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rivals william h seward and salmon chase his western origins also appealed to the newer states other contenders especially those with more governmental experience had acquired enemies within the party specifically seward who had run afoul of newspaperman horace greeley during the campaign lincoln was dubbed the rail splitter by
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republicans to emphasize the power of free labor whereby a common farm boy could work his way to the top by his own efforts on november six one eight six zero lincoln was elected the one six th president of the united states beating democrat douglas john c breckenridge of
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the southern democrats and john c bell of the new constitutional union party lincoln was the first republican president he won entirely on the strength of his support in the north he was not even on the ballot in nine states in the south and won only two of nine
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nine six counties there lincoln gained one eight six five nine zero eight votes three nine nine of the total for one eight zero electoral votes douglas one three eight zero two zero two two nine five for one two electoral votes breckenridge eight four eight zero one nine one
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eight one for seven two electoral votes and bell five nine zero nine zero one one two five for three nine electoral votes there were fusion tickets in some states but even if his opponents had combined in every state lincoln had a majority vote in all but two of
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the states in which he won the electoral votes and would still have won the electoral college and the election secession winter one eight six zero six one as lincoln s election became more and more probable secessionists made it clear that their states would leave the union south carolina
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took the lead followed by six other cotton growing states georgia florida alabama mississippi louisiana and texas the upper south delaware maryland virginia north carolina tennessee kentucky missouri and arkansas listened to and rejected the secessionist appeal they decided to stay in the union though warning lincoln they would not
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support an invasion through their territory the seven confederate states seceded before lincoln took office declaring themselves an entirely new nation the confederate states of america president buchanan and president elect lincoln refused to recognize the confederacy president elect lincoln survived an assassination threat in baltimore and on february two
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three one eight six one arrived in disguise in washington at lincoln s inauguration on march four one eight six one the turners formed lincoln s bodyguard and a sizable garrison of federal troops was also present ready to protect the capital from confederate invasion or insurrection from confederates in
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the capital city photograph showing march four one eight six one inauguration of abraham lincoln in front of u s capitol in his first inaugural address lincoln declared i hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the constitution the union of these states is perpetual perpetuity is implied
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if not expressed in the fundamental law of all national governments arguing further that the purpose of the united states constitution was to form a more perfect union than the articles of confederation which were explicitly perpetual and thus the constitution too was perpetual he asked rhetorically that even were
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the constitution a simple contract would it not require the agreement of all parties to rescind it also in his inaugural address in a final attempt to unite the union and prevent the looming war lincoln supported the proposed corwin amendment to the constitution of which he had been a
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driving force it would have explicitly protected slavery in those states in which it already existed and had already passed both houses lincoln adamantly opposed the crittenden compromise however which would have permitted slavery in the territories renewing the boundary set by the missouri compromise and extending it to california
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despite support for this compromise among some republicans lincoln declared that were the crittenden compromise accepted it would amount to a perpetual covenant of war against every people tribe and state owning a foot of land between here and tierra del fuego because opposition to slavery expansion was the key
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issue uniting the republican party at the time lincoln is sometimes criticized for putting politics ahead of the national interest in refusing any compromise allowing the expansion of slavery supporters of lincoln however point out that he did not oppose slavery because he was a republican but became a republican
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because of his opposition to the expansion of slavery that he opposed several other republicans who were in favor of compromise and that he clearly thought his course of action was in the national interest by the time lincoln took office the confederacy was an established fact and not a
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single leader of that country ever proposed rejoining the union on any terms no compromise was found because no compromise was possible lincoln perhaps could have allowed the southern states to secede and some republicans recommended that however conservative democratic nationalists such as jeremiah s black joseph holt and edwin
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m stanton had taken control of buchanan s cabinet around january one one eight six one and refused to accept secession lincoln and nearly all republican leaders adopted this nationalistic position by march one eight six one the union could not be broken war begins one eight six one one
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eight six two after union troops at fort sumter were fired on and forced to surrender in april lincoln called on governors of every state to send seven five zero zero zero troops to recapture forts protect the capital and preserve the union which in his view still existed intact
