I was his, body and soul, from
the time I felt the pressure of his fingers."
The Southerners would have found a friend in Lincoln, but now that
friend was lost to them. Had he lived much of the bitterness of
the time after the war would never have been.
President Johnson had a very hard task before him. He had "to bind
up the nation's wounds" and re-unite the North and South. But he
had neither the tact nor the strength needed for this great task.
At first it was thought he would be too hard on the South. Then it
was thought he would be too lenient, and soon he was at loggerheads
with Congress.
For the South, this time was a time of bitterness. The Confederate
States were divided into five districts, each district being ruled
over by an officer with an army of soldiers under him. From the
men who had led the rebellion, all power of voting was taken away,
while at the same time it was given to negroes.
The negroes were very ignorant. They had no knowledge of how to
use their votes. So a swarm of greedy adventurers from the North
swooped down upon the South, cajoled the negroes into voting for
them, and soon had the government of these states under their control.
These men were called Carpet-baggers. For it was said they packed
all their belongings into a carpet bag. They had no possessions,
no interests in the South.
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