Reconstruction & Lincoln

Here's some thought provoking questions for you;
If Lincoln had not been assassinated, do you think there still would have been a reconstruction period?
If so, do you think it would have been different? Better? Worse?

I don't know as much about reconstruction as I wish I did. I'm interested to hear/read what you guys have to say about this.

It seems like he was trying to be respectful after the war ended to the south but it was too little too late. After you start war and then count the ghastly amount of casualties...playing dixie to show "respect" wasn't enough. Anyway, I'd be happy to read what you guys think. Honestly though, I think things may have been a little bit better but I have nothing to support my claim, I'm just guessing.

I don't know a great deal about reconstruction myself, probably only as much as you'd find on Wikipedia about it at best. I'm currently reading a biography of Richard Taylor, and after that, I'll be reading his own book "Destruction & Reconstruction", which I think will be very informative about that period - I probably should have waited until after I read that book to post this question.

I am not a fan of Lincoln in any way, but I'm inclined to also think it would have been a bit better if he were there, and like you, I have nothing to back that up, it's a guess. But with saying I think it would be better, I also have to note I am not saying that because I believe there was any exceptional kindness or benevolence on his part, only because I think he would find it beneficial as a politician, and he was, first and foremost, a politician.
Plus, some of the actions of those responsible for reconstruction were driven by a motive of revenge, some revenge for the war, some revenge for Lincoln being assassinated, and some for both.
But I don't think Lincoln being there would have been a panacea for the south, only, as I said, a bit better.

And I wish I had waited until after I read that book so I could answer my own question better...

There's a good deal of evidence to back up your sense that Lincoln's postbellum goals were far more benevolent than those who grabbed the ball after his assassination (see my brief post on your blog). I'm an unapologetic admirer of Lincoln, but I can easily see why you don't share my admiration. If you think he was bad, I'm sure you're absolutely appalled by such nut cases as Ben Wade and Thaddeus Stevens. They were slavering jackals who tried to run wild with their hateful plans for the South when Lincoln was killed. Even Sherman was furious with them, carrying on a bitter running feud with them for the rest of his career (BTW, have you ever read about the truce Sherman and Joe Johnston worked out after Appamattox? If not, it's worth looking into. It was an amazing, politically disastrous plan that essentially said to the South, "OK, the war's over, come on back as full citizens and we'll get on with being Americans again. It nearly ruined Sherman's career, and the reaction to it by such political figures as Stanton et al infuriated Sherman and he wasn't one to forgive such insults to his character.)

Yes, the radicals were left unchecked with Lincoln gone, and that coupled with the revenge factor....so that's how I knew it was worse than it would have been, I just don't know details of what happened as opposed to what should have happened, just the broad general picture.
I read about Sherman's terms of truce, they were summarily rejected - quickly.

Lincoln proposed very relaxed and easy terms for reconstrution. Confederate states could reenter the union with only10 percent of the population taking the oath of allegiance. Lincoln argued that the south had already been distroyed by the war. The whole country north & south had truely been punished by the strife, & in the southern states to an extreme! As Ken Burns "The Civil War" points out, pictures of Richmond in 1865, look like Berlin in 1945! Radicals called for punishment of the southern states & had thier way soon after Lincolns death. They used the plight of African Americans as a major cause for continued occupation, & increased federal control of former rebel states. However, I think this humanitarian reason for continued reconstruction was often less then earnest; the radical politicans would abandon the freedmen with reconstructions end!