This site is meant to be an informative collection with both secondary and primary sources, it is designed as a guide to further instruction or research on the topic
Reconstruction is a field with a long history, since the era itself political scientists and historians have been examining why it happened as it did, and whether another outcome was possible1. There are many internal arguments on the topic of Abraham Lincoln: his life, death, and political career have been the subject of countless works. This project is focused specifically on how Lincoln’s death impacted the course of Reconstruction, and thus changed the course of how Black people would be treated in the United States. There are many important aspects of Reconstruction and its historiography that are not covered on this website. The aim here is to provide a brief look into the era surrounding Lincoln’s assassination and consider the vast implications of his being unable to follow through on Reconstruction.
There is a debate in the field on when exactly reconstruction began, this website is limited to the years directly before and after Lincoln’s death, however, there were many earlier factors that impacted its development. And it continued for long after the sources compiled here end.
It is also important to consider the role Black communities played in Reconstruction. This era is not only a fascinating political moment of the country being reunited, but also the history of Black accomplishment, and white violence. To understand the process of Reconstruction as solely governmental, with no consideration for the work done by Black Americans, in spite of difficult situations, would be limiting. And to ignore the retaliation and baseless horrors committed against Freedpeople is nothing short of ignorance2. Though this topic is not the focus of this website, it is important to keep in mind that the federal government was not the only acting party, and the information contained here is one aspect of a complicated and expansive history.
“Abraham Lincoln memorial” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse.
Further Discussion/Research Questions
When did Reconstruction start and end? Were the considerations during the early war Reconstruction, or did the process not begin until the war was coming to a close? Did it end when the federal government stopped participating as heavily, or was it in progress until segregation ended?
Is there a way Reconstruction could have happened without the presence of Black Codes or other large-scale methods of restricting Black rights in the South? What actions could have been taken on the federal level to limit their presence?
What similarities do you see between the Black Codes put in place directly after the Civil War ended and Jim Crow Laws ((1866) Jim Crow Laws: Tennessee, 1866-1955 • (blackpast.org)), which continued later into the 20th century? How did the violent reaction of the South to Reconstruction continue to impact Black lives decades after?
What political or economic conditions for Black Americans today have roots in this era?
In previous discussions you’ve had about Reconstruction ,what was the focus? The actions of the federal government? The reactions of local forces? The violent oppression of Black people? What, if anything, was lacking in your previous understanding?
1. For a comprehensive explanation of the historiography of Reconstruction refer to foner 2 preface ↩︎ 2. For more information the role and impact of Black communities within Reconstruction see williams 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
So, What Was the Reality of Reconstruction?
If we want to imagine what Reconstruction would have looked like if Lincoln was present, we must first understand what happened without him.
Much of the reality of Reconstruction was defined by the reaction of the South to federal action, and in many cases the lack of consequence for violence, political and physical, against Black people. Directly after the war ended, many acts of Southern legislation were a sort of damage control – restricting the opportunities for newly freed slaves to be as similar to conditions under slavery as they possibly could. This included things like the black codes: “That if the laborer shall quit the service of the employer before expiration of his term of service without just cause, he shall forfeit his wages for that year, up to the time of quitting1.” “That any adult freedman or woman shall furnish themselves with a comfortable home and visible means of support within twenty days after the passage of this act. That any freedman or woman failing to obtain a home and support, as provided in the first section of his act, shall be immediately arrested… and by them delivered over to the recorder of the parish in which they are arrested and by him hired out by public advertisement to some citizen, being the highest bidder, for the remainder of the year in which they are hired2.” “The initial response to demands for a legislative solution to the “labor problem” was embodied in the Black Codes, a series of state laws that would play a crucial role in the undoing of Presidential Reconstruction. Intended to define the freedmen’s new rights and responsibilities, the code authorized blacks to acquire and own property, marry, make contracts, sue and be sued, and testify in court in cases involving persons of their own color. But their centerpiece was the attempt to stabilize the black work force and limit its economic options apart from plantation labor3.” As well as methods of returning Black laborers to former enslaved conditions, and restricting their ability to provide for themselves or make their own way: Including apprenticeship laws, “Generally, these laws allowed judges to bind to white employers black orphans and those whose parents were deemed unable to support them. The former owner usually had first preference, the consent of the parents was not required, and the law permitted ‘moderate corporal chastisement4.’” As well as “sharecropping and tenant farming5” and “Retaliatory eviction6.” Both of which severely restricted Black people’s housing options. “They clearly dismissed the terms of the peace when it came to respecting Black people’s liberty7.” Though some local and federal actors intervened, for the most part these actions went unpunished: “Universal slave emancipation, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments all increased Black people’s odds of securing a more liberated future. But these transformations also set in motion forces that birthed a new era of violent conflict in the former slaveholding states8.” “Enslavers’ refusal to release Black people from bondage ripped across the South. First they retaliated by maiming and killing Black people trying to escape or rescue their kin. Then came the raging torrent of assassinations of Black voters and officeholders9.” “Surviving the loss of kin, home, land, livelihood, and community occupied most victims10.” (white crimes against Blacks): “When civil authorities or Bureau agents did bring such cases to court, “it seldom results in a thing but the acquittal of the criminal11.” “But white abolitionists and white U.S. army veterans who enthusiastically endorsed emancipation were outnumbered by a larger faction of white moderates and conservatives who increasingly sought common ground with former Confederates12.”
