Why Did Lincoln Support The Whig Party

He still did not think blacks should have the right to vote, hold political offices, or marry white people. He also still believed physical differences between the two races would prevent them from living together socially and politically (186). Lincoln was against whites benefitting from slave labor and did feel that blacks should be able to benefit from the fruits of their own labor. According to Dinesh D’Souza in her article “Abraham Lincoln: Tyrant, Hypocrite, or Consummate Statesman”, he was not, however, an abolitionist. Abolitionists wanted an immediate end to slavery and believed the rights of slaves should not be compromised and that they “had a duty to defend freedom, unreservedly, and careless of the consequences” (3).

He was stuck between freeing the slaves or saving the Union. The Northern states wanted him to free the slaves but the Southern states left the union for that very reason, the possibility of losing their slaves, and went to war against the North. Lincoln was facing a very hard decision that would affect the entire country. Abolishing slavery would mean to permanently end the practice and thus grant slaves their

Abraham Lincoln was opposed slavery before becoming a president. In his debate with Stephen Douglas, he defined slavery as morally wrong (P.392). Although he was against slavery, he was not an abolitionist; he believed that slavery should not spread into new territories, he was not determined to actually end slavery. When he became a president and the secession of Confederate States happened, he still held to the idea that he had before becoming president for two reasons: first he didn’t want the border slave states to join the Confederate, and second he was hoping the fact that he is not going to end slavery would tempt the Confederate States to return to the Union. As the war dragged on, unlike what he thought, lots of factors occurred that

However, in the election of 1860, Lincoln won the presidency against Stephen Douglas, a democrat. President Lincoln was a new Republican, and his ambition for preserving the Union and keeping peace in the Nation led him to do wonderful things for the country, despite his horrible unpopularity from the bloodshed of the Civil War.

Throughout the 1800’s there were many crucial debates on the idea of slavery. One of the biggest controversies in this time was the Kansas-Nebraska act, passed in May of 1854. The act was the deciding factor of if Nebraska and Kansas would be a slave or free state, it would later repeal the Missouri Compromise. Lincoln was considered a very moral man, he used his political power for what he believed in. Lincoln would be considered a strong advocate for the abolitionist movement. Although with this Lincoln did share the racial views of his time, he still spoke out against slavery and was considered to free slaves. Lincoln’s good out ways his bad in the questions between emancipator and racist, Abraham Lincoln will always be thought of as the

He believed in “popular sovereignty” the idea that every state and territory had the right to decide and make its own laws regarding slavery. He said “Now, I hold that Illinois had a right to abolish and prohibit slavery as she did, and I hold that Kentucky has the same right to continue and protect slavery that Illinois had to abolish it. I hold that New York had as much right to abolish slavery as Virginia has to continue it, and that each and every State of this Union is a sovereign power, with the right to do as it pleases upon this question of slavery, and upon all its domestic institutions.” He constantly claimed that Lincoln was a abolitionist and was trying to start a war. We can assume from the different viewpoints and stands that these would be some strong debates.

Abraham Lincoln won the electoral college vote and was elected into office being the official 16th president of the united states. Even though Lincoln only got 40 % of the population vote he destroyed his competition. His Competition was John C Breckinridge, John bell and northern Democrat Stephen douglas the U.S representatives for Illinois. Lincoln a former whig agent and kentucky advisor, challenged douglas to many debates while running for senate about slavery.Lincoln passion to win senate showed how hard he fought with douglas showing in the debates. While douglass argued that should slavery should be free or not should be up to the states while lincoln opposed this idea and wanted to let slavery break on its own weight and eventually

Lincoln always hated slavery, but he was smart enough not to publicly announce it. His public statements on slavery and race have been the cause of controversy throughout the years, as he often seems to almost contradict himself at first glance. However, analyzing the seemingly racist statements he would make shows that they were all part of a bigger plan. Had he simply told the racist audiences that their beliefs were wrong, they would have rejected him outright. Instead, he would use ambiguous language to make it seem as if he shared their beliefs, and then use sound logic to argue in favor of his own point. By doing this, he molded the opinions of his audience in an extremely effective manner.

