The Second Term of President Abraham Lincoln
The Civil War: The most pressing issue that President Lincoln was forced to deal with from the outset of his second term was brining an end to the Civil War. Despite the crucial Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in the summer of 1863, decisive Northern victories had been few and far between ever since. However one victory did stand out, and helped assure Lincon's return to the White House. On September 2, 1864, the Union Military Division of the Mississippi marched triumphantly into the city of Atlanta after it was abandoned by the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The victory was a major boost to Norhtern moral, and helped to offset negative opinion over the horrendous bloodletting taking place in Virginia.
Following Lincoln's reelection over Democrat George McClellan, the Union Army of the Cumberland would score a crushing victory over the Army of Tennessee at Nashville, essentially destroying it's capability to wage war. In Virginia, General Grant was slowly wearing down Robert E. Lee's war-weary Army of Northern Virginia besieged in Petersburg. Meanwhile, Sherman marched through Georgia and up through the Carolinas, destroying the South's last remaning source of supplies. The vice was closing around the Confederacy, but an end to the fighting was anything but secure. Lincoln worried about the possibility of a long-term guerilla campaign that would be waged by the remnants of the Confederate armies, preventing peace from returning to the divided nation. However Lincoln's fears would be averted, as on April 9th of 1865 Robert E. Lee would surrender what was left of the Army of Northern Virginia to General Grant at Appomatox Court House. In the following weeks and months, the rest of the remaning Confederate forces would also surrender, ending the war in a far smoother fashion than it began.
Reconstruction: Ever since Southern states had begun to fall into Union control in 1862, President Lincoln was forced to cope with the harsh realities of defining a policy for readmitance to the Union. Lincoln devised a plan later known as the Louisiana Plan which only required 10% of a formerly Confederate state's population to swear allegiance to the Union, and for the state to abolish slavery, to reenter the United States and receive representation in congress. However the Radical Republicans in Congress saw this as being far to easy on the South. Instead they advocated the far harsher Wade-Davis Bill which required 50% of a state's population to pledge allegiance. The bill narrowly passed the Senate by a vote of 18-14, with all the yeas coming from the Republican Party. President Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill, enraging the Radicals. In response, they refused to seat newly elected Southern congressman. This was the begining of a difficult and often oppenly contentious period between the Radical and moderate branches of the Republican Party.
President Lincoln's other major plans for Reconstruction, the 13th Ammendment and the Freedman's Bureau, were both strongly supported by the Radicals and passed through congress. The Freedman's Bureau would be headed by General Grant, a close ally of Lincolns. It's job was to help former slaves and displaced whites find lodging, food, and jobs. The most controversial aspect of the Bureau was that it provided for confiscated land to be leased for three years and then to be sold in chunks of no more than 40 acres. The Radicals and President Lincoln strongly supported this measure as a means to preventing the rich whites to acquiring massive swaths of land, leading to wage slavery for blacks. With the support of Lincoln, Grant was given a small military force that was dedicated to preventing mob violence from killing and driving blacks of their new land. On several rare occasions, the military forces would clash with the racist Ku Klux Klan in bloody encounters.
The President would also pass a Civil Rights Bill through Congress in 1866. The bill was in response to the Black Codes that had been passed to disenfranchise and punish freedmen in the South. The Bill was lobbied for by President Lincoln in an agressive manner, and helped relations between the Radicals and the Administration. However it was becoming clear that the Radicals wanted to have a greater say in the handling of reconstruction. Lincoln agreed, but with the condition that the former Confederate states be given representation in Congress. Despite staunch opposition from some Radicals and some Democrats who opposed giving the power to Congress, the compromise legislation would pass.
Following the compromise, the Radicals went about extending the Freedman's Bureau and increasing the scope of it's military wing. They also passed the 14th and 15th ammendments, both of which the President tacitly supported. In both cases the Democrats launched a heated opposition, but were unnable to block their eventual ratification. All and all, Lincoln had suscessfully pulled the nation back together. But he had done so at great risk to himself politically. Southern whites were furious with what they saw as the Federal government's attempt at land redistribution, and resented the lingering military presense. It was clear that they would not be voting for a Republican for a very long time.
Foreign Policy: While the focus of Lincoln's second term in office was on rebuilding the Union, he did make several strides in foreign policy. The purchase of Alaska in 1867 would reap dividends in the future, while his policy of greater animosity towards Great Britain helped to foster Canadian Confederation. Lincoln also pushed the French out of Mexico by threatening to invade. In the American West, Lincoln continued to fund the Transcontinental Raildroad and continued the Indian Wars.
Legacy: President Lincoln's legacy is defined primarily by the Civil War and the events surronding it, including slavery and Reconstruction. In this regard Lincoln must be ranked among this nations great Presidents. He saved the nation itself, and made it a better place for an entire race. However his handling of Reconstruction has been criticzed by both sides. At the time, many Radicals attacked him for being too easy on the South. In recent years this message has resurfaced. Historian Ann Coulter has commented "Lincoln's entire mindset was at fault here. He was so wittled away by age and hte stresses of war that he couldn't see the writing on the wall. The Confederates were traitors, and needed to be punished as such. When his second Vice-President Andrew Johnson said it was time to hang the bastards he was right! But the feeble old President simply wanted to die knowing he had brought the Union together, no matter what the price in the long run."
