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Analysis on Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War
Political positive effect of war
Abraham Lincoln's leadership style
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James M. McPherson's book called the Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution supplied a reflecting on Lincoln executive power, liberty under the American constitution. James M. McPherson book is a collection of an essay which was previously published. In the book, McPherson stated that the Civil War brought about a more radical change in government and American society than did the 1776 revolution.These five documents that support the statement of McPherson civil war bringing more radical change in american society and government are in Eric Foner Voice of Freedom are Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776), Washington’s Farewell Address, (1796 ), The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858) and Abraham Lincoln,The Gettysburg Address (1863) , lastly Thomas Jefferson on Race and Slavery (1781). McPherson justified …show more content…
his statement about the change in the government by the conviction of a capitalist revolution that was brought by the railroad, banking, railroad , tariff, and bonds. The main concern for the president Lincoln was a notable change in American society and in government by the emancipation proclamation on January 1, 1863, that freed all slaves. The disapproval of this left discussion between the era in antebellum and reconstruction of the South. James basically describes the revolutionary changes were African American right to education, literacy , land owning, and suffrage were the signification revolutionary changes that brought to political and social order. Lincoln is a central character in McPherson's book of radical change in the revolutionary development.
He stated that war was revolutionary itself that why the president was revolutionary. McPherson stated the southern counterrevolution was a reaction to a revolution that was forthcoming with the triumph of the Republican party election in 1860. Part of this election was the debate one of article is The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 1858 in Voice of freedom by Eric Foner. This document is series of seven discussions held in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, Lincoln represented a Republican party and Douglas was the democratic party. The debates concerned the issue of slavery and expansion to Kansas. Lincoln opened his campaign in this debate by saying either slavery would spread to all territories or it will become to an extinction“A house divided against itself cannot stand" (Foner 2004, p.278). Lincoln also stated that it violated the purpose of declaration of independence that all men are created equal goes against what the founding father built this nation on. And diffraction of the race goes oppose to political and social
equality. Lincoln’s election was revolution itself and this debate led Lincoln to president in 1860. But it brought political change as from of revolution, with a sectional difference between the North and South and the domination of southern Democrats came to end when Lincoln won the presidential action. Before Abraham Lincoln elected in office seven of southern states had seceded from the nation and formed a new nation called confederacy. As McPherson point out in his book that when Lincoln freed the slaves the destruction of social and economic shifted also Lincoln brought a new positive liberty which brought freedom for African American that did not limit or restrained them to exercise their right to the government."Positive liberty achieved by overwhelming power," he summarizes, "was the fruition of the second American Revolution" (McPherson 1990, p.138). Another document that supports McPherson argument, is Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776) , this document is most influential pamphlet in a revolutionary period of 1776. In this document Paine describes the purpose of the government that is to protect life, liberty, property. He recommended for representation democracy that gives equal rights to each individual and says American needed to struggle for freedom.This document support McPherson argument of a civil war as "common-sense working definition of revolution" fulfilled the purpose of American revolution. As McPherson stated 'indulged in the American habit of describing the United States as a 'free country' that enjoyed more 'civil and religious liberty', more 'human liberty, human rights' than any other people in the history of the world" (McPherson 1990, pp. 51-52). Thomas Paine supports this statement of McPherson because the Declaration of Independence was not only for the white man charter but the equality were applied to African American, and this civil war defined the definition of what Thomas Paine was talking in common sense and it government job to protect everyone life, liberty, and property which slavery when opposite of what all Thomas Paine pamphlet said to fight against the British.
This would create a productive discussion between readers, not the sporadic, vague, non-committal suggestions the author currently included. McPherson only begins to touch upon an idea for an argument in the last two pages, where he looks into the suggestion of whether or not John Brown was a terrorist or not. However, he leaves this answer up in the air with the statement that what one person believes counts as terrorism, another believes is an act of heroism – yet another open-ended thought with no assertions as to what a firm answer may be. For me, this was the only part in which I was truly made to think deeper into the impact of an individual’s actions as a symbol beyond the Civil War. It was only after that I was able to look back and dig through the essay to find the vague assertion of the broader impact that was woven through the narratives of these individuals’ lives. I understand that these topics are incredibly subjective and sensitive, but that is why, more than any other reason, that McPherson should be writing towards a clear answer in this hotly debated topic as opposed to subtle
In Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, by James L. Swanson, the main characters were; John Wilkes Booth, Dr. Leale, Abraham Lincoln (even though he dies.) When John Wilkes Booth (a.k.a Booth) found out that the North had won the Civil War, he felt anger and disgust but he could do nothing. Booth had one plot that the book talked about and that was to kidnap the president and sell him to the leaders of the South but that plot never got put into action. When booth went to Ford's theatre got a letter, Booth worked at the theatre, the letter that said that the President of the United states would be visiting ford's theatre quickly he put a plot into works. First he went to get accomplices and they too would kill someone that night. When the time had come to Booth snuck into the President’s box, not even noticed he pulled out a gun and shot a bullet into the left side and under the left ear of the President's head. That didn’t kill the President, yet. When Booth tried to leave he was stopped by General Henry Rathbone, they had a knife fight while trying to stop both of them from leaving, although Booth got away jumping from the President's box and onto the stage shouting "Sic Semper Tyrannis" (Chasing Lincoln's Killer, by James L. Swanson.)
