Influential newspaper editor Horace Greeley begs President Abraham Lincoln to meet with Confederate agents who are supposedly empowered to discuss the possibility of ending the war.
Category: Reconstruction
The Wade-Davis Bill: Executive Response
Abraham Lincoln is presented with a bill outlining the congressional plan to readmitting the Confederate states to the Union. His decision whether to approve this bill outrages many within his own party.
The Wade-Davis Bill: Congressional Reconstruction
The U.S. Congress passes a bill intended to supersede Abraham Lincoln’s lenient plan for readmitting Confederate states to the Union. This mandates a much more punitive process of readmission, but it will require Lincoln’s approval to become law.
The Radical Republican Convention
Disgruntled Republicans gather in Cleveland, Ohio, to nominate a presidential candidate that could defeat Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming election. But the convention proves less successful than many had hoped.
Restoring Unionism in the South
Federal authorities try implementing President Abraham Lincoln’s “Ten Percent Plan” in many states. The plan involves loyalty pledges and supervised elections meant to establish Unionist governments in several southern states. Lincoln suggests for the first time that black men be given the right to vote, but the issue remains contentious.
Reconstruction Gets Under Way in Tennessee
Unionists assemble to start the process of restoring Tennessee to the Union. Military Governor Andrew Johnson calls for settling the slavery issue and initiates plans to shape relations between the races post-emancipation.