Answer:
Lincoln used the pocket veto against the Wade-Davis Bill on July 8, 1864, because he disagreed with its provisions and felt that it would complicate the process of Reconstruction after the Civil War.
The Wade-Davis Bill was a proposal put forward by the Radical Republicans in Congress, which called for more stringent conditions for readmitting former Confederate states to the Union. The bill required that a majority of eligible voters in each state swear an oath of loyalty to the Union before the state could be readmitted, and it also called for the disqualification of anyone who had supported the Confederacy from holding public office or voting.
Lincoln believed that the Wade-Davis Bill was too harsh and would make it more difficult to reintegrate the South into the Union after the war. He had already issued his own plan for Reconstruction, which was more lenient and called for a more gradual process of readmitting the states. Lincoln felt that the Wade-Davis Bill would be counterproductive to his efforts to restore the Union and heal the country after the war.
In his proclamation explaining his veto of the Wade-Davis Bill, Lincoln argued that the bill was unconstitutional because it violated the principle of presidential pardoning power. He also criticized the bill's provisions for disenfranchising former Confederates, arguing that they were too severe and would create unnecessary divisions in the country.
By using the pocket veto, Lincoln was able to prevent the bill from becoming law without having to publicly confront the Radical Republicans who had proposed it. While the Wade-Davis Bill was not enacted, its provisions and the debate around it foreshadowed the ongoing tensions between the President and Congress over the issue of Reconstruction, which would continue to be a contentious issue after the end of the Civil War.