Abraham Lincoln And American Exceptionalism

April 15, 1865 was a highly anticipated evening at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. President Abraham Lincoln, along with Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward were scheduled to attend a showing of Our American Cousin. This enjoyable gathering soon turned to tragedy for the American leaders. In the middle of the performance, shots were fired and blood was shed while the unassuming audience sat oblivious to the events unfolding. John Wilkes Booth executed his scheme to assassinate President Lincoln, one of the most important and influential men in American history, who inspired the masses with his unexpected rise to power.

Although Abraham Lincoln wanted to free African American slaves and thought slavery was wrong he did not believe they should have the same social and political rights. The mid 1800s was a time that separated the black and white race immensely. The northern states and the southern states of the United States was divided on the issues of slavery among other reasons which led to the civil war. The civil war was the beginning of struggling African American slaves journey to freedom with the help of Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery in the northern states never reached the severity in most plantations that it did in the South, and it was common knowledge that being a slave in the South was, in a way, more harsh than the North, leading to a much larger number of slaves being held captive in southern states. Many people in the southern states used biblical passages to justify slavery and said that if slavery was abolished there would be unquestionable chaos and unemployment. Despite all of the people that did not think that slavery was wrong, one man stood and took the blunt of the judgement by the people named Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln viewed slavery as wrong, but knew that the nation’s founding fathers struggled with how to address the issue of slavery. There were several ideas on how abolish slavery during the 1800s, including colonization and the Emancipation Proclamation, but these ideas were not introduced into law because the general public

When Abraham Lincoln was elected president, he inherited a nation entrenched in chaos. Throughout his presidency he led the Union through a trying period highlighted by the secession, the institution of slavery, and the greatest internal conflict in the history of the United States, the Civil War. Lincoln stuck to his principles during this arduous time and through this was able to re-unite the nation. With no historical precedents to help validate his actions, Lincoln still succeeded in bringing about the reconciliation of the North and South. Based on Lincoln’s decisions as president that led to his triumph, he clearly garners a rating of 9 on a 1-10 scale. Lincoln’s resilient efforts to unify the nation created the basis of the

Abraham Lincoln’s presidential career was full of questionable actions. Thomas DiLorenzo author of, The Real Lincoln discusses Lincoln’s actions regarding racism, his refusal to emancipate the slaves, his continual tendency to act independently of Congress, and his radical reconstruction after the Civil War. DiLorenzo attacks each of these topics in his book and proves that Lincoln had his own agenda, and was not the picture perfect president everybody thought that he was.

Following the outbreak of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln believed that the Union could not survive whilst divided on the subject of slavery. Revered by numerous historians, Lincoln’s actions throughout the Civil War created social and political change that would bring the United States of America into a new era of social and cultural reform. In attempt to abolish slavery and weaken the Confederacy, the Emancipation Proclamation redefined the objectives of the Civil War. While successful in gradually abolishing the institution of slavery in the southern states, the Emancipation Proclamation failed to extinguish racial discriminations against the newly freed African-Americans. Indeed, progress had been made, but by using intimidation

“Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution”, written by James M. McPherson, one of America’s historians. McPherson has also written,” Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era”, “Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief”, “Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam” and many other history related books. “Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution” consists of seven essays throughout on important themes in American history and unusual standpoints on the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln.

It is hard not to agree with David Herbert Donald in his biography of Abraham Lincoln. He does his best to not give his professional opinion of anything and only writes about the topics from which he has proof of. The main ideas that the author has throughout the text is greatly supported with Lincoln’s own papers and from written first-hand accounts of his generation. Donald accounts for the changes of position on slavery and the equality of blacks throughout his presidency. I think that this book is a great depiction of Abrahams Lincoln’s life.

Lincoln was always against slavery. He never thought of slaves as better than white Americans, but still thought they should be considered as equal to the law. Lincoln agreed with the founding fathers' phrase “All men are created equal,” which he also thought that it should have applied to black and white people. “The Declaration and the Constitution enshrined these rights: the right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. In essence, to Lincoln this implied the right to be free, to enjoy the fruits of his labour, to have a family and to acquire property.”

