“Whatever you are, be a good one.” President Abraham Lincoln was just that, an inspiring President. In the Nineteenth Century, Lincoln along with Congress, worked to pass the Thirteenth Amendment. Not only did this amendment take almost a year to pass, it also occurred during the Civil War. After passing the amendment, Lincoln began to think about the introduction of rights to the African American people. He wanted a slow, well planned introduction of free African Americans into the United States Society. Pennsylvania Representative Thaddeus Stevens argued that African Americans should be offered many freedoms and rights immediately. Following the Civil War, their views on reconstruction were the same, to bring peace and unity to the nation.
