During the Civil War, no man was more hated than Lincoln. He was called a gorilla, a beast, a blood-thirsty tyrant. In the South they sang derisive songs about him. “Jeff Davis rides a snow white horse; Abe Lincoln rides a mule. Jeff Davis is a gentleman; Abe Lincoln is a fool.” And that was one of the milder ones.

Lincoln did not return the feelings in kind. Hours before his assassination, Lincoln met with his cabinet to discuss what should be done to Confederate leaders. Should they be tried as traitors and hanged? Lincoln replied: “I hope there will be no persecution, no bloody work after the war is over. None need expect me to take part in hanging or killing them. Enough lives have been sacrificed. We must extinguish our resentment if we expect harmony and union.”

From Chapter six