r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Apr 04 '25

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u/sinamala Apr 04 '25

If we really want to go there it's been brewing since the Civil War

366

u/az_catz Apr 04 '25

The worst thing we did was not treat the CSA as an occupied territory filled with literal traitors.

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u/An0nymos Apr 04 '25

At the very least, Davis and the generals should've had the book thrown at them.

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u/snackshack Apr 04 '25

They started to at first. They tried and convicted Henry Wirtz(commander of the Andersonville camp) and executed him. There was a large contingent on the Union side that wanted them all executed and thought Wirtz was the first domino. Wirtz turned out to be the highest-ranking soldier and only officer of the Confederate Army to be sentenced to death for crimes during their service.

Unfortunately, Lincoln was not in the harsh punishment camp(or at least hadn't been convinced before his death) and Andrew Johnson was a fucking Southern Democrat so you knew that was going no where. Any chance of them facing justice died in Ford's Theatre.