Lincoln's Goals

The Confederate Nation was in tatters

- Save the Union
- Equal rights for blacks
- "Heal" nation as soon as possible. 
- “We can never finish this if we never begin it.”
- Eliminate hatred between North and South. 
- Rebels return home and see more than a "hated rule" of North.
- Civil government established before society falls apart. 

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Dec. 8, 1863- Proclamation of Amnesty & Reconstruction (10% Plan)

- After 10% of the people in each former Confederate state took a loyalty oath the state could reestablish a state government. 
- General pardon would be granted to all Southerners who took the oath of allegiance.
- High ranking Confederate officers were forbidden from taking oath
- The former Confederate states must abolish slavery.

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Jan. 1865- Savannah Meeting

Secretary of War Edwin Stanton

- Lincoln undecided about status of freedmen
- Secretary of War Stanton meets with black ministers in Savannah
- discuss how to go about Reconstruction
- hear freedmen's vision for the future
     - land
     - equal rights of citizenship

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May, 1865- The Freedmen's Bureau

The Freedmen's Bureau created schools for blacks

- An organization created by Lincoln that provided blacks with food, shelter, and education. 
- Sometimes set up entirely black communities.

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April 14th, 1865- The Assassination of President Lincoln

John Wilkes Booth

- Lincoln attended Our American Cousin at Ford Theatre
- No guards on duty
     - Lincoln told them to move seats and enjoy show
- Booth snuck into Presidential Box
     - Lincoln shot in head
- Booth escaped over banister and fled theater

Lincoln's Reconstruction plans were dashed, and someone else would have to take over the immense process.

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