With the secession of the Southern States after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and the subsequent secession of the upper South after firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, reconstruction, or restoration as William Harris claims, was underway. Lincoln upon his inauguration extended an olive branch to his "dissatisfied fellow countrymen" promising them that the Federal Government, nor he, would assail them or their institutions if they agreed to return to the Union. Lincoln did everything in his power as president of the United States to keep the Southern states intact and a part of the United States of America. It was the decision of the Southern states to pursue war and not that of Lincoln.
William C. Harris, a professor of history at North Carolina State University, chronicles Lincoln's many attempts at restoring the nation to avoid war, and eventually to try and shorten the war in his fine work With Charity for All: Lincoln and the Restoration of the Union. (1997) Harris starts out analyzing Lincoln's first inaugural address and points out Lincoln's belief that the Southern states could not secede from the Union. Lincoln believed that the Union was inseparable and thus there was no legitimacy to the Confederate States of America, and their illegal government. Lincoln felt that individuals and not states had rebelled against the United States Government. Thus, Lincoln's task was clear, he had to suppress the rebellion and restore loyal governments in the South. Harris shows how Lincoln never wavered from this theory throughout his work. The states were indestructible and it was his job as president to return them to there "proper practical relationship with the Union." Everything that Lincoln did during his administration focused on this premise according to Harris.
Harris breaks down Lincoln's actions, from appointing military governors, proclamations, and other means that Lincoln employed trying to entice Southerners into rejoining the Union. As stated earlier the first attempt at restoration was during the inaugural address, in which Lincoln made it evident that Southerners had nothing to fear from him as president. Lincoln had no desire to ban slavery in the South, although personally he was opposed to it based on human dignity.
The second thing that Lincoln tried was the appointment of military governors in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Louisiana. In this attempt, Lincoln was hoping that the loyal Union men in these states would reestablish governments that were loyal to the Federal government and the Union. For the most part this proved to be somewhat unsuccessful because these states were partially occupied by Confederate forces. Men such as Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, Francis H. Pierpont of Virginia and Edward Stanly of North Carolina served as military governors at one point or another in their respective states. Pierpont is responsible for the addition of the new state of West Virginia, because most men living in this part of Virginia were staunch Union men and did not own slaves nor support the slaveholding elite. Andrew Johnson served as military governor in Tennessee and later became Lincoln's second vice-president in 1864, eventually replacing Lincoln after his assassination.
Harris goes into great detail about the Emancipation Proclamation in which Lincoln declared that all slaves would be forever free on January 1, 1863 if the states that they lived in were still in rebellion on such date. Harris points out that Lincoln would have left slavery intact if the states had agreed to rejoining the Union before this date. The Emancipation Proclamation was another carrot offered in an attempt to end the war.
Harris continues detailing Lincoln's ten-percent plan in which he stated that if ten percent of the voters from the last Federal election took an oath of loyalty to the Union cause that they would be allowed to hold elections and restore state governments. The politics involved in this process are well explained and comprehensive. Not everyone was in total agreement over the restoration of states that had rebelled. Charles Sumner wanted the states punished for their insurrection, by relegating them back to territorial status. This flew in the face of Lincoln's premise that the states could not secede and therefore were never out of the Union. Harris makes this fact clear, and that Lincoln vigorously objected to this train of thought.
Harris also defends Lincoln's pocket veto of the Wade-Davis bill that would further erode Lincoln's policy towards restoration of the Union by taking power out of his hands, and placing it in the hands of the Congress, this too was totally unacceptable to Lincoln.
There is little doubt that Lincoln's plans for the restoration of the Union was a well thought out policy, however with Lincoln's untimely death and no one sure just what he would have done had he lived, Reconstruction turned into one of the most controversial periods in our history. If the Civil War was the defining point of who we were as a people, than Reconstruction in the hands of Johnson and later the Congress was the wedge that nearly split us apart again.
With Charity for All is a tremendous look at Lincoln's efforts to bind the nation back together in the face of trying circumstances to say the least. Harris has created a magnificent book that is current, comprehensive and thought provoking. His straightforward approach to a sometimes-controversial topic is refreshing and greatly appreciated. Many times historians try to waffle around subjects that are controversial in subject, but Harris is clear in his thesis and never veers from his point of view. The materials that he uses fully support his premise that Lincoln pursued his policy based on the fact that he felt that the Southern states had never really left the Union nor could they do so. With Charity for All is a welcome edition to the ongoing scholarship on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.