In American History the civil war can arguably be described as one of the most influential and pivotal moments for the United States of America because for the first time since the nations creation the country was divided. Many people consider this war to be Lincoln’s war to free the slaves. However, upon further review, Lincoln did not have such a positive attitude towards slaves. Lincoln was more concerned with keeping the country which he presided over together and tried to keep the issue of slavery up to the states. Nevertheless, slavery, having long been the backbone of American society, was undeniably going to play a huge role in the civil war. Lincoln understood that slavery was important and over time his views that slavery was an issues

Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery because, “ In 1854, congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska act. Which repealed the Missouri Compromise, and allowed individual states and territories to decide themselves if they wanted slavery. Another reason is, “He declared that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves the in state in rebellion against the union shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” The last reason is, “Lincoln often encountered views supporting Slavery. In this fragmented, he counted the arguments that slavery was

President Lincoln’s opinion of slavery changed drastically over the course of his life. He was against slavery but not always for more than the prevention of its spread. Lincoln did not set out originally in his political career to end slavery in the whole of the union, but it slowly evolved to become his main goal. The development of his opinion on slavery is evident in several of his speeches, letters, and other primary sources.

Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter to a friend Joshua Speed in August of 24, 1855. From this letter we can infer Lincoln’s opinion on several topics from slavery, Kansas Nebraska Act, his political party, and his reasons. Also from this letter we know that Lincoln and Speed clearly have different views despite being friends. Speed believes in slavery and on the other hand Lincoln dislikes it. “You know I dislike slavery; and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it” (Lincoln). But let’s be clear Lincoln was not an abolitionist, but an anti-expansionist. We know this because he expressed his feelings about the Wilmot Proviso in this letter. “When I was at Washington I voted for the Wilmot proviso as good as forty times, and I never heard of anyone

Lincoln was against the spread of slavery and saw a new way of the expanding United States, with a focus on commerce and cities rather than agriculture. With his ideas, he decided to become a lawyer, teaching himself the law by reading William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. He passed the bar examination in 1836 for the next few years, he worked in the state capitol of Springfield as a lawyer, earning a reputation as “Honest Abe.” In 1846, Lincoln won election to the U.S. House of Representatives and began serving his single term the following year. He showed party loyalty, but found few political allies. He used his term in office to speak out against the Mexican-American War. His criticism of the war made him unpopular in Illinois and he decided to return to Springfield to practice law further. In 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, and allowed individual states and territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. This lead to violent opposition in Kansas and Illinois, and it gave rise to the Republican Party. Abraham Lincoln's political views at this point became more in favor of the people. Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1856 and was chosen to represent the party in the general election for president. Lincoln faced many

In 1858 he carried out his campaign to be elected as Senator for Illinois. During this period, he held a series of debates against his opponent Stephen A. Douglas. His speeches came in for criticism because he was against slavery and its expansion across the U. S. Unfortunately, the slave-holding states of the South totally disagree with the abolition of the slavery. As a result, he lost this election.

In his speech, Abraham Lincoln talked about the issue of slavery and how it affected the unity of the State. Apparently, some influential individuals including judges, politicians and the affluent maintained that slavery could not be prohibited. Some policies were put in place which oppressed the slaves. These acts provided that slaves were not allowed to own property nor to obtain citizenship, including their descendants. Abraham Lincoln insisted that the act of owning another human being is one of the causes of conflict. Some individuals did not want the practice to be abolished while some of them did not care whether the slavery act was voted for or against. He said that he was surprised when one lawmaker indicated that “he cares not whether slavery be voted down or voted up, to be intended by him other than as an apt definition of the policy he would impress upon the public mind.” Lincoln went on to describe the features of the Nebraska law.