Lincoln's other definining legacy is a little bit harder to recognize. Prior to Lincoln, the basis for the United States Government had strictly been the Constitution. Ever since the Presidential victory of Thomas Jefferson in 1800, the Constitution had been the most revered document in the nation. However Lincoln's presidency saw a shift backwards, to the Declaration of Independence. Using the moral arguments presented in that document, Lincoln was able to passionately argue for emmancipation. This brought two new faces to government: a centralized one, and a morality based one. This was a significant shift from the days of strict constructionalism, and would shift the entire American political discourse.
Following Lincoln's reelection over Democrat George McClellan, the Union Army of the Cumberland would score a crushing victory over the Army of Tennessee at Nashville, essentially destroying it's capability to wage war. In Virginia, General Grant was slowly wearing down Robert E. Lee's war-weary Army of Northern Virginia besieged in Petersburg. Meanwhile, Sherman marched through Georgia and up through the Carolinas, destroying the South's last remaning source of supplies. The vice was closing around the Confederacy, but an end to the fighting was anything but secure. Lincoln worried about the possibility of a long-term guerilla campaign that would be waged by the remnants of the Confederate armies, preventing peace from returning to the divided nation. However Lincoln's fears would be averted, as on April 9th of 1865 Robert E. Lee would surrender what was left of the Army of Northern Virginia to General Grant at Appomatox Court House. In the following weeks and months, the rest of the remaning Confederate forces would also surrender, ending the war in a far smoother fashion than it began.
Reconstruction: Ever since Southern states had begun to fall into Union control in 1862, President Lincoln was forced to cope with the harsh realities of defining a policy for readmitance to the Union. Lincoln devised a plan later known as the Louisiana Plan which only required 10% of a formerly Confederate state's population to swear allegiance to the Union, and for the state to abolish slavery, to reenter the United States and receive representation in congress. However the Radical Republicans in Congress saw this as being far to easy on the South. Instead they advocated the far harsher Wade-Davis Bill which required 50% of a state's population to pledge allegiance. The bill narrowly passed the Senate by a vote of 18-14, with all the yeas coming from the Republican Party. President Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill, enraging the Radicals. In response, they refused to seat newly elected Southern congressman. This was the begining of a difficult and often oppenly contentious period between the Radical and moderate branches of the Republican Party.
President Lincoln's other major plans for Reconstruction, the 13th Ammendment and the Freedman's Bureau, were both strongly supported by the Radicals and passed through congress. The Freedman's Bureau would be headed by General Grant, a close ally of Lincolns. It's job was to help former slaves and displaced whites find lodging, food, and jobs. The most controversial aspect of the Bureau was that it provided for confiscated land to be leased for three years and then to be sold in chunks of no more than 40 acres. The Radicals and President Lincoln strongly supported this measure as a means to preventing the rich whites to acquiring massive swaths of land, leading to wage slavery for blacks. With the support of Lincoln, Grant was given a small military force that was dedicated to preventing mob violence from killing and driving blacks of their new land. On several rare occasions, the military forces would clash with the racist Ku Klux Klan in bloody encounters.
The President would also pass a Civil Rights Bill through Congress in 1866. The bill was in response to the Black Codes that had been passed to disenfranchise and punish freedmen in the South. The Bill was lobbied for by President Lincoln in an agressive manner, and helped relations between the Radicals and the Administration. However it was becoming clear that the Radicals wanted to have a greater say in the handling of reconstruction. Lincoln agreed, but with the condition that the former Confederate states be given representation in Congress. Despite staunch opposition from some Radicals and some Democrats who opposed giving the power to Congress, the compromise legislation would pass.
Following the compromise, the Radicals went about extending the Freedman's Bureau and increasing the scope of it's military wing. They also passed the 14th and 15th ammendments, both of which the President tacitly supported. In both cases the Democrats launched a heated opposition, but were unnable to block their eventual ratification. All and all, Lincoln had suscessfully pulled the nation back together. But he had done so at great risk to himself politically. Southern whites were furious with what they saw as the Federal government's attempt at land redistribution, and resented the lingering military presense. It was clear that they would not be voting for a Republican for a very long time.
Foreign Policy: While the focus of Lincoln's second term in office was on rebuilding the Union, he did make several strides in foreign policy. The purchase of Alaska in 1867 would reap dividends in the future, while his policy of greater animosity towards Great Britain helped to foster Canadian Confederation. Lincoln also pushed the French out of Mexico by threatening to invade. In the American West, Lincoln continued to fund the Transcontinental Raildroad and continued the Indian Wars.
Legacy: President Lincoln's legacy is defined primarily by the Civil War and the events surronding it, including slavery and Reconstruction. In this regard Lincoln must be ranked among this nations great Presidents. He saved the nation itself, and made it a better place for an entire race. However his handling of Reconstruction has been criticzed by both sides. At the time, many Radicals attacked him for being too easy on the South. In recent years this message has resurfaced. Historian Ann Coulter has commented "Lincoln's entire mindset was at fault here. He was so wittled away by age and hte stresses of war that he couldn't see the writing on the wall. The Confederates were traitors, and needed to be punished as such. When his second Vice-President Andrew Johnson said it was time to hang the bastards he was right! But the feeble old President simply wanted to die knowing he had brought the Union together, no matter what the price in the long run."
Lincoln's other definining legacy is a little bit harder to recognize. Prior to Lincoln, the basis for the United States Government had strictly been the Constitution. Ever since the Presidential victory of Thomas Jefferson in 1800, the Constitution had been the most revered document in the nation. However Lincoln's presidency saw a shift backwards, to the Declaration of Independence. Using the moral arguments presented in that document, Lincoln was able to passionately argue for emmancipation. This brought two new faces to government: a centralized one, and a morality based one. This was a significant shift from the days of strict constructionalism, and would shift the entire American political discourse.