Explain Why I Want A Union To Be Divided

Lincoln’s main goal for his presidency was to unify the Union after the Civil War had torn the North and the South apart. In Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” he says, “While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war...” (Lincoln 68). When Lincoln was elected for his first term, he wanted to unify the Union even before the war had

Although Lincoln was very tolerant of the institution of slavery in the Southern States even though he did not fully support it, he did not stand for a nation divided. As the southern states continued to remove themselves from the Union, Lincoln feared they were attempting to disrupt the order of things in the nation. The Union of States is considered to be perpetual. It is the fundamental law of all national governments; no government would allow provisions in its constitution that would allow for it to be terminated. He states that since the beginning of the Union there has been progression only towards strengthening the Union and the establishment of the Constitution was to “form a more perfect Union” (671). As States continue to secede the nation is becoming less perfect because the vital element of perpetuity is lost. States are legally bound to remain a part of the

‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.

In document A , Lincoln's speech to Congress, he states, " I recommend the adoption of a joint resolution by your honorable bodies...", Lincoln one of the union and the South to become one, but by abolishing slavery, it created many states to be angry, so it wasn't really bringing people together at all. " resolved, that the United States are to cooperate with any state which may adopt gradual abolishment of slavery..." Lincoln realize that it would cause tension between states, that he needed them to cooperate. " the federal government would find its highest interest in such a measure as one of the most efficient means of self-preservation." Lincoln gave evidence from the federal government stating that this is the easiest, and best way to preserve the Union.

Lincoln’s optimistic tone attempts to persuade the audience into forgiving the South and making peace. For instance, Lincoln says, “to bind up the nation’s wounds,”, a bright and encouraging quote for the country’s future. By referring to the Union and Confederacy as a one entity, it depicts them as a single united country. What Lincoln also suggests is that the Civil

The coexistence of a slave owning south with an increasingly anti-slavery north made conflict likely. It was formidable to decide whether such states like the ones gained from the Mexican War should be slavery or anti-slavery, which either way would disrupt the balance between the slave and antislavery states. This divided the Union and Confederacy even further. Later on, President Lincoln sought not to propose federal laws against slavery where it already existed, but he had in his 1858 House Divided speech, expressed a desire to “arrest the further spread of it “(Doc. G). Much of the political battle in the 1850s focused on the expansion of slavery into the newly created territories. All of the organized territories were likely to become free soil states which increased the southern movement toward secession. Both north and south assumed that if slavery could not expand it would become nonexistent. Southern fears of losing control of the federal government to anti-slavery forces, and northern feared that the slave power already controlled the government; these thoughts brought the sectional disagreements. The morality of slavery, the scope of democracy, and the economic merits of free labor versus slave plantations caused the Whig and know nothing parties to collapse and the free soil party to arrive, ruining the resolve of compromise.

“It will become all one thing or all the other.” Lincoln says that he expects the Union to decide on having slaves, or not having slaves. He wants the Union to decide on one thing. But the Southern states wanting slaves, and the Northern states wanting slaves freed, is mostly what caused them arguing. The North and South benefit from each other and it would have not been smart to secede because they both need supplies and food from each

Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860. As a president of the United States, Lincoln’s goal was to keep the Union together. The problem of slavery and the secession by the South are mainly the two issues that lead to the dissolve of the Union, in which Lincoln put all his efforts to deal with during his presidency. “He believes this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. He does not expect the Union to be dissolved; He does not expect the house to fall; but he does expect it will cease to be divided.” Lincoln claimed that it is

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

Lincoln suggests that the institution of slavery be contained by preventing the spread of it to the new territories and Free states, although he had no interest in interfering with the already entitled slave states. He agrees that it was the right of the state to make its own decisions, not the federal government. Although Lincoln did not favor getting involved with abolishing slavery in the already declared slave states, he did favor total abolition in the distant future. He was first worried about stopping the expansion of slavery and then the next step to be taken would have been the "ultimate extinction" of it throughout the states. Lincoln did believe that every white man had no more equality than another. For this is one of the main reasons why at this time a resolution needed to be found in order to keep this equality in the new territories. Lincoln made a valid point in his speech that if slave holders were to settle in a new territory along with people opposed to slavery, which party has the right to decide what type of territory and future state it will be declared as? As for the rights of slaves, Lincoln agreed with Douglas that slaves did not have the same individual rights as everyone else, but he did believe that the liberties given under the Declaration of Independence involved such slaves. It is obvious that the Republicans of this time find slavery as being a "moral, social, and political wrong",

‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.

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.

Kylie Lipscomb Mrs. Meisel English III AP January 9, 2015 Gettysburg Address Analysis On the 19th day of November of 1863, Abraham Lincoln, the President of The Union, delivered a 63 second motivational speech longing to preserve the union towards the soldiers and families of loved ones that would soon uphold the position of democracy. Even though Lincoln’s speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is the speech that everyone remembers, Lincoln was not the featured speaker that day. That honor went to Edward Everett.

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.'

Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address” Analysis The Gettysburg Address was a speech given by Abraham Lincoln at a cemetery for Union soldiers killed at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. While this address may not seem controversial today, it was completely radical in 1863. When Lincoln began his speech, he first referenced the Founding Fathers and what they had planned for the new nation. We can easily connect this speech to previous readings, because Lincoln drew words from the Declaration of Independence as he said that the new nation was supposedly based on the idea that “all men are created equal.”