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despite the actions of the seceding states virginia which had repeatedly warned lincoln it would not allow an invasion of its territory or join an attack on another state then seceded along with north carolina tennessee and arkansas the slave states of missouri kentucky maryland and delaware did not secede
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and lincoln urgently negotiated with state leaders there promising not to interfere with slavery in loyal states emancipation proclamation lincoln met with his cabinet for the first reading of the emancipation proclamation draft on july two two one eight six two congress in july one eight six two moved to
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free the slaves by passing the second confiscation act it provided that if any person shall hereafter incite set on foot assist or engage in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the united states or the laws thereof or shall give aid or comfort thereto or shall engage
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in or give aid and comfort to any such existing rebellion or insurrection and be convicted thereof such person shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars and by the liberation of all his slaves if any
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he have or by both of said punishments at the discretion of the court sec nine and be it further enacted that all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the government of the united states or who shall in any way give aid or comfort
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thereto escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army and all slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them and coming under the control of the government of the united states and all slaves of such person found on or being within any place
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occupied by rebel forces and afterwards occupied by the forces of the united states shall be deemed captives of war and shall be forever free of their servitude and not again held as slaves thus everyone who six zero days after july one seven one eight six two supported the
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rebellion was to be punished by having all their slaves freed the goal was to weaken the rebellion which was led and controlled by slave owners this did not abolish the legal institution of slavery the xiii amendment did that but it shows lincoln had the support of and was
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even somewhat pushed by congress in liberating the slaves owned by rebels lincoln implemented the new law by his emancipation proclamation lincoln is well known for ending slavery in the united states and he personally opposed slavery as a profound moral evil not in accord with the principle of equality
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asserted in the declaration of independence yet lincoln s views of the role of the federal government on the subject of slavery are more complicated before the confederate states seceded lincoln had campaigned against the expansion of slavery into the territories where congress did have authority however he maintained that
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the federal government could not constitutionally bar slavery in states where it already existed during his presidency lincoln made it clear that the north was fighting the war to preserve the union not to abolish slavery freeing the slaves was a war measure to weaken the rebellion by destroying the
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economic base of its leadership class lincoln was criticized both at home and abroad for his refusal to take a stand for the complete abolition of slavery on august two two one eight six two a few weeks before signing the proclamation and after it had already been drafted lincoln
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responded by letter to an editorial by horace greeley of the new york tribune which had urged abolition i would save the union i would save it the shortest way under the constitution the sooner the national authority can be restored the nearer the union will be the union as
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it was if there be those who would not save the union unless they could at the same time save slavery i do not agree with them if there be those who would not save the union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery i do not agree
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with them my paramount object in this struggle is to save the union and is not either to save or to destroy slavery if i could save the union without freeing any slave i would do it and if i could save it by freeing all the slaves i would
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do it and if i could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone i would also do that what i do about slavery and the colored race i do because i believe it helps to save the union and what i forbear i forbear because i do not
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believe it would help to save the union i shall do less whenever i shall believe what i am doing hurts the cause and i shall do more whenever i shall believe doing more will help the cause i shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors and
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i shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views i have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty and i intend no modification of my oft expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free with the emancipation proclamation
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issued in two parts on september two two one eight six two and january one one eight six three lincoln made the abolition of slavery a goal of the war lincoln addresses the issue of his consistency or lack thereof between his earlier position and his later position on emancipation
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in an one eight six four letter to albert g hodges lincoln is often credited with freeing enslaved african americans with the emancipation proclamation however border states that still allowed slavery but were under union control were exempt from the emancipation because they were not covered under any war measures
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the proclamation on its first day january one one eight six three freed only a few escaped slaves but as union armies advanced south more and more slaves were liberated until hundreds of thousands were freed exactly how many is unknown lincoln signed the proclamation as a wartime measure insisting
