...On April 14, 1865, a Confederate sympathizer known as John Wilkes Booth, entered the Ford’s Theater with the intent of killing the sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln. Hoping to create chaos within the United States government, Booth and his co-conspirators fatally shot the president and stabbed Rathbone, a young army officer. American rejoicing over the end of the Civil War came to end as news spread of Lincoln’s assassination. With Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan created, Andrew Johnson now took on the role of president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln’s assassination created animosity between Johnson and Congress and an unhappy white population, all whilst paved the way for blacks to vote. Following Lincoln’s assassination, animosity was brewing between Johnson and Congress. Johnson intended to carry out Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction. His views reflected his steadfast Unionism and his firm belief in states’ rights. In the beginning of his presidency, Johnson wished to have Southern states return to the Union. He granted immunity to former...
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...The Radical Republicans, a group of Abraham Lincoln’s own Republican Party aided the President to make some large decisions. The group lasted for 23 years, from 1854 to 1877 and were a faction of American politicians with the Republican Party. This group agreed and disagreed with many opinions with President Lincoln, which made an impact on the result of the war and occurrences throughout it. One of the tasks the Radical Republicans and Lincoln disagreed on was the Reconstruction plan. The Radical Republicans were critical to the foundation of American because they guided an answer to a few of the important questions that Lincoln needed a second opinion on. The Radical Republicans agreed with Abraham Lincoln that the Union needed to enter and fight in the Civil War to...
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...The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln April 14, 1865, a terrifying event happened that would have a long-lasting impact on the nation; the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. That night Lincoln was attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford’s theatre with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln and friends Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris. While he was watching the play, Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by the famous actor John Wilkes Booth. Booth was pro-confederate and was against the abolition of slavery, which led to his hatred of Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln became unconscious after he was shot and ended up dying the next morning at 7:22 a.m. His assassination was just five days after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant., thus having the civil war come close to an end. Lincoln’s death created mourning all over the world...
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...among itself cannot stand” - Abraham Lincoln. A country divided among itself will not survive. A government divided among itself will not function. The Civil War divided our country into what was perceived as right and wrong. However, both sides were caught together, stuck in an endless spiral downward. When Lincoln was assassinated restoring the nation was left to Johnson. A difficult task even for a strong man like Lincoln, but when Johnson, inexperienced in politics takes over the task become more or less impossible. Lincoln's assassination had a negative impact on the country after the Civil War because the South would have been better off with Lincoln's plan and Johnson accomplished nothing during his presidency. Lincoln's plan for governmental Reconstruction was flawless, until Johnson came along and ruined it. Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction was fair and peaceful; consequently he released the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863. He believed the proclamation would muster northern support for the war and meanwhile persuade tiring Confederate soldiers to give up (Coyne and Bolotin). The proclamation permitted full pardons to all Southerners - except high-ranking...
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...been assassinated? Would his Reconstruction plan work? Would he have been impeached by the Radical Republicans? Would Lincoln go on to be reelected and run for a second term? (He was , in 1864. )Abraham Lincoln was an outstanding president, and he achieved great things while he was in office. Lincoln was elected as president during one of the toughest times in U.S. history, the Civil War. Under the circumstances, Lincoln was able to form a Reconstruction plan to unite the Union and the Confederate States. (Mikael. You need to have a Thesis Statement in your intro that is the basis for the entire rest of your essay, as well as briefly introduce your 3 major points that will support your thesis statement in your intro. ) One route history could have taken if Abraham Lincoln hadn’t been shot would be that his plan for Reconstruction worked. The North and South would agree to terms and sort out their differences. It would be a give and take relationship between the two sides. Lincoln’s plan would have worked more quickly and efficiently than Jackson’s (Andrew Johnson’s)plan. With Lincoln as president, the South wouldn’t have been treated as bad as they had been. It may not have...
