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Abraham Lincoln's impact on the civil war
Abraham lincoln influence on the civil war
Lincolns influence during the civil war
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In August of 1862, Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune, published an open letter addressed to Lincoln. In this letter, Greeley portrayed his discontent with Lincoln’s lack of commitment regarding emancipation. In response, Lincoln wrote back a letter that presented the safety of the Union as his core motivation and argued that slavery was merely a tool to achieve this. He stated that his paramount objective was “to save the Union and [was] not either to save or destroy slavery.” However, Lincoln was not indifferent to slavery; Lincoln’s objective was to free the slaves. The roadblocks Lincoln faced in outright freeing the slaves were the Border States and northern pro-slavery advocates, as they were prominent backers of the Union …show more content…
but were against emancipation. To retain the Border States and northern pro-slavery advocates, Lincoln needed to establish that any of his actions regarding slavery would be solely based on their impacts on preserving the Union. Lincoln linked the notion of slavery to the preservation of the Union to construct a foundation on which he could pragmatically issue the Emancipation Proclamation and ensure emancipation. Fearing overpowering backlash in response to the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln advanced his stance on slavery as a means to preserving the Union to plant the seeds of emancipation.
As Greeley had published his letter to Lincoln in the New York Tribune, Lincoln was not responding solely to Greeley, but to the nation as a whole. Thus, Greeley’s letter to Lincoln was an opportunity for Lincoln to reach a national audience. When Lincoln responded to Greeley in August of 1862, he had already finished writing and presenting a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation by July of 1862. However, Lincoln did not use the presence of a national audience to publicize or even mention the proclamation. Instead, Lincoln used the presence of a national audience to plant the seeds of emancipation by creating a sound logic behind it. In the letter, in order to both augment the Border States’ confidence in his policies and to propose emancipation as a foundation for the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln stated “If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it…” This allowed Lincoln to be pragmatic as it painted him as a Unionist, but also planted the seeds for emancipation with decreased backlash for the …show more content…
future. If Lincoln, instead, had issued the Emancipation Proclamation without connecting it to preserving the Union, the south’s theory that Lincoln was conspiring to tear their society apart, would be vindicated and Lincoln’s seeds of emancipation would have been trampled before they were grown. Lincoln’s desire to free the slaves in a pragmatic manner, especially through military necessity, is shown in his reaction to General John C Fremont’s proclamation that freed all the slaves in Missouri. In his letter to Fremont, Lincoln writes, “The proclamation, in the point in question, is simply a ‘dictatorship.’” Thus, Lincoln expresses his discontent with Fremont’s actions on its arbitrary grounds, not its moral grounds. By simply issuing the proclamation, Fremont did not have substantial logic or legitimate governmental processes that would allow for the permanency of his proclamation. Lincoln understood that a dictatorial stance on freeing slaves would make emancipation both unpopular and undemocratic, causing it to fall in the face of cries of hypocrisy. Lincoln further explains his discontent with Fremont on policy lines, namely due to the Border States. Lincoln states, “Gen. Anderson telegraphed me that on the news…a whole company of our volunteers threw down their arms and disbanded…I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game…” This quote portrays Lincoln’s fear of alienating the Border States and their citizens. He believed that losing the Border States would result in a loss of the war and as a result, a loss on the ideological war of slavery. However, Lincoln believed emancipation would be legitimized if backed with military law or necessity. To guarantee the seeds of emancipation would have strong roots, Lincoln linked slavery to the conservation of the Union, backing his actions on slavery with military necessity and not totalitarian politics. To ensure the seeds of emancipation he had planted would not die out quickly when beginning to grow, Lincoln linked the winning the war to slavery to ensure a united front would fight for emancipation.
In 1862, early on in the war, Lincoln proposed to Congress a “state-sponsored program of gradual emancipation” twice. These proposals even included compensated emancipation. However, both of Lincoln’s propositions were shut down. Lincoln realized gradual emancipation was not a viable option, as states were divided on their views regarding slavery as an isolated issue. Lincoln needed to incentivize emancipation with a larger goal to unite the Union army and the Union as a whole toward it. Hence, Lincoln merged winning the war and actions on slavery on open forums such as the response to Greeley. In doing so, Lincoln could shift the Civil War’s purpose to an ideological war for emancipation when the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The Union, with the goal of winning the war, would fight for emancipation, the tool to win the war and the North itself would rally behind emancipation to preserve the
Union. From the start of the war, Lincoln valued emancipation as one of his primary objectives. However, he faced failure when fighting for gradual emancipation in Congress. After realizing the futility of those proposals, Lincoln established his policy on slavery as a means to preserving the Union to prepare the public for the Emancipation Proclamation and create a united front for emancipation once the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. In his letter to Horace Greeley where he defined slavery as a means to an end, Lincoln worked to sow the seeds for legitimate emancipation.
