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enfranchisement
The first political push for black suffrage came in 1854, with the rise of the Radical Republicans. Firmly rooted in opposition to slavery before, during and after the war, Radical Republicans believed in equality under the law for black men. As Lincoln presented a policy of Reconstruction that did not ensure voting rights for black Americans, Radical Republicans took action, creating a more activist policy of readmittance for Southern states. This policy differentiated itself from Lincoln in one glaring way: the push for black enfranchisement.
Lincoln’s stance on black voting rights remained sealed in private letters to friends and fellow politicians throughout the 1860s. In correspondence to Michael Hahn, Lincoln encouraged the extension of suffrage to black veterans. However, these behind-the-scene calls went largely unanswered at the state level, leaving Lincoln’s efforts to remain in the shadows.
It was not until 1870 that the United States ratified the fifteenth amendment, extending voting rights to black Americans. While experiencing progress in elections and political protections, Southern “Redeemers” worked to strip rights of black voters through grandfather clauses, poll taxes and literacy tests. It was through this process of isolating and removing Republicans in the South that much of the progress gained in the Reconstruction period reversed.
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Last Speech, April 11, 1865
The close of the Civil War came when the Southern General Lee surrendered himself to Union General Grant. After a war that ravaged families, land, and national morale, many citizens looked to the president for a way forward into peace and prosperity. Lincoln had to speak to the country, both North and South, in his first remarks following the surrender. Surely no small feat.
That very evening, Lincoln made an impromptu appearance to a crowd at the White House, promising to make formal remarks the next evening. In his remarks, he reveals his stance concerning political equality for black Americans. Perhaps the closest he ever came to agreement with Radical Republicans, his remarks garnered mixed reactions in Washington DC.
His remarks, meant to instill a sense of peace and forward movement for the country, ultimately triggered the chain reaction that would lead to Lincoln’s assassination. One man in the crowd, John Wilkes Boothe, did not take kindly to Lincoln’s promise of “some new announcement” to the people of South, implying the possibility of black suffrage on a federal level.
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Southern-born graduate of Westpoint, Lee successfully served in the United States Army in the Mexican-American War. He refused to lead the Union Army, taking the helm of the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
Born in Ohio, Grant took control of the Union Army in the second half of the Civil War. Under his leadership, the war came to an end with Union victory. His military success led him to the office of the Presidency in 1869.
Born in Maryland, Boothe was a stage actor who remained true to his Southern roots. After conspiring to kidnap Lincoln, he stormed Ford's Theater where he assassinated the president.
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