Very good point Stan. The ink wasn't very dry on the paperwork and the emotions were still in the air when JWB did probably the dumbest thing possible at that point in time. He sure was no help to the Southern people. Even as he sat back and allowed things to happen while the fighting was still going on, once the fighting stopped Lincoln saw his best move to be one of solidarity. For what it's worth, solidarity only works during war time anyway. Sort of like a family, the states like to beat up on each other every so often, like cousins or siblings. May not speak to each other until the next go round of military call ups. That's the way we are s'posed to be. We probably would have gotten back to it a whole lot sooner had we not had the redestruction with a vengence after Lincoln was killed. I'm no expert but it seems to me the people of the South were ready to just go back to getting their feet under themselves and get on with living. Military occupation, the suspicious looks, the 'in your face' attitude tossed at them because of Lincoln's death just made it that much harder. After a storm, we dig through the remains and put back what we can. It's rather difficult to do when another round of storms are on the tail of the first one.
We hear the stories of entire families being left with no menfolk. The family unit many times was condensed from a couple of family members to added cousins, aunts, uncles, and a few grandmothers. The basics for human life were not there for the picking. It was brutal. How many children were born in the war years who never knew their Daddy? How many wounded or maimed soldiers came home to find their family gone or the wife dead and the kids farmed out to neighbors or relatives? Where were the animals needed to plant crops? The roof to cover the children's head in the rain? Where was any humanity toward another? It seems to have fled. I'm not sure it ever really came back. At least, not completely.
There have been many remarks made over the years about the 'South' and they weren't meant to be nice. Those who weren't of the 'South' didn't get it at all. It wasn't about a plantation. It wasn't about money. It wasn't all about land. It was about unity. That is the one thing they never were able to remove from the 'South'. The Unity. Can't buy it. It's in the blood. If one has to have it explained, they wouldn't get it anyway.

Pam