Abraham Lincoln is known as the President who helped to free the slaves, lead the Union to victory over the confederates in the American Civil War, preserve the union of the United States and modernize the economy. The Emancipation Proclamation, issued through Presidential constitutional authority on January 1st, 1863, declared that all slaves in the ten remaining slave states were to be liberated and remain liberated. The Emancipation Proclamation freed between three and four million slaves, however, since it was a Presidential constitutional authority and not though congress, the Emancipation Proclamation failed to free slaves in Border States like Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. Essentially, states that were under Federal Government and loyal to the Union did not have their slaves liberated; Lincoln even stating “When it took effect in January 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation freed 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves.” Some argue Lincoln issued this Proclamation in an attempt to satisfy the demands of Radical Republicans, members of a group within the Republican Party. Radical Republicans were a group of politicians who strongly...
At the time, the South depended on slavery to support their way of life. In fact, “to protect slavery the Confederate States of America would challenge the peaceful, lawful, orderly means of changing governments in the United States, even by resorting to war.” (635) Lincoln believed that slavery was morally wrong and realized that slavery was bitterly dividing the country. Not only was slavery dividing the nation, but slavery was also endangering the Union, hurting both black and white people and threatening the processes of government. At first, Lincoln’s goal was to save the Union in which “he would free none, some, or all the slaves to save that Union.” (634) However, Lincoln realized that “freeing the slaves and saving the Union were linked as one goal, not two optional goals.” (634) Therefore, Lincoln’s primary goal was to save the Union and in order to save the Union, Lincoln had to free the slaves. However, Paludan states that, “slave states understood this; that is why the seceded and why the Union needed saving.” (634) Lincoln’s presidential victory was the final sign to many Southerners that their position in the Union was
Slavery in the United States of America occurred throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. During this time, over 305,000 slaves were imported into present-day America. In 1791, Benjamin Banneker, a self-educated mathematician, astronomer, and writer, wrote a letter to the secretary of state at the time, Thomas Jefferson. Banneker said to Jefferson, “ I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity, to eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions, which so generally prevails with respect to us.” This was Banneker’s main purpose of the letter: He wanted to inform Jefferson of the unfairness and injustice slavery brings. Benjamin Banneker’s incorporates ethos, pathos, and logos throughout his letter and that is what makes it such an impactful piece of writing.
This quote is from Abraham Lincoln, The Lyceum Address, January 27th, 1838, “Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.” . The Lyceum Address was given by Abraham Lincoln at age 28. He wanted equality and this is what the Lyceum Address is about. Lincoln wanted slaves to be free, he wanted women to vote and Abraham wanted to raise awareness of the dangers of slavery in the United States of America. The Lyceum address also warned how someone from inside could corrupt the federal government.
Abraham Lincoln’s original views on slavery were formed through the way he was raised and the American customs of the period. Throughout Lincoln’s influential years, slavery was a recognized and a legal institution in the United States of America. Even though Lincoln began his career by declaring that he was “anti-slavery,” he was not likely to agree to instant emancipation. However, although Lincoln did not begin as a radical anti-slavery Republican, he eventually issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves and in his last speech, even recommended extending voting to blacks. Although Lincoln’s feeling about blacks and slavery was quite constant over time, the evidence found between his debate with Stephen A. Douglas and his Gettysburg Address, proves that his political position and actions towards slavery have changed profoundly.
Lincoln was a very smart lawyer and politician. During his “House Divided” speech he asked the question, “Can we, as a nation, continue together permanently, forever, half slave, and half free?" When he first asked this question, America was slowly gaining the knowledge and realizing that as a nation, it could not possibly exist as half-slave and half-free. It was either one way or the other. “Slavery was unconstitutional and immoral, but not simply on a practical level.” (Greenfield, 2009) Slave states and free states had significantly different and incompatible interests. In 1858, when Lincoln made his “House Divided” speech, he made people think about this question with views if what the end result in America must be.
Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery was the belief that the expansion of it to Free states and new territories should be ceased and that it eventually be abolished completely throughout the country. He believed simply that slavery was morally wrong, along with socially and politically wrong in the eyes of a Republican. Lincoln felt that this was a very important issue during the time period because there was starting to be much controversy between the Republicans and the Democrats regarding this issue. There was also a separation between the north and the south in the union, the north harboring the Free states and the south harboring the slave states. Lincoln refers many times to the Constitution and its relations to slavery. He was convinced that when our founding fathers wrote the Constitution their intentions were to be quite vague surrounding the topic of slavery and African-Americans, for the reason that he believes was because the fathers intended for slavery to come to an end in the distant future, in which Lincoln refers to the "ultimate extinction" of slavery. He also states that the men who wrote the constitution were wiser men, but obviously did not have the experience or technological advances that the men of his day did, hence the reasons of the measures taken by our founding fathers.
