The Real Lincoln By Thomas Dilorenzo

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).

Thomas J. DiLorenzo exposes the preconceived “Hero” myth of Lincoln in his novel “The Real Lincoln”, while also conjuring an internal debate within the reader. In doing this he creates intrigue, which encourages a more thought provoking study into Lincoln’s legacy. The novel covers a wide variety of content, starting with Lincoln’s run at the local and state government levels, while also expanding on his late political career – a time during which the Union’s struggle to secure State’s rights led to the conflict we know as the Civil War. DiLorenzo delves deeper into the Lincoln political machine, and delves deeper into the economic and social policies during his tenure in office, ultimately demonstrating how the Lincoln administration changed policy for the years to come.

In Abraham Lincoln, by George McGovern, McGovern summarizes and gives insight on one of the United States’ most well-known and highly praised presidents, Abraham Lincoln. McGovern thoroughly outlines Lincoln’s life, his struggles and how he became the great president that he was. One point McGovern continues to mention is how no matter how bad a situation was or even when people doubted Lincoln, he would take his defeats and preserve. In the beginning of the book, McGovern recounts Lincoln’s life as a kid and a young adult. He describes how no matter how bad Lincoln failed or how sad he was, “Lincoln would not resign himself to failure and loss; instead he learned from each experience and carried on” . In addition, McGovern continues to mention how Lincoln never stopped learning. From a young age, Lincoln loved to learn, read and expand his knowledge so he could fully analyze any situation. According to McGovern, this personality trait allowed Lincoln to work and rise up from a farmer’s son to the President of the United States. This trait, also, allowed Lincoln “to take a far more active role in managing military affairs” . Lincoln was able to come up with a new strategy for the Union to win the Civil War.

This clearly shows that Lincoln was not out for the Negro but just to preserve the union. He says in many other debates that he thought the Negro had a physical difference from the white man as well as an intellectual difference (Lincoln-Douglas, n. pag.). Lincoln was considered by many in the south to be a bigot, a white supremacist who wanted segregation and opposed civil and political rights for blacks (Oates 21). Stephen B. Oates talks of many of the theories in his book, like that many southerners concluded that Lincoln was with them in the matters of race (22). Many of these examples show that Lincoln was a hypocrite of some sorts. He would appeal to the southerners by making statements that led them to believe that he was against the Negro. Yet he was writing the emancipation proclamation that was supposed to free all of the slaves. This also is debatable that the proclamation freed any slaves at all. The emancipation proclamation is looked at by some as one of the most far-reaching pronouncements ever issued in the United States (Oates 25). Also it is said that the proclamation freed few if any bondsman (Oates 26).

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most well known presidents in the history of the United States of America. He as thought to be the man who led this great country through the toughest times it had to encounter. His determination to get the United States through the Civil War is one of the best things that have ever happened for this country. Lincoln’s argument about the relationship between slavery, the Constitution, and the Union changed throughout the Civil War. Lincoln’s view of the purpose of the war was to save the Union because of the southern states seceding from the Union. However, the argument changed to the war being about slavery because of Fredrick Douglass’s speeches and the Confederates surrendering at

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 author says that defenders and supporters of Lincoln can always back up his remarks with a redeeming quality. Lincoln admitted his feelings of racial equality; instead he always stated the feeling of white people. He didn’t always carefully construct his answers when speaking about his position of certain topics, although he tried. Lincoln wanted all questions about race removed from all discussion. His strategy to do so was to agree with the Democratic Party that there was no equality between blacks and whites. He used racism strategically to eliminate it. Lincoln did admit that he was in support of colonization because he truthfully believed that blacks and whites could not live together equally. To a man like Frederick Douglass, what Lincoln and the Republicans stood for was disjointed. And to me, while this may have all been a strategy for Lincoln, I feel it necessary to take Douglass’ side of the issue.

By thinking that he is equal to Negroes, it demonstrates that he does not think lowly of them. Although Lincoln stated that the Negro is his equal, it does not hide the fact that he believes that the white race is more superior and the words he uses to describe the Negroes. Historical figures should not be judged by today’s moral standards because their actions back then might have been different if they were here in present day. Instead, they should be judged by the standards of their time.

In The Real Lincoln by Thomas DiLorenzo he writes that Lincoln was a dictator, flagrantly violated constitutional freedoms, violated civil liberties, justified his actions by its necessity of the war, and permitted because of war powers that are never clearly defined except putting down rebellion, the real motive was to centralize power under his dictatorship government. While he was president, Lincoln committed numerous violations of civil liberties including the suspension of habeas corpus, instituting martial law, using military tribunals for civilian trials, suppressing free elections, interfering with state legislatures, engaging in a war without the consent of congress, blockading southern ports, censoring telegraphs and newspapers, authorizing a mass execution of natives in a Sioux uprising in Minnesota. In Lincoln’s Constitution, Daniel Farber,

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.

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",

Firstly, Abraham Lincoln was never a person who said that a african american and white person were equal but instead said that they were man like them so they should be allowed to obtain property like theirs. In his personal life Abe had a unique upbringing and adulthood as he lived. His upbringing with a father who had no education, but was successful in life with what he did and a religious family to beat. Nevertheless, his uneducated father found a way to live a prosperous life being one of the most successful farmers in Kentucky. To boot, his family was one with morals and that came with being a family that was religious just like a great majority of southern culture all of them attended church on Sunday. Next, it came to his adulthood later on in his life he was a lawyer and even a statesman before doing anything else. He became a lawyer after studying for only 18 hours and started to practice law immediately; becoming very successful with the way he could use his words in court. While he was a

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.

Lincoln understood that bondage of the African race was inherently wrong, "a vast moral evil," one that he could not help but hate, but that it was indeed protected by the Constitution and in several national and state laws. In fact, Lincoln held no ethnic prejudices. Before the Civil War commenced, Lincoln was a strong advocate of the colonization of the blacks back in Africa after they were freed, not because he himself was racist, but because he was afraid that the white Americans were simply too discriminate to live peacefully along blacks. In the creating of the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln was careful to ensure that the four slave states that had stayed in the Union – Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri – would not be offended and so join the Confederacy. Instead, he freed slaves only in the states that had rebelled, which

Even though the abolishment of slavery is a glorious accomplishment during his administration, it was not the only defining factor of Abraham Lincoln when he was president. Lincoln saw past the inequality of black and white and regarded equality and freedom above all as a basis for a united nation because he wrote the Gettysburg Address at a crucial time during the civil war to earn favor among freed slaves and to those opposed to slavery in the North and he decreed the Emancipation Proclamation as a stepping stone to achieve his ultimate goal.