Reconstruction and it was more lenient than what the Radical Republicans wanted. Johnson followed through with Lincoln's original plan for Reconstruction.
After the Civil War ended citizens had to decide how they would come back together as a United States again. How would the Confederate states and leaders be treated, should they be punished as traitors or welcomed back into the Union with no punishment. The U.S. Constitution did not account for this type of situation and it was not clear who should make those decisions, the President, Congress or both.
President Johnson was more lenient towards the states that had seceded and like Lincoln before him placed the importance of coming back together as a county and healing through unity over punishing those states who had joined the Confederacy. Under Presidential Reconstruction there was amnesty granted to those who would swear loyalty to the United States and the states would need to ratify the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery. Once this happened states could then send their Representatives back to Congress. Many Confederate leaders also began to regain political power. This was something that angered many Radical Republicans.
Radical Republicans supported Radical Reconstruction. Republicans gained power in Congress and were able to override many of the bills that Johnson had originally vetoed and they began to undo Presidential Reconstruction. Radicals Republicans wanted a harsher punishment for the Southern states and they wanted the South to be divided into military districts to be overseen by a General in order to keep them in check. This also allowed more control over allowing African Americans to practice the rights that had been granted to them through the 14th and 15th Amendments.
People have different opinions about whether Presidential or Radical Reconstruction was best for the United States. The Radical plan did provide more protections for African Americans and helped rebuild the Southern economy.

Andrew Johnson’s plan for reconstruction was considered to be easier on the South than the plan implemented by the Radical Republicans. Johnson’s plan called for providing amnesty and a return of personal property to southerners who agreed to be loyal to the United States. However, former leaders of the Confederacy had to apply directly to President Johnson to be granted amnesty. Johnson’s plan required southern states to set up new state governments and write new state constitutions that ratified the Thirteenth Amendment and rejected the concept of secession. His plan, however, didn’t grant many rights to former slaves.
The Radical Republicans wanted to totally change the South. The plan that they implemented divided the South into five military districts with each district being run by a military commander. The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified stating that anybody born in the United States was a citizen and had the rights that came with citizenship. The Fifteenth Amendment made it illegal to deny a person the right to vote based on the person’s race or if they had been a former slave. African American males were able to vote in state elections while former leaders of the Confederacy couldn’t hold office. Southern states had to write new state constitutions that ratified the Fourteenth Amendment.
There were several advantages of the Radical Republican plan. One advantage was that it gave important freedoms to former slaves. For example, African American males could vote under the Radical Republican plan. It also punished the South for its actions in the Civil War far more than President Johnson’s plan would have. Additionally, this plan rebuilt the South and began the process of diversifying the Southern economy as new industries developed there. This plan also provided money for schools for African American children. Thus, the Radical Republican plan was better than President Johnson’s plan.