Abraham Lincoln's Goal Of The Civil War

As Bennett states in his article, Lincoln was opposed to the extension of slavery not out of compassion for suffering black people, but out of devotion to the interests of white people. In his Charlston speech, Lincoln stated, “I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black race, . . . I will say there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.” The speech itself shows that Lincoln was opposed to every aspect of the Emancipation Proclamation that he himself issued. Not only that, but Lincoln felt pressured to issue the Emancipation Proclamation by Radical Republicans who were pushing for it to be passed. Furthermore, if Lincoln had not issued the Proclamation, the congress would have done it. Lincoln did not want to give up his power as a president, and signed the document himself. In response to the proclamation, Bennett writes, Lincoln “freed” slaves where he had no power and left them in chains where he had power (page 137). In Lincoln and Colonization, by Richard Blackett, a historian of the abolition movement, The pressures of war forced his hand. As a result, the proclamation contained so many restrictions that observers questioned its effectiveness (page 20).

First, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t a fan of slavery. He thought that slavery should be abolished. According to document 5 it says “Abraham Lincoln, who had declared “Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free…”. Lincoln also thought that it should be “Free Speech, Free Homes, and Free Territory”. He thought that blacks should have the right to talk in public and blacks should own their own homes and property. Lincoln wanted all blacks to be free and didn't want racism.

Lincoln thought freeing slaves would help him reach his goals to save the Union. Therefor, this led to the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Although, the Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in the Confederate States in America, it was the first step in the final Emancipation of all slaves. It helped the cause of the Civil War, and was close to end slavery permanently. It was the third year into the Civil War, once the form was signed, the number of group soldiers for the Civil War and navy increased. This was because what Lincoln hoped would happen did happen. Although, the liberation of slaves allowed many slaves to volunteer and to fight in the Civil War. At that point the Civil War became a war for freedom. The result of the War was positive. The Union was saved but also the War helped free slaves.

Abraham Lincoln started all that before he was in office, so imagine what he did when he became president of the United States. When Lincoln was elected there was a long series of policy clashes between the South and the North. The clash wasn’t just about slavery. It was a clash of elites. The Northern elite wanted economic expansion. Such as, free land; free labor, free market, and much more. Lincoln had all of this in mind, even the slaves. The slaves saw Lincoln as their ticket to freedom. The South was for slavery, so when they notice Lincoln was trying to abolish slavery they started to secede from the union. Lincoln tried to get some of the states back and more seceded. The confederacy was formed; the civil war was on.

Early on in Lincoln’s political career he “expressed his devotion to the cause of protectionist tariffs, taxpayer subsidies for railroads and other corporations, and the nationalization of the money supply” (2). According to Lincoln, “the constitution stood in the way of his political ambitions” (3). If you cannot already tell, Lincoln seemed maybe he did not really care for the constitution or people like he said he did. He did not care to have equality between the races and wanted to put all the blacks in one place besides the United States. We should all be treated equally but Lincoln did not feel this way. Lincoln’s primary agenda for a Civil War was not to end slavery but to save the Union (8).

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

The Emancipation Proclamation is centered on the concept of freeing the slaves; however, the proclamation did not actually free any slaves but had a greater goal of preserving the Union through European alliance. The Emancipation Proclamation did not free slaves in Union controlled lands but instead freed the slaves where the federal government had no real power. At his inauguration, Lincoln even stated that he has “no lawful right [to] interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it [already] exists.” Furthermore, Lincoln revealed, in a letter to Horace Greeley that slavery is not even a primary focus of his political agenda when he stated “my paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery.” This letter also emphasizes Lincoln’s chief interest during the American Civil War – to maintain the Union. Therefore, Lincoln himself indicated that the Emancipation Proclamation’s purpose was to preserve the Union by successfully aiding in closing the door to European intervention in the South.

