Abraham Lincoln And National Identity

Washington Crossing the Delaware depicts the struggle of Washington and his men on their way to a historic victory at Trenton on Christmas morning. Both the painting and the poem depict the hardships and triumph of the crew in similar ways while also being very different. The painting of Washington crossing the Delaware better depicts the hardships and triumph of the crew.

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.

On a stormy December night in 1776 general George Washington and his men braved the cold and crossed the Delaware River to attack unsuspecting British soldiers. This bold move helped to turn the tides of the American Revolution and proved to be one of the most important American victories of the war. This historical battle was commemorated through a painting by German artist, Emmanuel Leutze. The painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River properly represents the fighting spirit and resiliency of the colonial forces during the American Revolution.

Emmanuel Leutze’s painting Washington Crossing the Delaware shares some similarities with David Shulman’s poem “Washington Crossing the Delaware”; however, the dissimilarities are more abundant. These works of art and literature portray the scene of that remembered Christmas day when Washington and his army set out to conquer to Hessian people. Although they have similarities, there are some differences in these works that are nothing less than noticeable. Join me in observing the similarities and dissimilarities in these pieces.

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.

Leutze’s painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, conveys that the people of America can overlook their differences and hardship when being unified by hope. He uses pathos in the color contrast in his painting to inspire feelings of hope in the unity of America. Dark color seems to loom, almost pushing upon the ships in the painting. Nevertheless, light surrounds the ships, seeming to flow from the American flag on the first ship. The American flag is a symbol of hope for the men on these ships, each of them being drastically different. The men gathered on these ships are all drastically different . George Washington himself is there, a highly respected general among common folk and even an African American man. Each of these men different in race, rank, and opinion are unified under a flag that represents each different person as a single people for the hope that they can earn their freedom. Despite the pressing darkness the flag shines a light of hope as a symbol of unity for the people of America. The pathos used in

Americans have not only defined themselves by their religious, ethnic and racial identity, but also by their individual freedom and common values. America has become a nation where its people can fight for what they believe in. Our founding fathers have formed America to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Being apart of the American culture and living on the land founded by our leaders specifies the meaning of the American Identity.

Hofstadter is an author who criticizes many historians. In the book, “In The American Political Tradition” Hofstadter does nothing but criticize different historians. One particular historian he challenges in his writings is Abraham Lincoln. According to Hofstadter, Abraham Lincoln was “the exemplar of the self-made man,” he was a very humble man that easily pleased the people and easily attained very high political ranking, as well as success and a lot of power. Abraham Lincoln’s flaws as a president were often overlooked because many Americans felt as if he brought to life what is known to be the great American dream. Because of this, many of his good qualities were true, but yet exaggerated. In this chapter about Lincoln it was

Lincoln had to overcome innumerable challenges in order to help lead the Americans back onto the road of success. One of the most major issues Lincoln had to deal with was the civil war. With his amazing leadership skills and incredible morals, Lincoln guided America through this rough patch. With the wrong type of leadership, America could've been split into two permanently. On top of trying to keep the country together, Lincoln had to deal with the issue of slavery.

Emanuel Leutze’s oil on canvas painting Washington Crossing the Delaware, measuring 12′ 5″ x 21′ 3″, depicts the famous tale of George Washington’s victory during the Battle of Trenton. This historical battle is believed to be the turning point of the revolutionary war as it ended a long held losing streak and boosted the troops morale. Emanuel, a German having lived in America for a time, painted this piece upon returning home. Emanuel painted Washington Crossing the Delaware in response to German politics. He hoped that it would inspire his fellow man in the fight for their freedom. We are very fortunate to have the last true painting, located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as the others have perished threw flames and bombings.

It is religious politics that Lincoln showed and succeeded during the Civil War. Rooted in the individual faith in Evangelical Protestantism, Lincoln emphasized religious morality and changed it into social responsibility by using biblical terms. People responded to Lincoln’s language, and people brought their faith to bear on political action, participating in the Civil War (Magagna). In this way, anti-slavery issue became religious politics. Likewise, based on the personal religious belief, when a specific issue creates the incentives for

During Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, the United States was divided into North and South, who were at war with one another. Recognizing the nation needed a determined leader to guide them into prosperity, Lincoln devised his plan for success. Lincoln’s attempts to preserve the North, while uniting them with the South seemed to be failing as the war continued throughout his first term. Once Lincoln got reelected in 1864, he set out to succeed in his mission of reuniting the nation. In Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, he uses allusions, personification, and rhetorical appeals to convey the importance of the war in order to preserve the nation.

On April 20th I ventured out to Howard University to visit the renowned Founders library. After signing into the guest book in the library, I set out exploring through the book stacks for a book that spiked my interest. After around twenty minutes I laid my eyes on a book titled “Abraham Lincoln and a New Birth of Freedom; The Union and Slavery in the Diplomacy of the Civil War” by Howard Jones. While I have studied the civil war in high school history class, my studies focused more on the actual war and its outcomes, rather than the tension leading to the outbreak of war. The book focused on the role of Abraham Lincoln on civil war diplomacy along with how the events specifically regarding slavery through the 1850’s contributed to the increase of sectionalism and the outbreak of the Civil War.

When I was a little girl I believed America stood for community, choice and culture and while those things are still true today, they have changed a great deal. I believe that the concepts of community, choice and culture are still what makes being American unique. While these concepts are not uniquely American in the sense that they are only found in America, the way that America perceives them and uses them makes them unique to us. Other developed democracies give their citizens opportunity for community, but in America it means something different. Even in times of discord, Americans unite when their way of life is threatened. We may disagree on a multitude of subjects, that often include religion, politics and race but when there is a

Abraham Lincoln has been an iconic figure of the United States. Abraham Lincoln is viewed as a political icon. He was an idealized and iconic figure in the American culture. His efforts to ends the slavery and bringing the United States to a completely new culture certainly made him a political icon. He is the only American President that is on the list when we talk about the iconic personalities. He has acquired a culturally significant stature in the American society. The movies have been made on Abraham Lincoln that expressed his significance as a popular culture icon. In addition, Abraham Lincoln has been considered as a symbol for the representation of the movement that ended the slavery.