Following the civil war, the political group which took the view of reconstruction that harsh penalties needed to be doled out to former confederates while giving full rights to freedmen was called democrats, radical republicans, scalawags, moderate republicans

The political group which took the view of Reconstruction that harsh penalties needed to be doled out to former Confederates while giving full rights to Freedmen was called Radical Republicans. Radical Republicans were famous due to their strong will of putting an end to slavery and secession. During Reconstruction, they also opposed opposed Lincoln's ideas of reuniting the United States and giving powers to Confederacy.