Abraham Lincoln's Argumentative Analysis

popular sovereignty was the nation's topic during the 1850s. It was included in several important files including the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Compromise of 1850. famous sovereignty, or the capacity of a country to determine whether or no longer allow slavery, turned into visible as a right with the aid of the Southern states and a obvious violation of the national group spirit and supremacy of the constitution by way of the Northern states. The Southerners and Northerners both wondered if the the brand new states had slaves, so that they went into new territories to vote and affect the vote . In the end, this led to fighting in the territories and new states,causing one specifically fight-troubled nation to become referred to

At this time it seemed that the issue of slavery was the only problem in the United States, almost as if a slave was being forced down the throats of the freesoilers (Document F). Stephen Douglas drafted the Kansas-Nebraska Acts in hopes of adding two new states: Kansas and Nebraska. Although it seemed that one would be a slave state, and the other a free state, the slavery issue would be decided by popular sovereignty. Many opposed this decision but did not know how to deal with it. The reason they did not know was because the Constitution did not mention it. William Lloyd Garrison said “the Constitution which subjects them to hopeless bondage is one that we cannot swear to support” (Document E). He was trying to say that the constitution can’t answer the question of slavery because the words “slave” and “slavery” are not in the constitution.

Just as Northerners saw flaws in the Constitution, Southerners viewed it not to be perfect as well. President James Buchanan, a northern man with southern sympathies clarified, “As sovereign states, they and they alone, are responsible before God and the world for the slavery existing among them” (Document G). However, In Doc B, an anonymous writer defends the state’s rights that the constitution should protect slavery where it exists. The union will fall apart unless these rights are protected.

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.

The north and south have been arguing over slavery since 1787 when the constitution was first signed and our government as we know it came to be. Before the westward expansion in new unexplored territory began in the United States, it was understood that the Ohio River and Mason-Dixon line would be the boundary between free and slave states. Westward expansion was a very important thing to the United States during this time. The incorporation of new states in the newer, western territory made slavery a full-frontal concern of national politics. “As the free society of the North and the slave society of the South spread westward, it seemed politically expedient to maintain a rough equality among the new states carved out of western territories,” (Alchin, Linda). Balancing the amount of slave and free states was a significant matter to both the northern and the southern political leaders. When Alabama first joined the Union in 1819, it made the political power between free and slave states completely equal, which made political leaders from both sides happy.

In 1820, a politician by the name of Henry Clay decided to help work out a compromise that would keep the balance the North and South. Clay suggested that Congress should admit Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. The official proposal was passed in March of 1820 and prohibited slavery from any territories in the Louisiana Purchase that was North of 36°30’ latitude. (The American Journey Page 320,437, and 438) Almost thirty years later, a dispute over slavery broke out in Congress because a bill was introduced by Illinois senator Stephen Douglas. Douglas originally wanted to run for president but in order to do that he needed the support of the Southern Democrats. With Douglas trying to win over both northerners and southerners, the Kansas-Nebraska act proclaimed that Kansas and Nebraska territories would have the choice to be a free or slave state. Douglas was basically saying that “they” being Congress would repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and would rely on “popular sovereignty” which is letting the people decide. He figured that because Kansas and Nebraska becoming slave

Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech on March 4, 1861. It reiterated his promise not to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States and affirmed the rights of states to order and determined their own institutions. According to document A by Abraham Lincoln (First Inaugural Address) says “Exist among people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered”.In his First Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln explained why his duty as the newly-elected president required him to treat secession as an act of rebellion and not a legitimate political action. Nothing less than the survival of self-government was at stake. As the duly elected president, Lincoln believed that majority rule constrained by “constitutional checks” and informed by public opinion was “the only true sovereign of a

The book consists of topics dealing with the subjects of slave power, states’ rights, economic sectionalism, un/ethical aspects of slavery, and the conflict of cultures. Within the topics, documents such as “Lincoln’s Election a Menace to Slavery,” and “The Almighty Has His Own Purposes: Abraham Lincoln,” correlate to the election and the process of its impacting tension to the South. The documents involve previous issues that influence the election and allocate the distinction of two sections of the United States. “Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession, and the President’s War Powers,” focuses on the disagreement of slavery, secession, and Lincoln’s authority in government in the duration of the Civil War era. The advancing disagreements initiated the Dred Scott Court Case in 1857, where Chief Justice proclaimed that the Constitution did not permit black men any privilege or right that white men were entitled to. Referring to Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, Taney accepted the southern secession as legal and positively diplomatic in both sections of the nation. “Year of Meteors: Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Election that Brought the Civil,” emphasizes the presidential election of 1860, consisted the rivalry running of the American politicians Stephen Douglas and

