General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The South was not sufficiently punished after the war [View all]thucythucy
(8,069 posts)you're citing isn't true. Lincoln wanted land reform, "Forty Acres and a Mule" for emancipated slaves AND for poor whites. He wanted poor whites included because he thought this would give them an incentive to support the new society he hoped to build.
Stephen Oates has a pretty good essay on Lincoln's actual writings and speeches about reconstruction--as opposed to the mythology that rose up around him after his murder. It's true, Lincoln opposed violent and unthinking retribution motivated by a desire for revenge--but he also wanted to use the opportunity the Union victory gave him to recast southern society. And when asked at a cabinet meeting what he'd do to the southern leaders, people like Jefferson Davis, now that the south was defeated, he made a gesture as if to say "shoo!"--meaning he hoped they'd all go into exile.
Lincoln was one of the most brilliant political minds this nation has ever produced--and a shrewd judge of human character. It's just my opinion, and probably pure speculation, but I don't think Lincoln would have hesitated to recast southern society, once the war was over, even at bayonet point. The man who led the nation through the bloodbaths of Fredericksburg and Antietam would hardly have flinched when imposing a just peace.