Lincoln lives to be old

I think the plan was to send them to Central America, not Africa. Im pretty sure it was only for Delaware though.


Iirc he floated a plan to General Butler shortly before his death, of setting up a colony of freedmen in Panama, and using coloured troops whose enlistments had not yet expired to build a canal there. He expected that they (or some of them) and their families would wish to stay there rather than go back to the South.

Butler seems to have misunderstood Lincoln's proposal, objecting that there were far too many negroes in America for them to be transplanted in this way. But by Butler's own account Lincoln never actually proposed this, only a limited venture for a portion of the ex-slaves, in particular the Army veterans who might be especially unpopular in a South still mostly ruled by its white population.

Lincoln may have daydreamed sometimes of settling the Freedmen somewhere else, but he could do the arithmetic as well as anyone.
 
Iirc he floated a plan to General Butler shortly before his death, of setting up a colony of freedmen in Panama, and using coloured troops whose enlistments had not yet expired to build a canal there. He expected that they (or some of them) and their families would wish to stay there rather than go back to the South.

Butler seems to have misunderstood Lincoln's proposal, objecting that there were far too many negroes in America for them to be transplanted in this way. But by Butler's own account Lincoln never actually proposed this, only a limited venture for a portion of the ex-slaves, in particular the Army veterans who might be especially unpopular in a South still mostly ruled by its white population.

Lincoln may have daydreamed sometimes of settling the Freedmen somewhere else, but he could do the arithmetic as well as anyone.
Ah, i didnt know that. Hm, thats interesting.
 
Hey Snake, didn't Grant use Lincoln as an adviser in yours????

I think he was influential but less an advisor. He enters that role more in the 1880s and 1890s when the passions of the war and the ATL Reconstruction are simmered down. You can see him as the ATL Republican Party's link between the first version of the GOP and the later version.

I might note in the ATL due to the alternate course of the war, the initial view of Lincoln is that Buchanan decided on nothing, Lincoln was too cautious, President Grant a decider even if he decided wrongly, he at least was confident. Later on he's seen as the man who preserved the USA as one entity and his political genius and skills receive their just due. Though the civil liberties abuses and degree of patronage in his first term and the scandals in his second don't give his Administration quite the luster of the OTL equivalent.

I might note that one of his most influential postwar roles is to help set up war memorials and other such ceremonies of reconciliation. In this he follows the lead of General Grant, though his doing so has more oomph. I have some snippets of the memoirs the ATL Lincoln wrote in the later part of the thread. Said memoirs also deepen the McClellan controversy just as Davis's did with the Atlanta Campaign.
 
He would likely continue to be an important power broker in Republican Party politics for at least the next decade after 1869. There were no primaries at the time, the conventions decided everything. Lincoln was somewhat suspicious of big business (although in favor of policies that lead to the development of industry and he was a railroad lawyer) so he is likely to be part of what would become the progressive faction of the Republican Party. One could see him supporting Theodore Roosevelt's rise.

He would likely write his memoirs, which would probably be an American literary classic. Reading it (or at least passages) might be common in American High School American Literature classes.

If we believe that Lincoln was more successful in handling reconstruction (the usual ATL fantasy - civil rights for blacks is enforced, but his political adeptness restrains the worse abuses of the military governments. While not perfectly well treated, blacks in the South are able to retain their vote), then we may see some sort of continuing reconciliation role of Lincoln with the south along with supporting private organizations assisting the freedman adjust to emancipated life. He might make public appearances with various Confederates int he South and North to heal the wounds of division. And he might support development of institutions like the Tuskegee Institute that would provide continuing educationa nd skills for freed blacks. It would be much harder to roll back new rights for former slaves with Lincoln around trying to preserve his legacy. The two probably ensure some form of Republican Party survives in the South with an emphasis on individual homesteaders/farmers, steadfast unionists during the war, and former slaves. It means certain areas of the south where Republicans can win local elections, and perhaps certain southern states where Republicans might even win statewide elections.

I see him being against colonialism, and would likely speak out against the European scramble for Africa. If he survives long enough, he may not speak out against the Spanish-American War but he would likely be against the US holding onto the Phillipines afterwards and the annexation of Hawaii. He might be too old by then and might now have any effect other than to be quoted by people afterwards.
 
You're looking at Lincoln as if he would be a late 20th century former president rather then a late 19th century one. After taking a long vacation, they usually retired to their hometown, wrote their memoirs, did some philanthropic work, and made occasional public appearences. Very few remained on the national stage. What leads you to believe that Lincoln would take such public & prominent roles?
 
Iirc he floated a plan to General Butler shortly before his death, of setting up a colony of freedmen in Panama, and using coloured troops whose enlistments had not yet expired to build a canal there. He expected that they (or some of them) and their families would wish to stay there rather than go back to the South.

Butler seems to have misunderstood Lincoln's proposal, objecting that there were far too many negroes in America for them to be transplanted in this way. But by Butler's own account Lincoln never actually proposed this, only a limited venture for a portion of the ex-slaves, in particular the Army veterans who might be especially unpopular in a South still mostly ruled by its white population.

Lincoln may have daydreamed sometimes of settling the Freedmen somewhere else, but he could do the arithmetic as well as anyone.

Regardless, an earlier Panama Canal surrounded by a possibly anglophone Isthmian Republic is a rather interesting alternate history idea.

I see him being against colonialism, and would likely speak out against the European scramble for Africa. If he survives long enough, he may not speak out against the Spanish-American War but he would likely be against the US holding onto the Phillipines afterwards and the annexation of Hawaii. He might be too old by then and might now have any effect other than to be quoted by people afterwards.

I think that you offered a good assessment overall, but I doubt that he'd live into the 1890's, and wonder if he would be opposed to both annexing Hawaii and taking the Philippines if the events surrounding those occurrences in our timeline are even similar in a timeline wherein he is not assassinated.
 
Last edited:
Ambassador to the Court of Saint James 1869-1873
Private law practice until his death in 1881, chief client the Illinios central Railroad
 
Top