The implementation of popular sovereignty was a key component of the 1850 compromise which asserted the right of the people living in a new territory to decide by vote of their territorial legislature whether or not slavery would be allowed. This method, was opposed by Southerners who believed they had a right to take their ‘property’ wherever they wished, and Northerners who believed that slavery should not be allowed to expand under any circumstances, not even if the majority of white settlers wished it to

During the antebellum period, the Constitution had become a source of sectional discord between the North and the South. As it had once been framed as an instrument of national unity, the Constitution had developed different interpretations that provided the validity for ideas in both the North and South. The largest problem with the Constitution at this point, were the unaddressed issues that the Constitution never mentions. Different interpretations lead to different opinions whether something was legal. If the Constitution didn’t mention something, was it legal because it never said it wasn’t legal, or was it illegal because it was unconstitutional? The tensions between the groups of people who had differing ideas about the Constitution

The United States half-slave and half-free is a nation divided. “United we stand together we fall.” As a nation in the United States we are to unite as one. Abraham Lincoln, (Schweikart, L., & Allen, M. P. 2004. A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror pp 303) stated the Republican party looks at the institution of slavery as morally, politically, and socially wrong. Nominated for the United States Senate, Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous words

During the early 1800s, the United States was a new county and constantly expanded westward. Each time the borders of the country changed, the issue of slavery occurred because the north and the south disputed over whether the territory was a free state or a slave state. (Background) Henry Clay, a Kentucky congressman, created the Missouri Compromise addressed the issue of admitting states into the country as either a free or a slave state. However, this dilemma still persisted, therefore, the Compromise of 1850, involving congressmen Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Stephen A. Douglass, and John C. Calhoun, replaced the Missouri Compromise. This issue incited fear, conflict, and danger into the minds of southerners and northerners. In the 1800s, slavery economically effected everyone’s lives and hence, the northerners feared the expansion of slavery threatened their economic well-being, whereas, the southerners feared the termination of slavery endangered their economic status.

Abraham Lincoln, the abolisher of slavery, the African American’s President; he shocked the world when came up with plan to end the war. That was to take the South’s biggest asset, their greatest workhouse the Black community. The South were superior at agriculture without having to it touch. Then on the other hand you have the North that is big in factories and don’t want to lose any jobs. So Lincoln had a lot going against him he still pushed for the Emancipation Proclamation. The time period when everyone was fighting each other lincoln wanted something that would end the fight for good, something to bring this war-torn nation at peace. The amendment is to take away the heart and soul of the South so they have no reason to fight. At the time the Democrats were mainly in the South, while the Republicans are in the North where they don't need slave because they work complex mechanic jobs. President Lincoln was entering his second term and wanted the bill to pass before the election stared back up. With some other states already have secede from the Union with some

Lincoln had said that “a house divided against itself cannot stand” (Douglas as cited by Dudley and Chalberg 155). However, with popular sovereignty in place, the federal government doesn’t have to fight over slavery as the states are the decision makers. Douglas has a quote stating that “laws and institutions which would be well adapted to the beautiful prairies of Illinois would not be suited to the mining regions of California”. What this means is a law passed in Illinois cannot become a blanket law that applies seamlessly to the whole country(Douglas as cited by Dudley and Chalberg 155). He goes on to explain that the founding father’s realized with a republic as large as the Union, there must a large amount of specific laws for specific areas. He then makes the statement that “the various states were not allowed to complain of, much less interfere with, the policy of their neighbors”, which means that one state cannot infringe upon another with it’s laws (Douglas as cited by Dudley and Chalberg 155). Another interesting quote of Stephen Douglas is as

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 was a very influential event that occurred in American history and has much significance, even till this day. The debates were in contest for the United States Senate seat in Illinois. The main topic involved in the debates was based around slavery and the separation of the union because of it. Both Lincoln and Douglas refer to the U.S. Constitution in their remarks and state different opinions surrounding what they interpret the meaning of certain parts regarding slavery to be.