o Lincoln 's reputation as the great emancipator rests largely on his emancipation proclamation, an executive order which went into effect on January 1st, 1863. This order ostensibly freed all the slaves in territory currently rebelling against the United States, i.e. in areas where the US government had no authority to free slaves. This is rather like the United States announcing that, from here on out, North Korea would be ruled by Lady Gaga. Sure, it 's a great idea, but it 's not really your jurisdiction. In areas where the US did have the authority to free slaves--the border states and some of the areas of the Confederacy that had been effectively conquered and occupied by federal troops, those slaves were not freed. So Lincoln

The Emancipation Proclamation was a carefully crafted speech that was certainly not made overnight. The country had been moving towards it gradually, beginning with the The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act in April of 1862, which freed all slaves in Washington in return for payment to their owners. The Second Confiscation Act in July of 1862. Stating that if the rebellion were to continue not to end within sixty days, the North would be sanctioned to seize rebel property, namely slaves. However, Lincoln’s ultimate goal was the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of the Constitution, not the freeing of slaves, which is clearly seen in this letter to Kentucky newspaper editor A.G. Hodges. He explains his rationale behind emancipation by stating, “I was, in my best judgment, driven to the alternative of either surrendering the Union and the Constitution, or of laying strong hand upon the colored element. I chose the latter.” Lincoln is referring to allowing African-Americans to join Union military campaigns and fight against the Confederacy. The addition of African-American soldiers would help tip the balance in their favor even more in the North’s favor, helping them to secure important victories. These former slaves

Lincoln served as a great president who took on challenges head on. The biggest issue he faced was the Civil War. The Civil War was a conflict about slavery and expanding it. Lincoln’s goal was to gradually put an end to slavery however, the South did not agree with this and decided to (according to the government) rebel against the country. Doing this meant the beginning of a war where a country would fight itself. It was the North against the South. While the North was abiding to the government’s regulations they had to fight the South. After all the battles of fighting each other the Civil War went down into American History as one of their bloodiest wars. As a threat to the South Lincoln ordered the South to give in and join the Union again. He warned them that if this did not happen, he would free the slaves under their custody. He gave them a time limit for this but the South did not listen nor did they give in. As a result, Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation.

Slavery was a crucial issue on the Union 's diplomatic front with Britain. Lincoln realized that he could use emancipation as a weapon of war as the war was now primarily being fought over slavery. He also wanted to satisfy his own personal hope that everyone everywhere would eventually be free. So in June 1862, Congress passed a law prohibiting slavery in the territories. Lincoln issued the final form of his Emancipation Proclamation (Document F). It stated, “slaves within any State...shall be then, thencefoward, and forever free.” The proclamation had a powerful symbolic effect. It broadened the base of the war by turning it in to a fight for unity.

On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, issued the first, or preliminary, Emancipation Proclamation. In this document he warned that unless the states of the Confederacy returned to the Union by January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves to be “forever free.” During the Civil War, he was fighting to save the Union and trying not to free the slaves. Lincoln was quoted to say, “I am not, nor have ever been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races.” The Emancipation Proclamation illustrated this view.

As a Republican President, Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery. He believed it was unnecessary to everyone-including Negros and Whites. However, with his stand on slavery, he held back by declaring that he had no reason to disrupt slavery where it existed. The constitution had protected states where citizens wanted slavery to exist. Lincoln knew he would not get enough support and that the four slave-holding states in the North would turn against him. As a result, the Civil War began in 1861 with more of a political purpose in keeping the union together rather than a battle for human freedom. Slaveholders could not turn to the Union’s side because slaves were valuable and played a vital role to

Lincoln states "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that." Lincoln was strictly for the Union and if he could save the Union and end slavery he would, but his first thoughts were for the Union, and only the Union. He deals with slavery in this manner because he does not want to upset or cause turmoil in the South. Even though the Civil War was going on, he wants it to end and the Union to be whole.

When Lincoln spoke to Congress in December of 1864, he enhanced the idea of freedom for all by saying, "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom for the free…" He was fully aware that the Civil War would change the course of the future of the United States of America, and that his choices during the war would tip the scale towards continued democracy, or the death of it. He strongly believed that if the Confederacy were to win the war, and the American experiment in democracy were to fail, that the ‘beacon of hope for oppressed humanity the world over would be destroyed.'