The Reconstruction of the South following the Civil War, and perhaps most influenced by the assassination of Lincoln, which infuriated the Radical Republicans and has largely been seen by most historians as the greatest misfortune to befall the South because now there was vengeance in the eyes of many Northerners, is the topic of this blog. In looking back over Chapter 22, explain the key factors that defined both the successes and failures of Reconstruction. As you determine the specific social, political, and economic factors that one could use to frame an argument about the good and the bad aspects of Reconstruction, consider the question posed in the title of this blog, "Would Lincoln Have Mattered?" That is, would Reconstruction have happened in a fundamentally different way, perhaps better, if Lincoln had not been killed? That, in and of itself, begs a further consideration: what ifluence would Lincoln have had if he had merely been wounded and not died? What if he was mentally crippled from the headshot and survived? What if John Wilkes Booth had been stopped before he even entered the Presidential Balcony at Ford's Theater, and so Lincoln would never have been shot? So, consider the history of Reconstruction as it happened as well as how it might have happened if Lincoln had survived and in what condition.
DUE DATE: Friday, December 7 by midnight.
WORD COUNT: 500 words