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that only the outbreak of war gave constitutional power to the president to free slaves in states where it already existed he later said i never in my life felt more certain that i was doing right than i do in signing this paper the proclamation made abolishing slavery in
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the rebel states an official war goal and it became the impetus for the enactment of the one three th amendment to the united states constitution which abolished slavery lincoln was one of the main promoters of that amendment although some northern conservatives recoiled at the notion that the war
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was now being fought for the slaves instead of for preserving the union in the end the emancipation proclamation did much to help the northern cause politically lincoln s strong abolitionist stand finally convinced the united kingdom of great britain and ireland and other foreign countries that they could not
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support the confederate states of america this move remains one of the great seizures of private property by the federal government restoring the ownership of the blacks to themselves lincoln had for some time been working on plans to set up colonies in africa and south america for the nearly
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four million newly freed slaves he remarked upon colonization favorably in the emancipation proclamation but all attempts at such a massive undertaking failed important domestic measures of lincoln s first term while lincoln is usually portrayed bearded he first grew a beard in one eight six one at the suggestion
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of one one year old grace bedell lincoln believed in the whig theory of the presidency which left congress to write the laws he was anti vescovian he signed them vetoing only bills that threatened his war powers thus he signed the homestead act in one eight six two making
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available millions of acres of government held land in the west for purchase at very low cost the morrill land grant colleges act also signed in one eight six two provided government grants for agricultural universities in each state lincoln also signed the pacific railway acts of one eight six
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two and one eight six four which granted federal support to the construction of the united states first transcontinental railroad which was completed in one eight six nine the most important legislation involved money matters including the first income tax and higher tariffs most important was the creation of the
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system of national banks by the national banking acts of one eight six three one eight six four and one eight six five which allowed the creation of a strong national financial system lincoln sent a senior general to put down the sioux uprising of august one eight six two
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in minnesota presented with three zero three death warrants for convicted santee dakota who had massacred innocent farmers lincoln affirmed three nine of these for execution one was later reprieved one eight six four election and second inauguration after union victories at gettysburg vicksburg and chattanooga in one eight six
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three many in the north believed that victory was soon to come after lincoln appointed u s grant general in chief on march one two one eight six four although no president since andrew jackson had been elected to a second term and none since van buren had been re
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nominated lincoln s re election was considered a certainty however when the spring campaigns east and west all turned into bloody stalemates northern morale dipped and lincoln seemed less likely to be re nominated treasury secretary salmon p chase strongly desired the republican nomination and was working hard to win
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it while john fremont was nominated by a breakoff group of radical republicans potentially taking away crucial votes in the november elections fearing he might lose the election lincoln wrote out and signed the following pledge but did not show it to his cabinet asking them each to sign the
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sealed envelope lincoln wrote this morning as for some days past it seems exceedingly probable that this administration will not be re elected then it will be my duty to so co operate with the president elect as to save the union between the election and the inauguration as he
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will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly save it afterwards the democrats hoping to make setbacks in the war a top campaign issue waited until late summer to nominate a candidate their platform was heavily influenced by the peace wing of the party calling
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the war a failure but their candidate former general george mcclellan was a war democrat determined to prosecute the war until the union was restored although willing to compromise on all other issues including slavery mcclellan s candidacy was soon undercut as on september one just two days after the
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convention atlanta was abandoned by the confederate army coming on the heels of david farragut s capture of mobile bay and followed by phil sheridan s crushing victory over jubal early s army at cedar creek it was now apparent that the tide had turned in favor of the union
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and that lincoln may be reelected despite the costs of the war still lincoln believed that he would win the electoral vote by only a slim margin failing to give him the mandate he d need if he was to push his lenient reconstruction plan to his surprise lincoln ended
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up winning all but two states capturing two one two of two three three electoral votes after lincoln s election on march four one eight six five he delivered his second inaugural address which was his favorite of all his speeches at this time a victory over the rebels was
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within sight slavery had effectively ended and lincoln was looking to the future fondly do we hope fervently do we pray that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away yet if god wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bond man s two hundred
