Under President Johnson's Reconstruction plan, wealthy southerners and former Confederate officials could not receive amnesty unless

As part of Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plans, he made it necessary that Confederate officials and wealthy southerners take an oath of allegiance to the United States. The goal of having these individuals take this oath was to ensure their loyalty to the US, as a means to prevent future secession from the United States. Along with this, the goal was to prevent any future Civil Wars by making the Confederates take this oath.