masur: there were. lincoln may have exaggerated the number of southern unionists at the start of the war, but there were southern union lists, southern whigs still there, and there were those that were not necessarily committed to the planter class. even some of the planter class got on with the program quickly. they understood this was a new day dawning, and we have to arrange for these kinds of relationships. many of the freed men wanted to leave the plantation. many of them, as they wrote at the time, did not know they were free unless they had the freedom to leave. many of them sat out on missions many of them sat out on missions searching for loved ones that had been separated. many of them stayed on as if nothing had happened. the problem is the northern republicans who would come south and characterize the carpetbaggers, and blacks were elected to state legislatures became demonized. that is not to say there were not issues. southerners who support the effort get labeled scalawags. we have not es

bands -- mazer -- masur speaks on lincoln's legacy. this lecture took place at ford's theatre in washington, d.c. and is about 15 minutes. on a rainy night of april 11 1865, president lincoln addressed a crowd for the last time. this speech was remarkable less for its oratorical qualities, stylistically, it was far from his best.