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and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said the judgments of the lord are true and righteous
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altogether with malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as god gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation s wounds to care for him who shall have borne the battle
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and for his widow and his orphan to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations civil war and reconstruction conducting the war effort the war was a source of constant frustration for the president and it occupied nearly all
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of his time lincoln had a contentious relationship with general george b mcclellan who became general in chief of all the union armies in the wake of the embarrassing union defeat at the first battle of bull run and after the retirement of winfield scott in late one eight six
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one lincoln wished to take an active part in planning the war strategy despite his inexperience in military affairs lincoln s strategic priorities were two fold first to ensure that washington d c was well defended and second to conduct an aggressive war effort in hopes of ending the war
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quickly and appeasing the northern public and press who pushed for an offensive war mcclellan a youthful west point graduate and railroad executive called back to military service took a more cautious approach mcclellan took several months to plan and execute his peninsula campaign which involved capturing richmond by moving
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the army of the potomac by boat to the peninsula between the james and york rivers mcclellan s delay irritated lincoln as did mcclellan s insistence that no troops were needed to defend washington d c lincoln insisted on holding some of mcclellan s troops to defend the capital a
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decision mcclellan blamed for the ultimate failure of his peninsula campaign mcclellan a lifelong democrat who was temperamentally conservative was relieved as general in chief after releasing his harrison s landing letter where he offered unsolicited political advice to lincoln urging caution in the war effort mcclellan s letter incensed
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radical republicans who successfully pressured lincoln to appoint fellow republican john pope as head of the new army of virginia pope complied with lincoln s strategic desire for the union to move towards richmond from the north thus guarding washington d c however pope was soundly defeated at the second
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battle of bull run during the summer of one eight six two forcing the army of the potomac back into the defenses of washington for a second time pope was sent to minnesota to fight the sioux panicked by confederate general robert e lee s invasion of maryland lincoln restored
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mcclellan to command of all forces around washington in time for the battle of antietam in september one eight six two it was the union victory in that battle that allowed lincoln to release his emancipation proclamation lincoln relieved mcclellan of command shortly after the one eight six two midterm
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elections and appointed republican ambrose burnside to head the army of the potomac who promised to follow through on lincoln s strategic vision for an aggressive offensive against lee and richmond after burnside was stunningly defeated at fredericksburg joseph hooker was given command despite his idle talk about becoming a
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military strong man hooker was routed by lee at chancellorsville in may one eight six three and also relieved of command after the union victory at gettysburg meade s failure to pursue lee and months of inactivity for the army of the potomac lincoln decided to bring in a western
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general general ulysses s grant he had a solid string of victories in the western theater including vicksburg and chattanooga earlier reacting to criticism of grant lincoln was quoted as saying i cannot spare this man he fights grant waged his bloody overland campaign in one eight six four using
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a strategy of a war of attrition characterized by high union losses at battles such as the wilderness and cold harbor but by proportionately higher losses in the confederate army grant s aggressive campaign would eventually bottle up lee in the siege of petersburg and result in the union taking
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richmond and bringing the war to a close in the spring of one eight six five lincoln authorized grant to use a scorched earth approach to destroy the south s morale and economic ability to continue the war this allowed generals william tecumseh sherman and philip sheridan to destroy farms
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and towns in the shenandoah valley georgia and south carolina the damage in sherman s march to the sea through georgia totaled in excess of one zero zero million lincoln had a star crossed record as a military leader possessing a keen understanding of strategic points such as the mississippi
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river and the fortress city of vicksburg and the importance of defeating the enemy s army rather than simply capturing cities however he had little success in his efforts to motivate his generals to adopt his strategies eventually he found in grant a man who shared his vision of the
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war and was able to bring that vision to reality with his relentless pursuit of coordinated offensives in multiple theaters of war lincoln perhaps reflecting his lack of military experience developed a keen curiosity with military campaigning during the war he spent hours at the war department telegraph office reading
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dispatches from his generals through many a night he frequently visited battle sites and seemed fascinated by watching scenes of war during jubal a early s raid into washington d c in one eight six four lincoln had to be told to duck his head to avoid being shot while
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observing the scenes of battle homefront lincoln was more successful in giving the war meaning to northern civilians through his oratorical skills despite his meager education and backwoods upbringing lincoln possessed an extraordinary command of the english language as evidenced by the gettysburg address a speech dedicating a cemetery of
