With the war mercifully coming to an end by early May 1865, growing bitterness over Lincoln’s assassination fueled Northern anxieties. The Radical Republicans in Congress pressured President Johnson to pursue a vindictive policy against the southern states, believing that Lincoln was a victim of the same, southern secessionist diehards who had started the Civil War in 1861. Yet Johnson seemed inclined to adopt the policies of his martyred predecessor. For a great many in the South, the end of the war brought a floodtide of emotions—both relief and despair. Many former Confederates had no homes to return to; their hopes for the future had been dashed by Union victory on the battlefield. While the North had lost its president, the Confederate South seemingly had lost its future.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.