HIST-H 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Gettysburg Address, Military Tactics, Channel 4
Document Summary
Reconstruction begun with the end of the civil war in 1865. The politics of the time was focused on restoring the unity of the united states but in a way that insured that the goals of the civil war were realized. Thus, it involved a determined effort to bring racial equality to the south but also a fierce resistance to this effort by southerners not ready to accept equality in their society. As for a nation, america had affirmed both equal rights for all (dec. of. Independence) and supported the existence of slavery (even in the constitution) Equal rights for all was a moral argument-- all men are equal for they had a reason/created by gd. Pre civil war: lincoln always held to moral argument but also to political one that allowed slavery to keep union intact. Slaughter of civil war forces him to bring his politics into line with his moral.
