Lincoln and the Reconstruction

This lesson focuses on Lincoln’s role as president during the Civil War. After reading a variety of primary sources written by Lincoln or to him, students analyze under what provisions of the Constitution he acted as president. They then try to imagine what a week in the life of the President might have been like by writing a diary as Lincoln or his secretary. The lesson then focuses on Lincoln’s role in reconstructing the nation, which he initiated in his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction of December 8, 1863.