165 YEARS AGO: The Federal defeat at Ball’s Bluff outrages northerners, sends the Lincolns into mourning, and increases calls for an “all-out war” against the Confederacy.
Tag: Benjamin F. Wade
The Wade-Davis Manifesto
Two members of the U.S. Congress bitterly denounce President Abraham Lincoln’s veto of a bill designed to give Congress the authority to impose a harsh reconstruction program on the Confederate states. This exacerbates the internal conflict within the Republican Party during an election year.
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.
Feasting and Dancing
First Lady Mary Lincoln hosts a lavish ball at the White House, prompting some to criticize her for being insensitive to those suffering hardships due to war.
The Power to Send for Persons and Papers
The U.S. Senate approves a measure creating a joint House-Senate military oversight committee whose investigative methods quickly prove controversial.