Lincoln and the Reconstruction of the Union

Abraham Lincoln turned his attention to reconstructing the damaged union very early in the war, and tried several different experiments in recreating civilian governments in confederate states where federal authority had been re-established. He encountered his greatest difficulty in dealing with unionist factions in those states, and with a radical caucus within congress which pressed for more vigorous treatment of the former slave states. Lincoln was inclined to operate on the most generous possible terms to end the fighting. But he also declined overtures from confederates that would in any way compromise the commitment to emancipation and the end of slavery in America.