James M. Mcpherson's Abraham Lincoln And The Second American Revolution

The Civil War could easily be seen as the second American Revolution considering it brought about significant change in history in the political, social, and economic aspects. Prior to the civil war, there had been a policy of slavery in the South which was a main cause of the conflict between the Union and the Confederacy. In the post-war period, slavery had been abolished which brought about much change in not only the social but economic aspect as well. There are many points from which the Civil War can be seen as revolutionary. In the political view, the Republican Party had dominated the political system for a long period of time. Economically, both the North and South had suffered from the costs of the war but had also prospered in

James McPherson was born on October 11th 1936, he is an American Civil War historian. He received the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Battle Cry of Freedom, his most famous book. McPherson was the president of the American Historical Association in 2003, and is a member of the editorial board of Encyclopedia Britannica. In his early career McPherson wanted to leave a legacy as being known for the historian who focusses on more than one point. Through skillful narrative in a broad-ranging oeuvre of essays and books, McPherson has succeeded in telling both stories, combining social, political, and military history to reach a broad scholarly and popular audience, emphasizing all the while that the Civil War constituted a “second American Revolution.” Examining thousands of letters and diaries written by soldiers to gather a better insight and understanding, McPherson argued that deep political and ideological convictions about liberty, slavery, religion, and nation were the fundamental reasons that men on both sides enlisted and fought. McPherson’s views on the Civil War are broad in comparison to many other writers, he believes there are multiple causes to the war but that the underlying cause was slavery and that Southern states used the saying “States’ Rights” to justify their actions of slavery and secession. It became a psychological necessity for the South to deny that the war was about slavery that they were fighting for the preservation, defense and

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James Swanson, published by Scholastic Inc. on February 1, 2009, is a biography of John Wilkes Booth and his assasination of President Abraham Lincoln. The story talks about how the main character John Wilkes Booth’s plan of attacking the President, Secretary, and Vice President had been carried out in history and the prominent impact it had left the nation. John Wilkes Booth was a twenty-six-year-old who was the son and brother of two very famous actors. The story begins with a little historical background as it talks about the Civil War and brings in Booth’s hatred of President Abraham Lincoln. The book progresses as the murder of Abraham Lincoln occurs and how the rest of his allies of his group of four had carried

What is revolution? It occurs when the country is going through a difficult time and there needs to be change. It could be a small or big change for the country. There are a few reasons why revolution can happen. One of the reason is hatred towards the government. People wanting new political views and want better ideas. As Donald Trump won the elections, we finally have a republican in power since people were tired of the democratic policies and beliefs. Some might just want a social change in their lives. There are four type of revolutions that have occur over the past centuries which are hunting and farming, agricultural, industrial and microchip.

The Civil War was a war that was fought over the civil and humane treatment of every person, regardless of their outward appearances. It left a scathing scar on the nation After the atrocities that were suffered in the Civil war, the nation need a way to heal it’s wounds and unite again. Lincoln had a battle of his own to fight within the congress for the Reconstruction of the nation, While Lincoln believed that the south had suffered enough and had a long road to recovery, the radical republicans wanted to punish the south. They believed that the act of secession by the southern states was treason and the penalties should be strict.

The american revolution was not revolutionary. The impact of the war was not the cause of change for some of the categories, but was further down the line during other times. the revolution was not revolutionary because it inflicted moderate change in the political and social categories and inflicted no change in the aspects of Slavery

The topic of revolution is extremely subjective. What may appear as an insurrection to some might not be as extreme to others. When talking about the American Revolutionary War, however, the answer is clear. While the War certainly brought about change within the United States, it wasn’t necessarily very revolutionary. The most important aspects of the colonies, such as ideas about government, various types of societal equality, slavery and freed blacks, and the rights of women remained for the most part, unaffected.

In Thomas J. DiLorenzo’s book, The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, he reveals the truth about Abraham Lincoln and attempts to get rid of the myths that many have told. He reveals the agenda of Lincoln and the real purpose behind the Civil War. One question that some have is why did it take a war to end slavery? In the book it is stated that, “dozens of countries… ended slavery peacefully during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries”(x). Many argue the fact that Lincoln was against slavery but in DiLorenzo’s book he argues that Lincoln was very much supportive of slavery (x). DiLorenzo explains the real agenda behind Abraham Lincoln and what he stood for.

McPherson starts out the book with The Pendulum of War 1861-1862. McPherson in this chapter of the book mainly talks about the uprisings and downfalls of General B. McClellan who was appointed by Abraham Lincoln to be the head of the Army of the Potomac. McPherson explains what the American Civil Wars ultimate goal was and what Abraham Lincoln wished to achieve was the unity of all the states armies and invasion of the Confederacy in which he had hopes of destroying their government. The union arms won some victories and also lost some as well but the first most remembered to be the embarrassing defeat McPherson names is along the banks of Bull Run in July 1861. He describes the war and what happened in it and concludes that after the release of Mason and Slidell the war was averted and later struck a financial panic in

Oates, Stephen B. Abraham Lincoln the Man behind the Myths. New York: Harper & Row, 1984. Print.

Although James McPherson presents Lincoln as having numerous qualities that defined him as a brilliant leader, he wastes no time in revealing what he believes to be Lincoln’s greatest strength. In his Introduction, McPherson states regarding Lincoln’s political leadership: “In a civil war whose origins lay in a political conflict over the future of slavery and a political decision by certain states to secede, policy could never be separated from national strategy…. And neither policy nor national strategy could be separated from military strategy” (McPherson, p.6). Lincoln could not approach the war from a purely martial standpoint—instead, he needed to focus on the issues that caused it. For the catalyst of the war was also the tool for its solution; a war started by differing ideologies could only be resolved through the military application of ideology. This non-objective approach to the waging of the war almost resembles the inspired approach McPherson brings to his examination of Lincoln himself.

The Civil War was the worst crisis in American history, pitting two sides of a split nation against one another in bloody battles that persisted for four exhausting years. It was a war that neither side claimed to want, and that neither side claimed to start. Although popular belief places the blame with the South because they fired the first shot, there is considerable evidence that Lincoln, realizing war was inevitable, coerced the South into firing that first fateful shot.

Abraham Lincoln is by far our most revered president in the history of the United States. He had a strong moral vision of where his country must go to preserve and enlarge the rights of all her people, but he was also a good man with a strong sense of character and a great discipline in the art of law; and he sought to continue the great and mighty legacy of the Constitution. He believed that the Founding Fathers had drawn up the Constitution without the mention of slavery because they felt that it would later die of a natural death. He would soon learn that that would not be the case.

The Civil War was a war between the union, and confederate states in the United States that occurred from 1861-1865. Many people believed that the Civil War was about slavery and southern states right to defend their states’ rights. The confederates were fighting for their liberty and independence under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, who they felt was a tyrant. However, the union, was fighting to preserve their territory, that was created by their founding fathers from chaos and dismemberment. President Jefferson Davis believed that the civil war was based on the confederate rights to secede from the union. Jefferson also felt that Abraham Lincoln was to blamed for the start of the civil war, since he was against slavery. Lincoln’s intended goal was to preserve the union, he claimed slavery was not the reason. “If I could save the union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all slaves I would do it, and if I could slave it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that (Shi &Tindall, 2015, pg.465)”. Lincoln told everyone that if the southern states were to return to the union that slavery would still exist. However, many people believed that Lincoln wasn’t being truthful.

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky, United States of America and died on April 15, 1865. Throughout his life, Abraham showed an excessive amount of influence on not only the U.S.A. but the whole world. I have made this biography to tell about the life of this international hero.