From the day, the first European set foot on American soil up until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which occurred in 1865. Slavery was a controversial issue. The issue of slavery divided up the United States of America to ultimately put the two against each other. The Northern States who identifies themselves as the Union disapproved of the atrocious actions of the South who condone the crude treatment of slaves and the disturbing practices of slavery. Although slavery was not the sole cause of the Civil war, it played an important part in the disunion of the United States. The battle between states rights and federal rights rubbed more salt in the already enormous wound. Southern States who later considers themselves the confederates disapproved of the idea that the available actions of the states to act upon certain situations were dwindling, reducing the power and rights of the states. The set up of all these complications and disagreements led to the secession of the southern states which initiated the start of the brutal American Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865.
Unlike today, there was no fast communication methods. The tensions between the "free" and "slave" states was already apparent, thus, inflamed passions now began to result regularly in violence. Under those circumstances, any proposition which restoration of peace and abandoned slavery, were slow to coming. The issue of slavery was no longer a matter which could be argued. President Lincoln and Seward, made some mistakes, by the time of Seward 's famous speech, “irrepressible conflict. " The southern states started to isolate themselves and by the time the Southern States seceded from the Union, the U.S. had virtually become two separate nations and when Lincoln became president, that was the last straw. Because the Southern states felt that President Lincoln 's election was viewed by Southerners as a blow to their well-being and honor. So, some of the wording in the speech sounded like thing were already coming at the end. Therefore, talks were no longer an option, this issues were “irrepressible conflict." war were inevitable. But that 's not absolute, the speech could have been a final call to action, to work together to resolve and complete “the unfinished
The election of President Abraham Lincoln became the catalyst for the events leading to the Civil War. Lincoln represented the Republican Party who believed that all men should be free and that it was wrong to maintain people as slaves, ...
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
In the beginning of the 1860s, there were constitutional developments that arose to a radical extent because it suffices the beliefs of American citizens with the issue over slavery. For instance, Abraham Lincoln taking hold of the presidency was an impacting ...
In the 1860’s the United States weren’t united because of the issue of slavery. The civil war was never just about getting the union back together, but about making it count and getting rid of slavery. The south wanted their slaves and would say they are “-the happiest, and in some, the freest people in the world”. (Doc 5) However, the north knew that was not true because of Harriet Beecher Stowe's “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. In 1854 when the Kansas-Nebraska act was passed it caused some issues. Anti-slavery supporters were not happy because they did not want expansion of slavery, but the pro-slavery supporters weren’t happy because they wanted slavery everywhere for sure. (Doc. 7)The Kansas-Nebraska act caused trouble before it was even passed, Senator Charles Sumner argued against and attacked pro-slavery men causing Preston Brooks to beat Sumner with a cane. The south praised Brooks while the north felt for Sumner. (Doc 8) In 1858 during his acceptance speech Lincoln said his famous line, “A house divided
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.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 was a very influential event that occurred in American history and has much significance, even till this day. The debates were in contest for the United States Senate seat in Illinois. The main topic involved in the debates was based around slavery and the separation of the union because of it. Both Lincoln and Douglas refer to the U.S. Constitution in their remarks and state different opinions surrounding what they interpret the meaning of certain parts regarding slavery to be.
David Herbert Donald's Lincoln is a biography of our sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln. At the age of twenty one, he was sure he did not want to be like his father Thomas Lincoln, an uneducated farmer, so he left his fathers house permanently. He had many jobs, learned many lessons, and made both friends and enemies, all which helped him to become one of the greatest presidents of the United States of America during the time the country had split, the Civil War. Thoroughly researched and excellently written, this biography comes alive and shows us what really happened during the early to mid-nineteenth century and it still puts us in the point of view of our former president, using the information and ideas available to him.
Lincoln 's view on slavery was that he was highly against it. Lincoln is known as an abolitionists; someone who doesn 't agree with slavery. He supported the 13th Amendment simply because it would put an end to all slavery in the United States. Lincoln would often give speeches to the public about how he was against slavery. His words were, "Resolutions upon the subject of domestic slavery having passed both branches of the General Assembly at it 's present session, the undersigned hereby protest against the passage of the same." What Lincoln was saying is that problems of slavery have not been resolved they have just been ignored. The skaves protest that they don 't feel they should be ignored or their issues. Lincoln 's cabinet also had their own opinionated views about Lincolns decision on the Proclamation. The opinions from the cabinet were mixed, meaning none were the same or a few were the same but not ever all the same. "William H. Seward convinced Lincoln to wait to issue the Proclamation until after a Union military got a victory." The Union got that victory on September 17, 1862 at the Battle of
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would recognize the South as an independent nation, ensuring Union success in the war. In his speech, Lincoln used the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism, to touch the hearts of its listeners.
The power of the federal government can also be seen during Lincoln’s presidency at the time of the Civil War. He swayed the entire purpose of the war to something far off from what had been the initial purpose. From fighting for the preservation of the Union, Northerners readily began to accept that the abolition of slavery was the cause of the war for them, not the Union. Lincoln and his power made this happen.
In 1858, the debate between Lincoln and Douglas began. I went there to listen to the debate. There were thousands of people waiting for the debate in the field. Some supporters of Lincoln and Douglas were having a fight because of different opinion. On the stage, there’re Douglas and Lincoln. Douglas was a short, heavy man. On the contrary, Lincoln was a tall and thin man. It seems like there’s a big fight coming soon.