How would Lincoln have dealt with the difficult business
of reconstruction that faced the nation in the aftermath of the
Civil War? Based on the few public remarks that Lincoln made on
the subject in the months before his death, one can make a reasonable
guess as to his opening gambit, but anything beyond this is mere
speculation. It is safe to say that Lincoln remained much more
moderate than the bulk of so-called Radical Republicans in Congress,
who favored a harsh, retributive plan of reconstruction.
As early as December of 1863, Lincoln had come forward
with a generous plan of reconstruction, providing for the readmission
of former Confederate states to the Union upon an oath of loyalty
by one-tenth of the electorate. Radical Republicans reacted with
distaste at what they found to be an all too lenient plan, and
proposed instead the Wade-Davis Bill, which demanded a majority
of citizens to swear loyalty before readmission would be considered.
Lincoln pocket-vetoed this measure after it passed through Congress
on July 4, 1864, raising the ire of those who found his executive
usurpation excessive. It was a bold move that nearly cost him
re-election.
At his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln had announced
the imperative duty of the American people to proceed "with malice toward
none; with charity toward all...to finish the work we are in; to
bind up the nation's wounds." Such a stance continued to draw criticism,
with many still finding Lincoln to be overly soft in his plans
for the rebels. Lincoln himself recognized the question of reconstruction
to be "fraught with great difficulty." For example, should a
former Confederate state be allowed the right of self-government?
Lincoln's position was to allow such a transitional arrangement
in more moderate states like North Carolina and Virginia, while
granting the federal government a larger degree of control further
to the south.
In his final public address, concerning the question of
Louisiana's re-admission to the Union, Lincoln explained that the
goal of reconstruction was to restore the seceded states back into
their "proper practical relation" with the federal government.
To Lincoln, this did not mean federal domination in the form of
confiscation and occupation. He had repeatedly voiced his objections
to carpetbaggers, although he was unable to develop a clear alternative
for truly effective and lasting reform. What exactly was the "proper
practical relation" of the states to the federal government? No
such balance had ever truly been struck, and the Civil War did
more to confuse rather than to resolve this complicated issue,
which continues to persist even today.
Unfortunately, Lincoln did not survive to face the challenges
of reconstruction, which were every bit as great as the Civil War
itself. The task of rebuilding the nation was left to Lincoln's
bewildered vice president, Andrew Johnson, who had assumed the
nation's second office just forty days before. A Tennessee native
who had remained loyal to the Union, Johnson found himself in a
precarious position, trapped between his compassion for the south
and his need to placate the harsher wishes of the Radical Republicans
in Congress.
Three major amendments to the Constitution were
passed in the first years of reconstruction: the thirteenth, which
abolished slavery; the fourteenth, extending citizenship to blacks;
and the fifteenth, extending the right of suffrage to black males.
Additionally, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 made extensive provisions
in order to improve the lot of former slaves from the southern
states. A Freedman's Bureau was established to ease the transition
of former slaves into free society. 4,000 free schools were established
for blacks, and as a result 250,000 black children began learning
to read and write English.
