VI. Events Have Controlled Me Summary and Analysis

"The New Reckoning" - In a December 1863 address, Lincoln points out that the recent Republican victory in the elections demonstrated that the public had embraced his policies, including his handling of the war and the emancipation. He lays the groundwork for the difficult work of reconstruction.

"A Full Pardon" - Lincoln emphasizes future loyalty over past transgressions for white southerners who had fought on the Confederate side. He did not wish, nor did the country have the capacity, to treat all soldiers or disloyal citizens as traitors or criminals. Lincoln leaves the legal status of African Americans open, and the race issue became the most contentious issue of the Reconstruction era.

"The Jewel of Liberty" - Lincoln stresses his idea for limited black suffrage for the state of Louisiana. Unlike "Radicals" who wished...