The drive to end slavery in the United States was a long one, from being debated in the writing of the Declaration of Independence, to exposure of its ills in literature, from rebellions of slaves, to the efforts of people like Harriet Tubman to transport escaping slaves along the Underground Railroad. Abolitionists had urged President Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves in the Confederate states from the very outset of the Civil War. By mid-1862, Lincoln had become increasingly convinced of the moral imperative to end slavery, but he hesitated (History.com). As commander-in-chief of the Union Army, he had military objectives to consider (History.com). On one hand, emancipation might
When President Lincoln first called for troops to put down the confederate rebellion, he made no connection between this action and an attempt to end slavery. In fact, he explicitly stated "the utmost care will be observed to avoid any devastation, any destruction of, or interference with, property..." At this point, slavery was not yet integral to the struggle, it was much more important for the Union to air on the side of political prudence and avoid angering loyal boarder states. However, despite this lack of political dialogue, many abolitionists, slaves, and free blacks felt the war to preserve the union could also be a war to end slavery. In the end, they were right, as military need overwhelmed potential political dangers, slaves and the institution of slavery became a central issue in the civil war.
Lincoln declared that “all persons held as slaves” in areas in rebellion “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” Not only liberate slaves in the border slave states, but the President has purposely made the proclamation in all places in the South where the slaves were existed. While the Emancipation Proclamation was an important turning point in the war. It transformed the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom. According the history book “A People and a Nation”, the Emancipation Proclamation was legally an ambiguous document, but as a moral and political document it had great meaning. It was a delicate balancing act because it defined the war as a war against slavery, not the war from northern and southern people, and at the same time, it protected Lincoln’s position with conservatives, and there was no turning
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 during the civil war, as main goal to win the war. Some historians argued that it was based on feelings towards slaves because not only it freed slaves in the South; it was also a huge step for the real abolition of slavery in the United States. While other historians argued that it was a military tactic because it strengthened the Union army, because the emancipated slaves were joining the Union thus providing a larger manpower than the Confederacy . The Emancipation Proclamation emancipated slaves only in the Confederacy and did not apply to the Border-states and the Union states.
In a speech that Lincoln gave prior to his presidency, we can see how ambiguous his stance on slavery truly was. This speech, known as the ‘House Divided’ speech, was given on the 16th of June, 1858, and outlined his beliefs regarding secession, but did not solidify the abolition of slavery as his main goal. Lincoln states that the nation “could not endure, permanently half slave and half free,” and that the slavery will either cease to exist, or will encompass all states lawfully (Lincoln). At this point in his life, Lincoln’s primary concern is clearly with the preservation of the nation.
Lincoln had a preliminary proclamation back in September 22, 1862. The reason President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation was because, "slaves in Confederate states which were not back in the union by then would be free, but slaves in the border states were not affected. The president knew the proclamation was a temporary military measure and only congress could remove slave permanently, but had the satisfaction of seeing the 13th Amendment pass a few months before his death." In other words Lincoln wanted to give slave states their rights of freedom, but the slaves along the border wouldn 't get that right of freedom because of where they were located and who they were for. He hoped the 13th amendment would back up his plan of the emancipation proclamation. President Lincolns philosophy left such a great remark on the people of the world. It was said by many different journalists of the civil war that Lincoln was, " a man of profound feeling, just and firm principles, and incorruptible
When the Civil War was approaching its third year, United States President Abraham Lincoln was able to make the slaves that were in Confederate states that were still in rebellion against the Union forever free. Document A states that on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and that every enslaved person residing in the states that were “In rebellion against the United States” were free and that the Executive Government of the United States and that the military and naval authority were to recognize them and could not act against them at all. Although the Proclamation did not free every slave in the Confederacy, it was able to release about 3.5 million slaves. Along with freeing all of those slaves, it also stated that African American men were allowed to enlist with the Union and aid them in the war.
Then, once the Civil War began, he was merely trying to preserve what was left of an unstable union. The true “Emancipators” of slavery lie in the grass roots people of that time, the abolitionists, Frederick Douglas, and the slaves themselves. The slaves earned their freedom. Lincoln was merely a man who let the events of his era determine his policy. “I claim not to have controlled events but confess plainly that events controlled me.”