What if the shot delivered to Abraham Lincoln's head did not kill him and he lived out his full 1-2 terms as president. How do you think our country would be today, and how different would things be overall? Discuss/debate....
I wouldn't go that far. They had Eisenhower on a dollar coin, and he didn't die during his presidency. Still, a very witty comment. Ten points!
Mayhap there would have been an atheist president or a much stronger base that one could have a chance, or mayhap gay marriage would be legal in more states. I'm not sure, I'll have to think about this. OR jack Bauer would be out of a job.. maybe.
The Reconstruction Period would have gone a lot more peacefully, I'd say. There would have been less corruption under his administration. The Presidents that came after him were some of the worst in history. Had he lived, racial tensions would have died quickly and the nation's recovery from the Civil War would have been more efficient.
I also agree that racism might not have been as common today as it is now had he not been assassinated. The KKK might not have even formed, or at least not had such a strong relevance in the 60's if Abe had overseen the reconstruction.
Honestly? I think he probably wouldn't be remembered as being as great of a President as he generally is referred to today. People remember him as the guy who freed the slaves and got shot by John Wilkes Booth. But they tend to overlook/downplay the fact that he was a pretty tyrannical leader who was a big fan of martial law, suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War, and openly traded with the Confederate states. I would agree that the "good side" won the Civil War, but I think if Lincoln had lived out his full term, a lot of his wartime policies probably would have come under major fire after a few years.