paying the south for their loss?

     I believe that it granting the south amnesty was  the right way to go, because if the union  had actually instead punished them it would have made the country as a whole weaker. Possibly setting the spark for 2nd civil war due to unfair treatment, but that depend's on the severity of the punishment. Take for example what happened to Germany after ww1 and the Treaty of Versailles,  which was  the igniter for the for the takeover of Germany by the Nazi party and eventually starting World War 2. Which was the affect of harsh conditions of which they had to follow.  However the amnesty idea also helps regain the trust of some of the people of the south and allowing them to return to the union. It also served as a way to be sure that the confederate polictions would stay loyal to the union and not choose break away again.