I guess I had forgotten my American Civil War history. We were watching Manhunt last night, which is a show about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. I started reading up on the history of the events in the show, and learned (relearned?) that Abe was actually a moderate Republican (the Republicans were the progressives at that time), and there was a Radical Republican faction within the Republican party that wanted an immediate, complete, and permanent end to slavery, with freed slaves receiving equality, voting rights, and civil rights after the war. They were responsible for the passing of the 14th amendment.
