The existential crisis in America had almost everything to do with slavery. Controversial decisions were made that shook the public along with government officials. The Missouri Compromise took a massive blow from the Kansas-Nebraska act and left anti-slavery politicians in an outrage. Even some Democrats found themselves opposing it on the basis that it destroyed popular sovereignty. Next, the Dred Scott court decision set an outstanding precedence for slaveholders. Lincoln felt that it would surely it would allow for expansion of slavery to run rampant through the country and into new territories. Still, the country was divided by anti-slavery advocates and slaveholders and the divide grew larger with each debate. In Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech, he emphasized that this division could not last for long. For the sake of the country and its union, Americans needed to pick a side.
The division put the foundation of the country in question. For Lincoln, this was an absolutely abhorrent idea. He believed that the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence should be held to the highest of standards yet, some individuals were undermining its true message when they argued for the expansion of slavery. Regardless of whose side the country decided to officially take, to Lincoln,
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While the Know Nothings, Abolitionists, and Danites still existed, their candidates (if any) really had no match compared to the popularity of some of the Democratic and Republican representatives. As a Republican, Lincoln was often forced to ignore some other similar views he had with Democrats like Stephen Douglas. For the sake of politics, Lincoln could not find common ground and work with others to better the country. He had to be aggressive and focus on opposing viewpoints to get his campaign off the
During Abraham Lincoln’s presidency at the start of the 1860, an issue that had divided the nation was slavery. Lincoln’s election to presidency as a republic was not received well by the Southern slave states, as they thought that as a republican he was out to abolish slavery. In an effort to calm southern states and keep them from seceding from the United States, he attempts to ease them with his First Inaugural Address. In his First Inaugural Address his key points are to clam southern leaders of slave states, keep the states from seceding, and make them at ease as he enters presidency.
When word would spread to the south that slaves could be freed, Lincoln strongly believed that these slaves would revolt against their owners, so that they could do what they can to help the Union defeat the Confederacy in the Civil War. However, this move was very risky as it could have swayed the border states from helping the Union into joining the Confederacy. But in the end, Lincoln himself came to the conclusion that slavery was morally incorrect and went through with his decision, by creating the Emancipation Proclamation and freeing the slaves in the Confederate territory. There were many causes for Lincoln to create the Emancipation Proclamation, especially considering the time period it was created in. However, the Civil War was the major contributer to the creation of the Emancipation Proclamation as it was the turning point for the relationship between slaver supporters (south) and non slave supporters (north).
We can state the obvious, that we are not all perfect, and we certainly say things we don’t mean. Was President Lincoln really a racist? There is documented text that could point evidence that leans in either direction. Things said in the heat of long debates and drawn out conversations that ran for hours, does not make such a monumental man a poor or hypocritical person. Looking at the Constitutional right that “All men are created equal” to the thought that things won’t change without action, and to a man with no moral obligation other than to share his personal option that slavery was wrong, we dive into President Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln, looking back, seems like an integral person to America and its history. People today may believe that, but it was actually surprisingly difficult for Lincoln to win his reelection. There were many factors contributing to this uncertainty, one of them being his support of emancipation for slaves. According to USHistory.org, the Democratic Party was split right down the middle about their hopes for the war. Half of the democrats were extremely dead-set on ending the war with a peace treaty, and the other half wanted to continue the fight ("The Election of 1864").
While both Abraham Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech and George Washington’s Farewell Address talks about the government and people uniting, Lincoln’s speech speaks more about slavery and Washington’s address advised warnings about the liberties necessary for the country/nation to survive. On June 16, 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave the speech at the State Republican to more than 1,000 delegates. He told them that they have to decide whether all states in the country will either promote slavery or end it completely. He states that the “government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free” because the house would not be able to stand. On the other hand, Washington’s address was published in the newspapers across the country on September
Abraham Lincoln, Frederic Douglass, were one of the most appealing well-known speakers, people who did believe that slavery was morally wrong and devote their lives to fight for freedom. However, there are several differences between the view of the Constitution’s position differences between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Kansas-Nebraska Act indicated that the recognition of slavery should be determined by the decision of these residents (popular or squatter sovereignty). This act itself conflicted heavily with the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, which was essentially seen as the admittance of slavery anywhere in the country. This act made a political issue of confrontation between North and South.
