> The reason that Confederate leaders weren’t tried for treason is the probability the courts would have found them not guilty and secession legal. <
That’s an interesting take. But suppose Andrew Johnson was the vindictive type. He could have quickly set up a military court with hand-picked officers. Sort of the way Romania got rid of Ceausescu.
Fortunately for the country Johnson - in his own clumsy way - followed the more forgiving approach that Lincoln had envisioned.
thankfully, johnson lost control of reconstruction a couple of years after he took office - certainly after he barely survived impeachment. presidential reconstruction was a comprehensive failure. as president, he was erratic, unstable, unabashedly racist, and recklessly belligerent.
he also wasn’t a republican, he was a democrat. lincoln was re-elected on a national-unity ticket, not as a republican, and AJ, being from a border state, fit lincoln’s needs perfectly.