After reading chapters 13 and 14, I do not believe that the American Civil War was fought over the issue of slavery. Slavery was the central point of the conflict, but the main contention was brought about by states rights. The war was fought over the limits of the federal power and states sovereignty over their land. The issue was not slavery, but who decided weather it was legal, were these local government in charge or some distant central power? Southern states decided to succeed because they wanted their own laws and they wanted to own slaves; they felt that the federal government had failed them by not upholding several acts. While Abraham Lincoln was opposed to slavery, he embarked on a civil war to preserve the country. The
The problems lied in the misinterpretation of the clauses that were present in the Constitution, that “was made by the people and for the people; and to the people, while also stating that, “the sovereign power in [the] confederacy, we appeal from this decision. They understand the charter of their liberties, we hope, full well enough to rebuke and defeat, at the polls, this effort to give the whole country up to the domination of the slave power.” This quote supports the political lens as the start of the Civil War because the Constitution is being referred to as an entity, and shows that slavery was a product of legal disputes and restrictions of protecting those who were not looked upon as valuable or human. Lastly, a drawback of this piece of evidence could be the writer is not a witness, nor a Judge of the Supreme Court, so he cannot recount all the factors that were taken into consideration during the
Contrary to popular belief, Lincoln was not an abolitionist himself, and he even believed that blacks did not deserve every right that the white man did. During the war, the North realized that freeing the slaves would greatly help their cause since the slave population would easily outnumber their owners. The development and execution of the idea to release the slaves was a huge moment boost for the north as they struggled to gain ground. With slaves constantly escaping to Union forces, lots of conflicts arised for the southerners. As one can see, there are several perspectives to looking back at
He made it very clear that he didn’t want slavery to spread and would work to see that slavery didn’t spread. President Lincoln said if he could save the Union by keeping slavery where it already existed, he would do that. Saving the Union was his top priority. However, the South didn’t trust President Lincoln to keep his word.
Shortly after President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated into presidency, the American Civil War began, and is currently recorded as one of the bloodiest battles in American history. It is undeniable that Lincoln had a difficult job. In fact, Paul Boller stated, “The burdens he bore during the Civil War were far heavier than those of most American Presidents… Lincoln had to proceed cautiously to avoid alienating the border slave states and offending public opinion.” With this in mind, Lincoln generally one main goal within the beginning Civil War, which was to preserve the union. However, later on, he went on to change his mind on abolishing slavery.
You can see this in Document B, wherein 1858 Lincoln says this: “I have no purpose . . . to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists . . .” Later on in the same document he also states, “There is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights . . . in the Declaration of Independence- the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” While Lincoln was running for president, he promised to leave slavery alone in the South, but he also stays true to his personal morals through his time, that slavery
When Lincoln first took office, he neither wanted to abolish or allow the expansion of slavery. This is demonstrated in his First Inaugural Address when it states, “ I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery” This shows he didn’t want to abolish it because he knew he didn’t have the
He used the civil war as a way to end slavery even though it didn’t start like that. In Lincoln’s second Inaugural Address he mentioned that “One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war.” Lincoln wanted freedom for all and was able to free most but not all.
President Abraham Lincoln claimed the reason why the Confederate States were still able to fight in the Civil War was because of their slaves. He used his grant of wars power to help abolish slavery. Who freed the slaves? Abraham Lincoln did when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed all the slaves in the sates that were fighting against the Union. It did not necessarily free all the slaves at that time, but this emancipation was the turning point of the Civil War and paved the way for the passing of the 13th Amendment into the Constitution.
The main issue was slavery, but there were also other issues at that time. Trying to avoid being a one issue party, Republicans also were concerned with tariffs on foreign goods, the construction of the railroad, other internal improvements and a homestead act that would grant cheaper western lands to settlers. The slave issue was by far the largest issue though. This issue was debated for many years before the civil war. Compromises considering this issue were made and overturned for many years.
However, Lincoln had initially planned on ignoring the issue of slavery in office and rather focusing on keeping the Union together. After a short time, it became apparent that he would have to face the issue head on. When the Civil War began in 1861, Lincoln remained on the side of the Union and became another powerful voice in the abolitionist movement as well as an advocate for keeping the Union
Lincoln faced slavery and civil war. Lincoln did not believe in slavery. Lincoln’s plan to abolish slavery was to emancipate the slave owners with federal funds. (CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION Bill of Rights in Action). Lincoln thought slaves have the same rights has other Americans.
Abraham Lincoln didn't care how many lives were lost in this war as long as our country wasn't split into two separate entities. This view he established started to transfigure as time elapsed, morphing its focus towards freeing the slaves. In fact, he believed that emancipation was a political and militaristic strategy necessary for the success of our country as a whole and published the Emancipation Proclamation in the summer of 1862. By doing so, their was an increase in support of the war in the North, with both abolitionists and free blacks willing to
Slavery has been around since the beginning of the first civilization when humans first discovered farming, dating back to the 18th century B.C. known as Hammurabi 's code: giving permission to legally own another. In the bible, the holy book of the second largest religion on this planet, it states that "Female Hebrews could be sold by their fathers and enslaved for life" (Exodus 21:7-11). The bible also has many statements regarding how to treat slaves and who can be a slave and based on who they are, it determines how long they can be kept a slave. Now as the human race moves forward through the timelines, most people believe America broke out in a civil war over slavery being justifiable or corrupt, and that when the south seceded; they flew
I believe that the Civil War was needed slavery completely ended after this change of goverment and the African Americans were
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