Who would have thought that at such a late date, a historian could produce a work that so brilliantly and sharply alters our perceptions of the thinking and policies of Abraham Lincoln, one of the most written-about figures in history? Harris makes the reader realize that previous scholars have not been methodical or rigorous enough in examining Lincon's reconstuction policy. Given Lincon's immense prestige, contemporaries and historians have struggled to make his opinions match theirs. After Lincoln's death, Radical Republicans who bitterly opposed his reconstruction policy keenly felt the need to convince the public (and perhaps themselves) that Lincoln, before his death, had begun to come around to their way of thinking. Too many historians have mistakenly accepted this deceptive assertion. As Harris powerfully demonstrates, Lincoln's reconstruction policies were extremely consistent, and one must also say, very conservative. Due to his desire to prevent anarchy and restore order and stable, "republican" (with a lowercase r) government, Lincoln was willing to allow "loyal" Southern whites an almost free hand in reestablishing state governments, as long as they abolished slavery and granted African Americans minimal legal rights. Contrary to the later assertions of the Radicals, Lincoln evidently never determined to insist on voting rights, or perhaps even full legal equality, for African Americans. (He may have been willing to accept discriminatory "Black codes" or even a slavery-like apprentice system). Given Lincoln's immense prestige, it is more than a little disturbing to consider what the results of his policies would have been if implemented. As Professor Harris points out in his well-reasoned conclusion, however, one should not assume that Lincoln would have stood idly by and let white Southerners brutally and lawlessly reimpose white supremacy, as actually happened. Faced with such a situation, given his undoubted humanitarian instincts, he may well have concluded that only full, federally supported legal equality could salvage the situation in the South, and if he had decided this, he alone had the ability and influence to impose such a policy.

This story is very small but also very touching. It provides a good lesson in helping people and animals and in priorities. I really look forward to reading this book to my class.

Our daughter has recently read this book. She has dyslexia and read it without hesitation. She is 10 and the author mentioned in this book how she wrote easy reading for children who needed that type of reading. She targeted the audience perfectly in our situation. I found the book as refreshing as our daughter did. I have purchased the book on Amanzon.Com because it was the first available of a book that is not in circulation. The book and author has touched our lives in ways you will only know if you are in the world of dyslexia.

Despite the fact that this book is in fact a compilation of essays written over a nearly forty year period, it possesses a unity and coherence that would put many other works of "scholarship' to shame. Anastaplo is an amazingly learned, thoughtful,and spiritually sensitive man. He is also that rarity, an INTELLIGENT patriot. One cannot help but think, reading his reflections on Lincoln and the founding, that he would have made a superb addition to the Supreme Court, despite the fact that he The Illinois State Bar , deeming him a 'security risk"(!!), refused to grant him permission to practice law back during the McCarthy era. He certainly understands the constitution better than several of the Justices.

This book is perfect. I discovered it at my local library while working on my children's literature review file. I read it and was floored by how great it was and how I would not rest until I owned a copy of my very own. The book is tall and narrow just like the man himself. I especially liked the pictures of Abraham as a little boy. In so many other books, even children's books, Mr. Lincoln is portrayed as looking gruff his entire life. In this book, he smiles and grins and is adorable just like any other little boy. The book also has small ancedotes about his life which make Abraham more real to young children. The text handles the assassination in a way that is not as scary to young children. One of the most moving pictures is Lincoln's funeral train passing a field where both a black and white man were working, side by side, but had stopped to bow their heads. I read this book to a Kindergraten class and they were enchanted. I highly recommend this book for any classroom or school library. Enjoy!

This is a great book. It is very kid friendly. The illustrations and photographs are very vivid. My second grade class has enjoyed reading it.

I am a graduate student, my field of interest is Civil War History. I found Dr Pinsker's book extemely valuable in my research for my thesis. I highly reccomend this book as a valuable reference guide.

This is one of the best books that I have read on the Lincoln family history. The accurate accounts of President Lincoln's family has enlightened me greatly in that his family was not a bunch of poor people, but was mostly made up of well to do land owners, and very successful pioneers; people that helped to make this country great.

Ida Tarbell brings to the reader a vivid description of a family who worked hard,prayed hard, struggled, and succeeded in the great drama of the making of a nation. I highly reccomend this book.

Tom Tierny is no. 1 for historically accurate clothing, and his paper dolls are terrific!! I have several of his paperdoll collections..Definate buy for both children and adults interested in clothing!!

This novel has young attorney Abraham Lincoln, a historical mystery, compelling characters, humor and suspense. The language and descriptions take us back to the 1840s where we meet Lincoln as a young practicing attorney not yet entirely sure of himself but growing into greatness. Lincoln's sadness, humor and humanity all come across. The novel describes a part of Lincoln's life that is not well known. Apparently he practiced law by riding into town, interviewing a prospective client and going to trial all in the same day. The circuit court traveled from town to town around the legal circuit with the judge and the contending attorneys traveling together.

The stories Lincoln told ring true and bring laugh out loud laughter even today. I would like to know which were Lincoln's and which were the author's. The historical events are compelling. A hired hand visiting Springfield with the Trailor brothers vanished. Then Henry Trailor accused his brothers William and Arch of killing the hired hand. Lincoln himself was so taken by the mysteries that followed that he wrote about the events when they happened and he was still writing about them five years later. Lincoln writings are included in appendices. Lincoln was hired to defend the brothers and he brought his senior partner and an accomplished associate into the case for backup.

Meanwhile, fully developed characters pursue their own goals, make personal decisions and face questions that may help or hinder the defense of the Trailor brothers. The trial draws the participants together with threat a double hanging looming in the background.

Even the end of the trial leaves questions unanswered that further events finally help illuminate.