The Loyalty Oath during the Civil War

[RJNorton]

(01-19-2015 03:05 PM)Anita Wrote:  I'm also fuzzy on how far Lincoln's vision for reconstruction was actually documented...

(01-19-2015 03:11 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Lincoln's documented plans for Reconstruction and its implementation was one of the early questions that I asked on this forum, I think. If I remember right, I got practically no response - leaving me to believe that Lincoln did not have a clear plan of action.

(01-19-2015 03:24 PM)Wild Bill Wrote:  Suffice that Lincoln's real Reconstruction will remain an enigma because of his abrupt demise, but do not think him a push over for the South as many do.

Dr. Mark E. Neely, Jr. writes:

"No myth has a stronger hold on the popular mind than the assertion that John Wilkes Booth's bullet killed the best friend the South ever had. Yet the mildness of Lincoln's plans for Reconstruction may well have been a lure to get a warring people back. What he would have done in peacetime remains unknown."

[Jane Singer]

(01-17-2015 05:24 PM)Anita Wrote:  Who had to sign the loyalty oath and how effective was it? Were background checks done? What were the consequences if one broke the oath?

I know government employees had to take the oath and some businesses. Then there were those crossing North/South boundaries. There are many notes signed by Lincoln "Let him/ her take the oath".

Mary Lincoln's half-sister Emilie refused to sign the oath in 1864. Why didn't actors such as Booth have to take the oath or those traveling to Canada?

Lastly, was there a legal issue?

I'd appreciate clarification as I find it quite confusing. Thanks.

I'm working on a new project that involves a Union soldier whose entire family were notables in the Confederacy. In late November, while still in DC awaiting a post, he was visited by a Pinkerton spy who was tasked with determining his loyalty. Though the soldier stayed in the Union his loyalty was questioned throughout the war. To my knowledge he was not requested to sign any kind of loyalty oath because he was already in the US army. The theme of loyalty, the penalties for disloyalty and family shame are front and center for me now. Glad to write more about this.
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[Anita]

Thanks for the information Jane. Will look forward to your posts detailing your research. There are discussions on this forum about all the suspicions people had regarding Mary Lincoln's loyalty because of her Confederate family members.

[STS Lincolnite]

(01-19-2015 03:28 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(01-19-2015 03:05 PM)Anita Wrote:  I'm also fuzzy on how far Lincoln's vision for reconstruction was actually documented...

(01-19-2015 03:11 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Lincoln's documented plans for Reconstruction and its implementation was one of the early questions that I asked on this forum, I think. If I remember right, I got practically no response - leaving me to believe that Lincoln did not have a clear plan of action.

(01-19-2015 03:24 PM)Wild Bill Wrote:  Suffice that Lincoln's real Reconstruction will remain an enigma because of his abrupt demise, but do not think him a push over for the South as many do.

Dr. Mark E. Neely, Jr. writes:

"No myth has a stronger hold on the popular mind than the assertion that John Wilkes Booth's bullet killed the best friend the South ever had. Yet the mildness of Lincoln's plans for Reconstruction may well have been a lure to get a warring people back. What he would have done in peacetime remains unknown."

Lincoln's plans for reconstruction...one of the great what ifs in history. I agree with what Bill and Mark Neely (per Roger's post) have stated.

With the start of the war, Lincoln's primary purpose was a restoration of the Union - all the states returning to "their proper place". Slavery, for example, still existing where it already existed. Then the nature and circumstances in the war caused a change in his ideas and philosophy. Soon the war was about more than just restoring the old Union with its same problems. It became about a transformation from that old Union into what Lincoln believed was one that was more consistent with the promise of the Founding Fathers. A Union where "all men are created equal". In hindsight, I think this is really what "reconstruction" was - a process of transformation that began with the start of the war itself.

I don't think we can ever know how Reconstruction would have looked under Lincoln's leadership, and I don't think what his thoughts were April 1865 would give us much of a clue as to how it would have turned out. This is because whatever Lincoln's plans were or were not at the time of his death, they would certainly have changed and evolved as the circumstances regarding the post-war Reconstruction unfolded. This was one of his great gifts. An approach that allowed him to see the bigger picture, to grow in his thoughts and ideas and to effectively adjust the "game plan" as he went along and as circumstances dictated. To pigeonhole Lincoln into a straight forward, unchanging course of action (leniency toward the South or harshness toward the South) is just too simple and it would be wholly inconsistent with his modus operandi.

[Anita]

(02-01-2015 04:53 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  Lincoln's plans for reconstruction...one of the great what ifs in history. I agree with what Bill and Mark Neely (per Roger's post) have stated.

With the start of the war, Lincoln's primary purpose was a restoration of the Union - all the states returning to "their proper place". Slavery, for example, still existing where it already existed. Then the nature and circumstances in the war caused a change in his ideas and philosophy. Soon the war was about more than just restoring the old Union with its same problems. It became about a transformation from that old Union into what Lincoln believed was one that was more consistent with the promise of the Founding Fathers. A Union where "all men are created equal". In hindsight, I think this is really what "reconstruction" was - a process of transformation that began with the start of the war itself.

I don't think we can ever know how Reconstruction would have looked under Lincoln's leadership, and I don't think what his thoughts were April 1865 would give us much of a clue as to how it would have turned out. This is because whatever Lincoln's plans were or were not at the time of his death, they would certainly have changed and evolved as the circumstances regarding the post-war Reconstruction unfolded. This was one of his great gifts. An approach that allowed him to see the bigger picture, to grow in his thoughts and ideas and to effectively adjust the "game plan" as he went along and as circumstances dictated. To pigeonhole Lincoln into a straight forward, unchanging course of action (leniency toward the South or harshness toward the South) is just too simple and it would be wholly inconsistent with his modus operandi.

Thank you for this insight. I think it is right on. I believe in his private thoughts he had set goals for what he wanted to achieve in his second term so this nation could know a new burst of freedom. How and when they might be realized would be dependent upon a political playing field he was denied.