I. The Telegraph and Abraham Lincoln
The urgency of communication was never much felt until the beginning and use of telegraphy. It was much easier to transmit and receive messages over long distances that no longer needed physical transport of letters.
As such, Abraham Lincoln made use of this medium described in an unprecedented manner that revolutionized and secured the status and dealings of his national leadership. When Lincoln arrived for the 1861 inaugural, there were no existing telegraph line to the War Department and even the White House itself. This did not stay for long when rapid changes were implemented. Wires were installed in the War Department and other similar key installations almost immediately (Wheeler, 2006).
The telegraph room for Lincoln was considered one of the sacred places in the War Department. It was surprising that the White House had no telegraph office that is why Lincoln made daily visits thereto (Wheeler, 2006). According to the writer Benjamin, he spent a good deal of soul searching in the cipher room where the quiet seclusion made it a favorite place for both rest and work that requires undivided attention and undisturbed thoughts on the brewing Civil War (1997).
In the telegraph room, Lincoln turned over with precise exactness and anxious expectations the files that come in for important news and messages. Lincoln patiently awaited every translation of ciphers that gave forecasts and promising information about the dragging war, the acceptance of the telegraph as a new mode of communication, the unexpected defeats and countless lives lost, the story of victory in battles coupled with the drama of betrayal and treason among others.
With the influx of messages from the telegraphs, Lincoln absorbed and pondered every vital information to find answers for both political and military problems that needed considerations for the public good. The telegraph became a tool to win the war and also they symbol of that will lead to the proclamation of emancipation (Benjamin, 1997).
II. Importance of the Telegraph Communication
The installation and use of telegraph communication was indispensable during the American Civil War. In spite of the growing interest for the new technology at that time, the telegraph' potential was received with skepticism and was likewise unduly underappreciated. The beginning of the work was not easy because it had to gather personnel to attend to its use and enforcement.
Nevertheless, Lincoln made use of this advantage by tapping and capitalizing on electric communications. This is considered as something remarkable because it is utilized without precedence and it was use in a time where war was waged in America during the Civil War.
leading up to and surrounding President Abraham Lincoln’s death. The purpose of this book is to
'With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.' In the delivery of Lincoln's 'Second Inaugural,' many were inspired by this uplifting and keen speech. It had been a long war, and Lincoln was concerned about the destruction that had taken place. Worn-out from seeing families torn apart and friendships eradicated, he interpreted his inaugural address. It was March of 1865, and the war, he believed, must come to an end before it was too late. The annihilation that had taken place was tragic, and Lincoln brawled for a closure. The 'Second Inaugural' was very influential, formal, and emotional.
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.
Wheeler, Tom. "How the Telegraph Helped Lincoln Win the Civil War." History News Network. George Mason University, 2006. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Robinson, Luther E. Abraham Lincoln as a man of letters. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: R. West, 1977. Print.
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 issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the passage of the 13th amendment are two of Lincoln’s most influential documents enacted during his presidency. The Emancipation Proclamation “...declared over three million slaves in the rebel states of the Confederacy to be ‘thenceforward and forever free’...”(Guelzo). This action eventually took the country to the final abolition of slavery when the 13th amendment was introduced, declaring: “Neither slavery
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.
Abraham Lincoln, an autodidactic early American, grew up amidst the unlikely setting of the American frontier to an impoverished and undistinguished family (Donald n.p.). Lincoln built himself up in a world built to bring him down, and rose “from [these] humble origins in Kentucky, to prominent positions in legal and political circles of Illinois, and then to the pinnacle of presidency” (Donald n.p.). Within two months of gaining presidency, in contempt of Lincoln’s noble efforts, the American Civil War broke out amongst the country, and Abraham Lincoln, undeterred by the considerable amount of stress he was under, managed to keep together and ultimately strengthen the broken nation (Gienapp). Lincoln boldly proceeded to denounce and even completely abolish slavery in America when he instituted the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War, and adeptly convinced the Senate to pass the Thirteenth Amendment (Hamilton). Abraham Lincoln, America’s sixteenth president, left a significant impact on the country when he left an admirable legacy for future Americans to appreciate despite his difficult upbringing and personal life, when he consolidated the Union despite a civil war, and when he led the revolutionary movement to abolish slavery despite the controversy.
Continuing on, Lincoln was unobtrusive. Despite what might be expected, he was wildly yearning and strived to increase open office. The object of his desire was never to win praise for himself or to appreciate the trappings of office. It has been just to advance people positively, as well as can be
Often times, historical writings were a way for people to display contrasting viewpoints of how to preserve liberty. For example, Abraham Lincoln’s letter to William H. Herndon. At this point in time, Lincoln was just a railroad lawyer who believed a railroad would help unite the states together in union. The first thing that it is important to understand when reading this letter is to understand that they are talking about the past, the Mexican-American war had already ended.
They were many different people that changed the world; some of them changed the world completely. One of the most influential man is Abraham Lincoln. He had dedication and worked hard to becoming the man he once was. This paper is about how Abraham Lincoln played a huge effect on the outcome of the Civil War and the abolishing of slavery.
34,000 people gathered around the nation’s capital to hear Abraham Lincoln give his “Second Inaugural Address”. Lincoln expressed in his address that he made his speech short because there is no time for a long one, considering the circumstances of the Civil War that they were in. His speech was only 703 words long, making it one of the shortest addresses ever (Ronald). In the “Second Inaugural Address”, Abraham Lincoln believes freedom is the ability to live life out from under the dictation of others and make choices for themselves and to do this the war had to be won and ended by the North, thus ending slavery.
Social networking came along which helped speed up the process of communication. Before the invention of email in, people had to communicate with others by sending letters through the mail. After growing tired of waiting
The only means of communication was writing a letter or sending a telegram. The number of people one knew of was limited. At that time, one might not know the person living on the other side of the globe, but they did know who their neighbors were. They talked and interacted with each other and knew what others were going through. They communicated less, but communicated more.