Book Review: MacPherson, James, Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution “Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution”, written by James M. McPherson, one of America’s historians. McPherson has also written,” Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era”, “Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief”, “Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam” and many other history related books. “Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution” consists of seven essays throughout on important themes in American history and unusual standpoints on the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. James MacPherson’s focuses on the main topic which is the drastic changes the Civil War caused in America’s perception of freedom. Before the war took place, liberty was thought of as the limitation of the government from dictating over the state; after the war, the definition of liberty became the expansion of opportunity for all and giving the people more power. According to MacPherson, Lincoln’s solid resolutions, the ability to communicate and the fact that he wanted to abolish slavery as well as restore the Union was why the United States became a success and the promise of the first American Revolution was achieved. James MacPherson used several resources in his writing “Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution”, he took information from several different historians to make this book full of knowledge, and while using the information of several different historians he uses it in
The civil war was a war that redefined america and redefined freedom. The results of the war is what changed what being an american means.many passages from this period explored the meaning of freedom such as The Gettysburg address (Abraham Lincoln) and The narrative of Fredrick douglass. Both pieces discuss american views on freedom before and during the civil war.
leading up to and surrounding President Abraham Lincoln’s death. The purpose of this book is to
The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War is arranged in chronological order starting in 1831 and reaching 1863. The Footnotes/endnotes were very helpful and went into more detailed information about the subject. The author used both primary and secondary sources throughout this book. The tables shown in the book are found on pages 107-109. These tables depict the Selected Northern Editorials on Secession. It lists some of the newspaper articles that deal with secession, the date they were published and the editorial statement that talks about
Lincoln was a mainly unknown prairie legal representative, and at the start of the war which everybody estimated to be over quickly, he did not tell much about how to choose and use the superlative Generals. By the half, nevertheless, he had skillfully maneuvered a condition where the British and French might not send help to the Confederates without observing pro-slavery, and then made the astute decision to back U.S.Grant as his General-in-Chief. For the time being he had exposed outstanding dexterity in the management of his talented but rebellious cabinet, and by the period of his tragic assassination, had got his place as one of the boundless men of American history, probably the greatest.
The recognition of Lincoln’s great job in rebuilding the ruins of a nation torn apart in the Civil war years is worldwide known. His genius plans and brilliant contributions made him the first beloved leader of the American people. His unexpected assassination contributed more to make Abraham Lincoln as the Martyr of the union. Therefore, Lincoln’s stamp of creating a nation build upon the Founding Fathers with brand new ideals did not vanishe with his death. It extended to become a symbol of unification. The last part of this chapter will explore Abraham Lincoln as The Martyr of the
Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president, and served during an incredibly fragile and monumental age in America’s growth. As president during the civil war, and creator of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, he was controversially viewed as either an innovator or a wrongdoer. In any light, his presidency and murder created shockwaves throughout America during their time of post-war healing and grief, and sparked change that led the U.S to be the country it is today. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was unjust because he was an influential leader and active abolitionist who made great changes for equality in America, but he completely disregarded the needs of the confederate movement during their time in the Civil War.
Introduction: The last two decades have been severely focused on Lincoln. You can find different views on how the 19th century went, and this book was created to enhance people’s understanding of Lincoln and his time. The authors of the separate essays in the book are described in detail, like Mark Neeley who gave new information on the civil liberties during that century and Harold Holzer who describes Lincoln’s love for showing his image.
This article explains how President Abraham Lincoln helped Americans avoid a great war with Great Britain. During the Civil War era our military was not as strong and large as Great Britain’s; thanks to the efforts of President Lincoln we avoided a devastating loss. The article goes into detail on how our country was divided on this issue, should we or should we not go against Great Britain at war? This was the article’s title as well as the main idea. This article was clear and easy to follow and touched on the fact that many were willing to go to war against Great Britain just to have satisfaction that our country would have defeated a nation that had won amongst many other European countries. Even leaders were advising President Lincoln
"Two months after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, one abolitionist wrote that 'to make the proclamation a success, we must make freedom a blessing to the freed.' The question of how to do so would long outlive Lincoln and the Civil War" (Epilogue, p. 361).
In school we are taught that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. This statement is reinforced continuously throughout our education, beginning from the time we are in elementary school to when we are in high school. However, it’s never really expounded upon when taught. The discussion never goes further than ‘Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation and thus freed the slaves’, but is still able to instill the implication that he did so out of his own moral values and that life for ex-slaves was better for it. The truth of the matter is actually the complete opposite. The emancipation proclamation was a purely political decision that instead of truly freeing the slaves, only served to keep them bound.
“Battle Cry of Freedom; The Civil War Era id a work of such vast scope necessarily emphasizes synthesis at the expense of theme. If there is a unifying idea in the book, it is McPherson 's acknowledged emphasis on “the multiple meanings of
It is hard not to agree with David Herbert Donald in his biography of Abraham Lincoln. He does his best to not give his professional opinion of anything and only writes about the topics from which he has proof of. The main ideas that the author has throughout the text is greatly supported with Lincoln’s own papers and from written first-hand accounts of his generation. Donald accounts for the changes of position on slavery and the equality of blacks throughout his presidency. I think that this book is a great depiction of Abrahams Lincoln’s life.
President Abraham Lincoln used numerous rhetorical devices in his speech at the Second Inaugural Address to present the audience with the effects of the Civil War. The purpose was to edify the audience on his vision for the nation’s future. He adopts an accepting tone in order to appeal to the feelings and concerns of the men present at the Inaugural. After reading the speech, one can observe the appeal to the audience’s emotion, building of self-credibility, and the use of parallelism used by Lincoln to aid in presenting his vision for the future of the nation.
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would
History is a constant cycle of causes and events and how it affects society. Historians analyze the different perceptions of certain historical events. Different Historians will interpret a certain event in different ways. In this instance, James McPherson argues that the American Civil War is the Second American Revolution and that its leader Abraham Lincoln was not a revolutionary or conservative but something more. Throughout Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution, he presents his own argument and gives counterarguments and then he rebuttals the counterarguments with facts that highlight the event as a revolutionary event and that Lincoln was a “conservative revolutionary” (McPherson 41).