In the North, many people wanted Lincoln to let the South become a separate nation, but he wanted unity between the North and South. But when the war started in 1861 no one, not even Lincoln, could have foreseen the four years of the horrendous bloodshed that was to come. The corpses of American boys would be shoveled into the earth - hundreds and thousands of them.
Lincoln’s political principles were based on the American Founding which he studied from an early age. Those principles combined reverence for the Declaration of Independence with respect for the Constitution. Lincoln saw slavery as antithetical to the principles of these Founding doctrines. Lincoln long believed in conceding unimportant points to political and legal rivals while he concentrated on the most important point.
Douglas, was an important election that would, and did, go down in history. Lincoln had opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, created by Stephen Douglas, which lead him into becoming a Republican. Here, nobody was able to Compromise. He ran against Stephen Douglas, and won the election with getting one hundred eighty electoral votes, and Douglas getting twelve (Southern Democrat Breckinridge seventy-two, and Constitutional Union Bell getting thirty-nine) (Doc H).
President Lincoln stated that: “if I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it,..., and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would do it.”. This quote clearly shows that the freedom of slaves was not his concern and unnecessary if it did not help the Union; as the result, slavery still exists if there is no war. Free slave from bondage should be a Great Emancipator’s primary goal and he will do his best to achieve it no matter what, but president Lincoln’s thought differed from that because all he cares was the Union. Although he had many times admitting himself an anti-slavery but his words and thoughts obviously prove that he is
Lincoln urges the people to “strive on to finish the work we are in,” “to bind up the nation's wounds,” he is trying to get the United Sate Citizens to become one again to unite and be one strong country, showing that even after a huge war that the country can remain strong and unified and that this war will allow for a strong brotherhood in the US. Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is significant because Lincoln offered and objective point of view. Lincoln did not speak of the unloyalty of the South nor did he praise the North. Rather, Lincoln used multiple points to show that the Unification should be the main focus of his speech not that the states should be divided because of
Abraham Lincoln would lead the Republican Party even though he did not win the south over in the election. He promised that he would save the Union no matter what the cost. This disconnect in policy would later lay the basis for the Civil War, which started in 1861. He never envisioned a proclamation or ending slavery but he was ultimately committed to saving the Union from the succeeding south. Lincoln gave into the antislavery Republicans toward the end of the war and finally decided to make slavery the true basis of the war.
”[34] He had laid out what the purpose was of a true democracy. Prior to the debates, Lincoln as not very well-known throughout the nation, but after the election, his name and reputation had gained national recognition. Two years later, he was the Republican Party’s nominee for President, but had it not been for the debates “no amount of political wire-pulling could have brought about his selection.” The seven contests between the Illinois senatorial candidates in 1858 set the stage for the increasing tension that led to the Civil
Lincoln also brings to surface the most natural difference mankind has ever known: race. It's a hard thing to deny especially when we learn about slavery based on skin color, and use words that negatively describe a person of a certain race. The sickening, but true fact is that people are judged, and receive unequal treatment based on what color they see when they look into the mirror. Even though we have no control over what color we see, America has faced this racist mind set since its existence. From slavery, to African American segregation in the and 60’s, skin color has caused people to be treated unfairly, all because of the choices nature has made for us.
Tensions rose across the country from those in support support of slavery and those opposed. Many states wanted to outlaw slavery while others adamantly defended it because it was the main institution with a high and consistent revenue. Ultimately, the disagreements over slavery are what lead to the Civil War. The country divided into an “Us versus Them” situation which lead to both sides having growing support for their views and making the groups less susceptible to an agreement. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed slaves from confederate states.