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union soldiers from the battle of gettysburg that he delivered on november one nine one eight six three while the featured speaker orator edward everett spoke for two hours lincoln s few choice words resonated across the nation and across history defying lincoln s own prediction that the world will
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little note nor long remember what we say here lincoln s second inaugural address is also greatly admired and often quoted in these speeches lincoln articulated better than any of his contemporaries the rationale behind the union effort during the civil war lincoln exercised powers no previous president had wielded
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he proclaimed a blockade suspended the writ of habeas corpus spent money without congressional authorization and imprisoned thousands of accused confederate sympathizers without trial there is a fragment of uncorraborated evidence that lincoln made contingency plans to arrest chief justice roger brooke taney though the allegation remains unresolved and controversial
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see the taney arrest warrant controversy the long war and the issue of emancipation appeared to be severely hampering his prospects and pessimists warned that defeat appeared likely lincoln ran under the union party banner composed of war democrats and republicans general grant was facing severe criticism for his conduct
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of the bloody overland campaign that summer and the seemingly endless siege of petersburg however the union capture of the key railroad center of atlanta by sherman s forces in september changed the situation dramatically and lincoln was reelected reconstruction the reconstruction of the union weighed heavy on the president
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s mind throughout the war effort he was determined to take a course that would not permanently alienate the former confederate states and throughout the war lincoln urged speedy elections under generous terms in areas behind union lines this irritated congressional republicans who urged a more stringent reconstruction policy one
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of lincoln s few vetoes during his term was of the wade davis bill an effort by congressional republicans to impose harsher reconstruction terms on the confederate areas republicans in congress retaliated by refusing to seat representatives elected from louisiana arkansas and tennessee during the war under lincoln s generous
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terms let em up easy he told his assembled military leaders gen ulysses s grant a future president gen william t sherman and adm david dixon porter in an one eight six five meeting on the steamer river queen when richmond the confederate capital was at long last captured lincoln
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went there to make a public gesture of sitting at jefferson davis s own desk symbolically saying to the nation that the president of the united states held authority over the entire land he was greeted at the city as a conquering hero by freed slaves whose sentiments were epitomized
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by one admirer s quote i know i am free for i have seen the face of father abraham and have felt him on april nine one eight six five confederate general robert e lee surrendered at appomattox court house in virginia this left only joseph johnston s forces in
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the east to deal with weeks later johnston would defy jefferson davis and surrender his forces to sherman of course lincoln would not survive to see the surrender of all confederate forces just five days after lee surrendered lincoln was assassinated he was the first president to be assassinated and
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the third to die in office assassination the assassination of abraham lincoln from left to right henry rathbone clara harris mary todd lincoln lincoln and booth lincoln had met frequently with lt gen ulysses s grant as the war drew to a close the two men planned matters of reconstruction
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and it was evident to all that they held each other in high regard during their last meeting on april one four one eight six five good friday lincoln invited grant to a social engagement that evening grant declined grant s wife julia dent grant is said to have strongly
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disliked mary todd lincoln the president s eldest son robert todd lincoln also turned down the invitation john wilkes booth a well known actor and southern sympathizer from maryland heard that the president and mrs lincoln along with the grants would be attending ford s theatre having failed in a
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plot to kidnap lincoln earlier booth informed his co conspirators of his intention to kill lincoln others were assigned to assassinate vice president andrew johnson and secretary of state william seward without his bodyguard ward hill lamon to whom he related his famous dream of his own assassination the lincolns
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left to attend the play at ford s theater the play our american cousin was a musical comedy by the british writer tom taylor as lincoln sat in his state box in the balcony booth crept up behind the president s box and waited for the funniest line of the
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play hoping the laughter would cover the gunshot noise on stage actor harry hawk said the last words lincoln would ever hear well i guess i know enough to turn you inside out old gal you sockdologizing old man trap when the laughter came booth jumped into the box the
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president was in and aimed a single shot round slug four four caliber deringer at his head firing at point blank range the bullet entered behind lincoln s left ear and lodged behind his right eyeball major henry rathbone who was present in the presidential box momentarily grappled with booth
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but was severely stabbed and slashed by the assassin it was believed that booth then shouted sic semper tyrannis latin thus always to tyrants the state motto of virginia some accounts say he added the south is avenged and jumped from the balcony to the stage below breaking his leg
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