After the Civil War, some victorious Northerners pushed for retributive policies against the South. Lincoln's template of healing the national rift ("Reconstruction") emphasized not punishing slaveholders and other civilians.
The word "malice" means the act of evil upon another person or creature. Charity means helping and teaming up together in unity. So the quote by Abraham Lincoln mean having no evil upon anyone and...
The statement shows Lincoln's attitude towards the rebel Southern states. Unlike some of the other people in the government, Lincoln did not want to punish the South but rather to get them back in...