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...The end of the Civil War presented a unique crossroads for the war torn United States. How would the North and South reunite? At the helm, there was a moderate politician and a reflective thinker – President Abraham Lincoln. One of the greatest statesmen of all time, Lincoln advocated a lenient stance, envisioning a “restoration” whereby the southern states would pledge allegiance and reenter the Union under the Constitution. Lincoln proved to be a great negotiator and worked successfully during the war to join opposing sides to unite behind the Emancipation Proclamation and passage of the 13th Amendment. Lincoln appealed to the common man and was revered by many of his era. One of his greatest admirers was poet Walt Whitman who penned his famous poem “Captain, My Captain” as a tribute to Lincoln and, according to Reynolds in Lincoln and Whitman, called Lincoln “the greatest, best, most characteristic,...
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...Theories of Lincoln’s Assassination There are numerous theories about Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. One of the theories is the Simple conspiracy theory, which states that John Wilkes Booth and his small band of co-conspirators planned to kidnap Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth was considered as a racist and a Southern patriot. Ulysses G. Grant, General of Union’s army suspended the exchange of southern prisoners of war, which led Booth to plan to abduct the President. Booth was considered as the leader of this small group of co-conspirators that included Samuel Arnold, George Atzerodt, David Herold, Michael O'Laughlen, Lewis Powell, John Surratt, and Mary Surratt. The reason behind this plot was that it would have enabled the South to rise up and have a chance for victory in the Civil War. Booth’s and his co-conspirators’ plot was to kidnap Abraham Lincoln, take him to Richmond, and exchange him with Southern prisoners of war. However, when the plan failed, Booth took revenge and began another plot of assassinating Lincoln. Booth also wanted to assassinate the Vice President, Andrew Johnson and the Secretary of State, William H. Seward. Assassinating the top three, powerful figures, Booth knew it would have given a major blow to the government of the United States. Therefore, Booth assigned Lewis Powell to kill William H. Seward and George Atzerodt to kill Andrew Johnson. George Atzerodt backed down and Lewis Powell attacked and injured Seward critically but he was not able...
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...After the civil war, most of the lands were destroyed on both sides, those who suffered most were the Southerners. The whole country was moaning and burying their dead. Lots of people were homeless especially the African Americans but it was the born of freedom. People had to return to their normal daily lives. Everything has been destroyed and they have to try and forgive each other and see the way forward. Andrew Johnson who became the president after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated had to find ways and reconstruction the nation. There were three plans for Reconstruction, Lincoln’s plan, Johnson’s plan and the Radical Republican plan. Lincoln’s plan was to unify the nation after the war, therefore issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and...
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...Lincoln’s Vision for Reconstruction: In 1863 after the Union victories at the battles of Gettysburg Pennsylvania, President Lincoln started preparing for reconstruction to reunify the North and South after the war end. During the same year he issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. To attract the poor whites, he offered to pardon all Confederate and to appeal to the former plantation owner and the elites, he swear to protect private property. His plan for Reconstruction was based on forgiveness and generosity. “ But with the death of President Lincoln in the hopes of Reconstruction would end in failure” ( CCN, week 4 lesson). “The Radical Republican: Did not agreed with Lincoln’s plan to for forgiveness, in fact they ”insisted that the Confederate states pay for their crimes and supported Sherman’s plan to confiscate Confederate land and give it to the slaves” ( CCN, week 4 lesson). They felt that Lincoln’s plan was not harsh enough and that the south should be punished for causing the war. They plan was to assure civil liberties for former slaves with no voting rights and destroy the South’s slave society. The Vice President Andrew Johnson: Became President shortly after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Like Lincoln, Johnson wanted to restore the union as soon possible. Even though, Johnson disrelished the southern aristocrats by indicating that he intended to deal with the south in a harshly manor, it was not visible. He returned confiscated...
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...Before the Civil War John Wilkes Booth was a Maryland boy who came from a family of actors. Booth was an actor himself and was beloved by many for his roles in many different plays. When the war began Booth was a strong Southern sympathizer and had a strong hatred towards abolitionists so much so that he attended John Brown’s execution because he believed him to be a traitor. During the war Booth became a spy in the North and used his job as an actor as a cover to smuggle medical supplies acquired in the North into the South. As a very well-known actor, Booth had more freedom than most to travel around unrestricted. As the battles of the war waged on, Booth’s disgust with President Abraham Lincoln grew more and more each day. Booth believed...
