Richard Reynolds Montgomery-Spy Extroidinary

[L Verge]

(01-10-2018 05:16 PM)SSlater Wrote:  The most important aspect of Lincoln's plan was to admit the South back into the Union without punishment. The people around him (Ben Wade. Thaddeus Stevens, Salmon Chase, Fernando Wood, etc.) wanted to punish the South in such a manner that they would all make money - MILLIONS- They even fought among thenselves. I'll hut up the details, if you are interested. They almoct succeded - their man missed election BY ONE VOTE, otherwise it all woud have been different. One more, cad, Me. ~John ~ Edwin Stanton (Don't Shoot!)

Gene and John - I had a specific purpose in posting that simple question. I wanted to draw Wild Bill into the discussion. Those who attended the Surratt Conference this past April will remember a very detailed talk that Bill gave on Lincoln's plans for Reconstruction - and he appropriately titled it "My Policy is to have No Policy," taken from Lincoln's own words.

Since he died before he could really present a firm plan for reconstruction and/or reconciliation, he left future historians and politicians to speculate on exactly how he would have handled the process. Bill did outline various tactics and policies that Lincoln enacted or attempted throughout the war that would lead (hopefully) to the final plan, but we can only guess what the final blueprint would be.

I find it strange that an official policy had not be drawn up by the end of 1864, when it was certainly obvious that the war was not going to be won by the Confederacy. I don't know that much about Seward, but as Secretary of State, wouldn't he have played a vital role in this also?

I also wonder if Lincoln could have been able to control the Radicals once the Union was saved. They had been planning their own version for four years. Now that Lincoln had gone from wartime executive to peace executive, I wonder how much cooperation he would get.

No matter whose policies went into effect in the end, lousy decisions on Reconstruction have managed to screw up certain portions of our society and culture to this day -- just the past few months of 2017 are proof of that.