Reconstruction Under Lincoln...

Soundgarden

Banned
As we know, the Reconstruction Era of The United States started after or right before the Civil War ended(depending on the source). Lets say Abraham Lincoln wasn't killed(which means no Johnson presidency), how do you think it The Reconstruction Era would progress.

Due to his excellent and legendary leadership skills, I think it would generally be agreed upon that things would go alot smoother under Lincoln's administration.

Who knows, he might pull an FDR and run again in 1868 and 1872 to further help bring the South back to normal.

I'm interested to see where this thread will go.
 
Actually there's already a thread under this title, though it seems toi have gone quiet. Anyway -

Immediate change is limited but could be important. We know that lincoln did not intend to summon Congress ahead of its mandatory time in December, so he's keeping the decisions in his own hand. We know that he favoured a limited enfranchisement of Blacks, specifically "the very intelligent" (however that be determined) and Union war veterans. In the latter case, especially, I can imagine him turning the suggestion into a requirement. The veterans are the only Blacks to whom he owes a clear political debt, which I assume he'll pay.

He will start pardoning former rebs, but probably at a more leisurely pace than Andrew Johnson did. In some cases there may be strings attached. Frex, pardons to the owners of the Sea Island and Port Royal plantations may be made conditional on the Freedmen currently in possession of the land being allowed to stay at a moderate rent. And those to the more prominent ex-Cons will very likely be conditional on abstention from political activity - at least until the matter of seating Southern Congressmen is out of the way.

He's also likely to crack the whip a bit over the question of Black Codes. Unless they are a lot milder than some of those passed under Johnson, the State concerned my get a sharp warning that military rule can be reimposed.

More generally, he'll be trying to build bridges to former Southern Whigs - his old colleagues from prewar days - as the nuceus of a moderate Union party with a chance of winning power in at least some states.

Once Congress reconvenes, the question of seating Southern memebers will arise. If Congress isn't ready to do this at once, Lincoln may propose something along the lines of the 14th Amendment - but without the disqualification clauses of Section 3. If he gets his way, the alternative S£ may provide for full and universal amnesty, combined with the requirement that soldiers and ex-soldiers over 21 may not be disfranchised unless convicted of a crime, and possibly that other tests for voting must not be based on race.

As far as third terms are concernbed, my guess is we can forget it. Pictures of him in the last months of his life show him as utterly worn out - already an old man at 55. For my money, it's more a question of whether he can live out his second term, never mind more; but if he even lasts through 1866 that's already enough for some quite important changes.
 

Soundgarden

Banned
Actually there's already a thread under this title, though it seems toi have gone quiet. Anyway -

Immediate change is limited but could be important. We know that lincoln did not intend to summon Congress ahead of its mandatory time in December, so he's keeping the decisions in his own hand. We know that he favoured a limited enfranchisement of Blacks, specifically "the very intelligent" (however that be determined) and Union war veterans. In the latter case, especially, I can imagine him turning the suggestion into a requirement. The veterans are the only Blacks to whom he owes a clear political debt, which I assume he'll pay.

He will start pardoning former rebs, but probably at a more leisurely pace than Andrew Johnson did. In some cases there may be strings attached. Frex, pardons to the owners of the Sea Island and Port Royal plantations may be made conditional on the Freedmen currently in possession of the land being allowed to stay at a moderate rent. And those to the more prominent ex-Cons will very likely be conditional on abstention from political activity - at least until the matter of seating Southern Congressmen is out of the way.

He's also likely to crack the whip a bit over the question of Black Codes. Unless they are a lot milder than some of those passed under Johnson, the State concerned my get a sharp warning that military rule can be reimposed.

More generally, he'll be trying to build bridges to former Southern Whigs - his old colleagues from prewar days - as the nuceus of a moderate Union party with a chance of winning power in at least some states.

Once Congress reconvenes, the question of seating Southern memebers will arise. If Congress isn't ready to do this at once, Lincoln may propose something along the lines of the 14th Amendment - but without the disqualification clauses of Section 3. If he gets his way, the alternative S£ may provide for full and universal amnesty, combined with the requirement that soldiers and ex-soldiers over 21 may not be disfranchised unless convicted of a crime, and possibly that other tests for voting must not be based on race.

As far as third terms are concernbed, my guess is we can forget it. Pictures of him in the last months of his life show him as utterly worn out - already an old man at 55. For my money, it's more a question of whether he can live out his second term, never mind more; but if he even lasts through 1866 that's already enough for some quite important changes.

How long do you think he would live then?
 
How long do you think he would live then?


Hard to say. If he survives to 1869, then he can relax in retirement, and so could go on quite a few years longer. If OTOH his second term proves as stormy and stressful as his first, I could imagine him dying around 1867.
 
As far as third terms are concernbed, my guess is we can forget it. Pictures of him in the last months of his life show him as utterly worn out - already an old man at 55. For my money, it's more a question of whether he can live out his second term, never mind more; but if he even lasts through 1866 that's already enough for some quite important changes.

Lincoln didn't have any health problems though. He has better than a 50/50 chance of living through all 4 years of his second term. It's not like FDR in 1944 who had obvious health problems.
 
Lincoln didn't have any health problems though. He has better than a 50/50 chance of living through all 4 years of his second term. It's not like FDR in 1944 who had obvious health problems.

Errr.. his health wasnt good, better than fdrs, sure, but not great. Some people think he might have had marfans syndrome.
 
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