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States of America he was frequently referred to as the ‘’The great emancipator’’ and yet although he didn’t publicly call for the emancipation of the entire life. Lincoln established his public career by declaring that he was anti-slavery against slavery’s increasing but not for announcing immediate emancipation. However, the man who began as ‘’anti-slavery’’ eventually announced the emancipation proclamation in which freed all slaves in states that were in rebellion.

During the Reconstruction Abraham Lincoln was one of the presidents who was not in favor of slavery. He introduced the Emancipation Proclamation, which did not free slaves but did offer a pardon. The slaves had to pass a literacy test or they had to escape and go to the north in order to become free. Abraham Lincolns plan was to get voting rights for blacks; however, only those who helped fight in the war and the most intelligent or literate ones could vote. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery. The African

Abraham Lincoln has gone down as one of the most prominent presidents in the American history, from his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, to his assassination. Having to deal with some of the most troublesome times in the History of America, as president, Abraham did “to the best of my [his] ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,” (Source B) in hopes to combine the North and South to once again become a United Nation. However, the status of African Americans in relationship of Lincoln must be analyzed further, as it was a crucial aspect of his presidency and distinction as “The Great Emancipator.” Although Lincoln was “ naturally anti-slavery,” (source B) he viewed it

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most influential American Presidents known for his leadership in a revolutionary movement that officially outlawed slavery in the U.S. Eric Foner, the American historian examined the path of Lincoln that eventually led him to a historical achievement. The Fiery Trial by Eric Foner shows that Lincoln unlimited capacity for growth allowed him to adapt to the changing political environment as the issue of slavery progressed in the 19th century. The book is a biography of Lincoln that takes a look at how Lincoln’s upbringing and early political environment had shaped his opinions regarding slavery. By putting Lincoln’s actions into the background in which they have occurred, Foner not only makes sense of the inconsistency in Lincoln’s political behavior, but also shows how a radical idea that seemed ridiculous at the time could be gradually implemented by the changing public sentiment.

President Abraham Lincoln was put into office March 4, 1861, and this would be the start of a significant change for America. Many people see Lincoln as one of the best presidents that was in office for America, but others have opposing views on how he was not the best president in office. In Lucas E. Morel’s, “Lincoln, Race, and the Spirit of ‘76”, he expresses, “Many people who consider Abraham Lincoln the greatest American president would be surprised to discover that he endorsed black colonizations, did not promote civil and political equality for blacks in the free state of Illinois” (3). By having Lucas E. Morel expressing that, “endorsed black colonizations” and “not promote civil and political equality” shows two ways of how Lincoln was great, but at the same time was not. If Lincoln allowed black colonizations he would demonstrate equality for them, since the freed slaves are still not being treated well. On the positive side, Lincoln was still able to make slaves independent in America which shows how Lincoln affected slavery. As one can see,, Lincoln does not correspond with slavery since he does not see it as a justified act. At the moment in America, human equality was not justified because of slavery. Lincoln wanted to make a change in America and wanted to make sure human equality was justified. In Lucas E. Morel’s, Lincoln, Race, and the Spirit of ‘76, he indicates that, “Lincoln saw this repudiation of human equality as the greatest threat to preserving

While the enticing whisper of democracy filled the political arena, President Lincoln held fast to the belief that our of natural rights are derived from God, and that he created all men equal. Desiring the abolition of slavery, Lincoln could have met De Tocqueville’s prediction of the rise of a despotic ruler by forcefully abolishing slavery. However, Lincoln understood that removing the injustice of slavery through unjust means would enatil a

Lincoln held firm to the idea that the United States’ defining quality was its uniquely democratic government. The Constitution was cherished by Lincoln, and it was for the preservation of this document that Lincoln was willing to carry out whatever task necessary. However, Lincoln’s interpretation of the Constitution legitimized the ownership of slaves, and he was not willing to sidestep the constitution unless it became absolutely necessary to do so (as a war measure). Only after the United States had been immutably split and hundreds of thousands of lives had been lost did Lincoln finally take decisive action.