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...Abraham Lincoln James M. McPherson, the author of the book Abraham Lincoln, amazingly summarizes Abraham Lincoln’s life story, from birth to death captivating all the nuances that made Abraham Lincoln not only an American hero but also a marvelous sixteenth president. Throughout the book, McPherson pinpoints the significant turning point throughout Lincolns life allowing the reader to fall in love with Abraham Lincoln but also understand completely who Abraham Lincoln was. Uneasily, McPherson navigated through the Civil War explaining how it started and Lincoln’s involvement. James M. McPherson starts off by introducing Abraham Lincoln at birth. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Hardin, Kentucky. His father, Thomas Lincoln, was an illiterate farmer who favored labor over education. Consequently, every time Abraham Lincoln indulge himself in a book, his father would criticize his actions and label them as laziness. Abraham’s mother, Nancy Hanks, was no different from Thomas Lincoln reasoning being; they were both illiterate and from a low social class. Although, being from a low...
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...challenges to face during the rebuilding of the South. This time period is known as Reconstruction (1865- 1877). The reason this time is called Reconstruction is because this was the period when the federal government restored the seceded states to the Union. During the era of Reconstruction there were massive changes in American culture, economy, and politics. Before the Civil war was over President Abraham Lincoln began to prepare his plan for Reconstruction. Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction was one of forgiveness, he did not want to punish the southerners. Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction was that a southern state could be readmitted to the Union once 10 percent of its voters, who voted in the 1860 election, swore an oath of allegiance to the Union, this plan was called the “10 Percent Plan”. Radical Republicans did not agree with President Lincoln’s plan and they came up with their own plan to counter President Lincoln’s. This plan was the “Wade Davis Bill”, which required 50 percent of a states registered voters to swear an ironclad oath of allegiance to the Unites States. President Lincoln was able to block this bill from passing, but unfortunately he was assassinated before he was able to act on his plan for Reconstruction. President Lincoln’s assassination was a major turning point for this time in history. If President Lincoln had not been assassinated I think the Reconstruction would have been rough but I think he would have tried to make the transition smoother...
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...The Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction Era was a rebuilding period in American history following the Civil War. After winning the war in 1865, the Union states began the exhausting process of reconstructing the United States, as well as each side's belief system. The two main goals of this era in American history was to ensure basic civil rights to former slaves, as well as reunite the North and the South to form one Union again. However, with each side having it's own agenda, accomplishing those goals proved to be quite a task. During the Reconstruction Era, several factions of American politics formed within the Republican and Democratic parties. The most noted include the Radical Republicans, Southern Conservatives, and the Southern Freedmen. Radical Republicans demanded extreme policies be put in place for Confederate states, and stressed the civil rights and liberties of former slaves. Although their agenda compared well to Lincoln's, the Radicals wanted to make re-entry into the Union a difficult one for the Confederate states. Another faction formed, the Southern Conservatives, believed the south would rise again to its former economic status, and wanted little to no rights for African-Americans. The last faction, the Southern Freedmen, saw the greatest success for ensuring the basic civil rights to former slaves. Made up of former slaves and supported by whites who believed African-Americans should have equal rights and civil liberties, the Freedman's Bureau, initiated...
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...From 1861 to 1865 the Civil War waged on in North America leaving the country divided between the North and the South. Abraham Lincoln feared the division would cause the country to remain separated. He came up with a plan to rebuild and reunite America, it was the plan of Reconstruction. There were two goals for Reconstruction. The main goal was to unify the country. The second goal was to better integrate blacks into society. From 165 to 1877 America went through this era of reunification and overall, the main goal of Reconstruction was successful, but the second goal was not. President Lincoln’s original plan for Reconstruction was the 10 percent plan; this required that 10 percent of the voters in each southern state swore their allegiance...
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...rented that night. He then fired a single shot into the back Lincoln’s head. Rathbone had immediately rushed at him, however, Booth stabbed him in the shoulder after shooting Lincoln and leaped off of the high balcony shouting, “Sic semper tyrannis!” (“Thus ever to tyrants!”-which was the Virginia state motto)....
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