Abraham Lincoln
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Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction:
Sadly, Lincoln would not be around to make his plan work. Just five days after Lee surrendered, Lincoln was shot watching a play at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. He died the next morning.
- It was based on reconciliation (forgiveness).
- Ten Percent Plan: States could rejoin the union if 10% of voters swore an oath of allegiance to the Union
- Rebels would receive a full pardon.
- High ranking military leaders could not hold public office.
- He authorized Generals to give confiscated land to former slaves.
Sadly, Lincoln would not be around to make his plan work. Just five days after Lee surrendered, Lincoln was shot watching a play at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. He died the next morning.
Primary Sources:
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconciliation
A letter from 1864 explaining his views on the war, slavery, and using African Americans as soldiers.
Lincoln's death even inspired a poem from a famous poet of the day:
O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman, 1819 - 1892
O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.