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This thread ties in with my original thread, Lincoln Survives Assassination, that envisions the establishment of a Free State in Florida as a majority protected homeland for freedmen as a compromise between Lincoln's peristent schemes of colonization and political and physical realities.

I have been through a few books on Reconstruction, now reading Foner's very excellent work and have to say I am nothing less than saddened and outraged at the opportunity that was squandered. Perhaps my largest question is why the freedmen did not organize in enclaves for self defense. The small amount of defensive violence is difficult to comprehend. There are some answers that include the actual connivance of the Union army to keep freedmen on plantations, the lack of forces and resources available to the Union army, a fairly toothless Freedmen's bureau. There were some instances of resistance such as the siege and massacre of Colfax, LA but overall, it appears the freedmen took the stripping and limitation of their new found freedoms almost lying down. Or at least without too many notable incidents of active armed rebellion.

Perhaps my question is broad but what would it have taken to truly make reconstruction work? I have put forward my idea for the establishment of a Free State in Florida, a freedmen's homeland where many could take advantage of the Southern Homestead Act and live outside the harassment of the former rebels. For those who wished to exercise their right to remain in the places of their birth, the effect would be that there would be a place of safety to go to and the decrease in the workforce available outside of the other former confederate states would place a premium on labor.

How would L have handled reconstruction differently than Johnson? And how would his initial handling of reconstruction have effected his successors?
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