As the Civil War came to a close, plans for Reconstruction were drafted and approved. The reunification of the southern states to the northern Union was more than about political boundaries. Like the Civic War, which errupted over Southern sussession, the confrontation quickly lead to the larger issue – slavery. Abolishin plans looked not only to end slavery, but also its negative reprocussions for African Americans. With Lincoln at the helm, slaves could picture a future where their injustices were paid for, and their freedoms and liberties were restored. However, days after General Lee’s surrender, Lincoln is famously murdered at the Ford Theater, and history takes a turn, arguably, for the worst… What if Abraham Lincoln would have completed his second term in office?
The art and craft of teaching
Hi Alex,
I thought this was a good alternative history! Just like the JFK one, it works well because students will be familiar with Lincoln’s death and they will get to tie it to much larger historical movements. The first alternate history about forty acres and a mule confused me a little bit because that was a real executive order, but maybe you meant it came earlier/wasn’t taken away by Johnson.
Loved this, and it would be a good exercise to talk about the development of civil rights in this country if Lincoln had been able to serve 2 full terms. There are a lot of logical conclusions you could draw out from that.
I’m a little confused on the timeline of some of the events, only because I’m not super familiar with this part of history. But I think including some more dates would be helpful.
I feel like America’s failure to address its deeply ingrained racist history is our tragic flaw. This alt history does a very good job of tracing that ongoing injustice.
But it also speculates what would have happened if the country could have made a major course correction right after the war. I like how it ends in two dramatically different worlds.
Well done and the illustrations add to the viewers understanding
When talking about President Lincoln, we can only wonder and image what the future would be if he were still alive. What kind of laws or rules will be enforced? The one that struck me the most is the “Racial Equality” slide. He unites the races together so that everyone will leave in harmony.