Gore Vidal's Lincoln

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

“Lincoln vehemently opposed the expansion of slavery into new western territories and served as one of the most influential advocates of ‘free soil’” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Although Lincoln stayed neutral on the topic of the abolitionist movement during his campaign, he was against the expansion of slavery. Because of this, the South saw him as a threat and seven southern states seceded from the Union.

He defends the South’s position on slavery which is a deeply grounded belief. Abraham Lincoln describes this situation as a disagreement on the definition of liberty in his “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore” (1864). He explains that liberty may mean “for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men” (Forner 287). It is easy to see how this disagreement was heading in a catastrophic direction as the South continued to fight for the whole reason they came to America in the first place. The Confederates were willing to fight to death to defend their definition of freedom because the North winning the war equated to the very same thing in their minds; the end of their lives.

This quote made a clear point of how Lincoln views slavery and how he wants to end slavery in the United Sates. Also he says that “we must not interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists, because the constitution forbids it, and the general welfare does not require us to do” (Various Lincoln Statements). Lincoln did not want any change that he would make to challenge slavery in the confederate states because it was forbidden by the constitution.

This past month I have been reading Bill Oreillys killing Lincoln. This book shows Lincolns process of ending slavery and dealing with the civil war. The book tells the story of our president trying to do good things, while John Wilkes Booth is planning to do a really bad deed by killing Lincoln. This book shows us that Lincoln had a lot on his plate dealing with the Civil war and the criticism from the south. He was obviously not supported in the south but he did what he thought was right for this great nation and made a decision that changed America forever.

Lincoln was not ready to abolish slavery in the South, nor was he ready to take too extreme of a stance on the subject. Good politicians never lean to extreme on an issue for fear of losing popularity with the other side, and Lincoln was smart and tried to stay more neutral. He was very hesitant to act to fast or make any drastic decisions because he was scared to completely lose the South. Lincoln had little to gain from slavery and much to lose at that time. A presidential attack on slavery would cause controversy in the north over war goals, create further want for secession in the South and make the South turn against him even more, making restoration of the Union far more difficult (Klingaman 71). Politically, the better choice was to not make any extreme choices for slavery. In the summer of 1964, he even tried to write a statement for peace terms that stated that any proposition for peace, the abandonment of slavery, and an end to the war would be considered by the United States government (Lincoln 201). But this statement was disregarded by the south because it called for abolition. The south was still not willing to compromise and therefore Lincoln could not take a stand completely against slavery. That is why he was never committed to abolishing slavery, only stopping it from expanding out of the South. Unionists who were opposed to abolition were told

“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

However, some southerners would argue that when America gained independence from Britain, it was an act of secession. The opposing side of this is that America’s independence was obtained through a revolt, not secession. Southern leaders such as John C. Calhoun and Jefferson Davis believed that the Constitution was merely a contract that could be broken. Lincoln argued that the Constitution was not a contract, but an agreement with the people. This agreement meant that once you are in the Union, there is no leaving it. James Wilson, a shaper of the Constitution, said that “states are independent, not individually but unitedly.” His statement meant that a state can be free and have its own powers in their state government but, those powers cannot defy the laws set forth in the Constitution. Lincoln blatantly stated at his inauguration, “No state, upon its own mere motion, can get out of the Union, that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void.” If Lincoln’s more peaceful statements on the issue of secession weren’t going to get the attention of the people, then he had to use more forceful words to persuade them to conform to the idea that dividing the country was a terrible

Abraham Lincoln strongly disliked slavery and wanted to outlaw it but that was part of Texans civil rights and they had a different approach. Abraham Lincoln said that no states were allowed to secede and there would be no slavery(Document C). Civil rights were important to the confederated and they didn’t like to be stripped of them. No state can lawfully get out of the Union(Document C).Abraham Lincoln didn't allow anybody to secede which set the seceding states off but of course they didn’t care what he had to

On the other hand, Southerners believed that slavery was a necessary evil for the expansion of America. Historian Eric Foner said, “without slavery, you could not have civilization…it freed the upper class from the need to do manual labor...and therefore gave them the time...to devote themselves to the arts and literature.” (Doc. 4a) He was attempting to convince the opposing side that slavery was required to support American culture and progress. Because the North and the South never could agree or even come to a compromise for very long, tensions rose. Even Abraham Lincoln believed that the United States wouldn’t last half free and half slave, as he stated in his famous “House Divided” speech. This foreshadowed a much bigger disagreement over the issue of slavery, the Civil

The election of Lincoln and his actions during the Fort Sumter crisis were a large reason for the outbreak of Civil War. Historian’s views on the causes of war has changed greatly over the years. In the 20th Century, James Randall stressed that Lincoln took extreme caution over the question of emancipation and the Lincoln had deliberately engineered the war. Avery Craven agrees with this as he argues that Lincoln deliberately engineered the war, but he felt that he did this during the Fort Sumter crisis. However, post-war views are very different. David Potter absolved Lincoln of engineering the war as he argues that, up to the very last minute, Lincoln wanted peace.

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",

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.'