Lincoln's Transactional Argument

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

In sequence with these events, Abraham Lincoln returned to politics in 1854 because of the success of Douglas’ Kansas-Nebraska act, and he quickly became the voice of the newly formed Republican Party. Shortly after he accepted the nomination from his party he said, “A housed divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.” This quote is very important because Americans became aware that they would soon have to choose either to favor or oppose slavery, there was no middle ground. In Abraham Lincoln’s eyes, freedom meant the opposition to slavery. Unfortunately for the Republican party, Lincoln lost the election of 1858 and Douglas was reelected, but Lincoln would soon be back.

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. At the same time, when more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

Abraham Lincoln believed that to preserve the union, he would need to free slaves, but it was more than that, he needed to find a way to bring the country together as one rather than separation. He said himself, " if I could save the union, without freeing any slave I would do it...", that shows that the abolition of slavery was not Lincoln's number one priority, but he believed it needed to be done in order to preserve the Union.

With the eruption of the Civil War came one of the biggest tribulations and trials that this country has ever faced, but as we understand the motives of one of the greatest Presidents in American History we can see that the Civil War was inevitable. From his original intentions of merely preserving the Union and holding the country together, to permanently abolishing slavery we can observe why prevailing in the struggle of the Civil War is one of Lincoln’s defining legacies. Thus, as the civil war draws to a close, an old tumultuous era has ended, and a new more prosperous era has

Lincoln said his paramount object was to save the Union, and if he could accomplish that by not freeing any slaves, he would free none; "if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by

Never boring: simple words that describe the simple life of one of the greatest American Heroes of all time. Over the years we have come to understand the Great Emancipator’s struggles and his determination to push for a better future for his nation. In the blink of war, Lincoln came to the nation’s rescue. But was Lincoln really the Great Emancipator? Was Lincoln actually opposed to the slavery movement? Or did he not consider the blacks to be an equal race? Did he make an active effort to free the slaves? Or was the emancipation a never Lincoln’s priority? In my opinion, although freeing the slaves was never Lincoln’s top priority during his tenure as president, Lincoln was

In the 1860s, the Civil War was occurring and left the current president of the United States of America conflicted. While the residents of the North pushed for abolition, the residents of the South were already seceding. After the Emancipation Proclamation, it seemed like President Lincoln only cared about freeing the slaves. However, upon deeper analysis on his actions it is clear that most of Lincoln’s actions depicted him more as a Unionist and somewhat as an Emancipator. President Abraham Lincoln’s leading aim was to save the United States of America from division because of all his brutal military and political efforts, but Lincoln did have some sympathy for the Black Americans.

President Abraham Lincoln was the foremost topic of importance when regarding the causes for the crisis and war that took place in the United States presented by Douglass’ contemporaries. They claimed that before Lincoln’s presidency there was tranquility among the states: “Before Lincoln there was a peace; after Lincoln there was rebellion” (Shi, Mayer, 2013, p. 433). Ironically, the first task on Lincoln’s agenda for his presidency was focusing on maintaining peace within the states: “he was “devoted to peace”” (Tindall, Shi, 2013, p.494). Lincoln opted to make a statement during his inauguration promising that he would remain out of the affairs of the southern slave states and their slave business: “Lincoln repeats his pledge not “to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists”” (Tindall, Shi, 2013, p.495). However, Lincoln did not tolerate the secession of the southern states saying it was unlawful and that he would continue the same policies of taxes, tariffs, etc. that had been set in place before his presidency. Lincoln was under the impression that his actions would lead the states towards a time of peace. However, Douglass’ contemporaries believed, Lincoln’s presidency was a turn towards crisis and rebellion. The main issues at

Abraham Lincoln, the abolisher of slavery, the African American’s President; he shocked the world when came up with plan to end the war. That was to take the South’s biggest asset, their greatest workhouse the Black community. The South were superior at agriculture without having to it touch. Then on the other hand you have the North that is big in factories and don’t want to lose any jobs. So Lincoln had a lot going against him he still pushed for the Emancipation Proclamation. The time period when everyone was fighting each other lincoln wanted something that would end the fight for good, something to bring this war-torn nation at peace. The amendment is to take away the heart and soul of the South so they have no reason to fight. At the time the Democrats were mainly in the South, while the Republicans are in the North where they don't need slave because they work complex mechanic jobs. President Lincoln was entering his second term and wanted the bill to pass before the election stared back up. With some other states already have secede from the Union with some

In the time period of 1862 to 1865, when Lincoln takes office in March 4th to his assassination, the United States was dealing with the issues of preserving the Union. In determining whether Lincoln’s goals to preserve the Union by freeing the slaves, one must assess the knowledge of their relationship. Politically, President Lincoln tried to convince the political groups that abolishing slavery would help preserve the Union; intellectually, he gave the idea of ending slavery to the citizens through speeches; and socially, after Lincoln freed the slaves, they were pursued to join the war for the Union’s cause. In order for Lincoln to save the Union, he would find it inevitable to end the slavery issue.

When Abraham Lincoln gave his Cooper Union Address it is doubtful that he knew its impact on the country and ultimately the future of the Union. In his Cooper Union Address, future president Abraham Lincoln thoroughly rebuked the southern Democrats Stephen A. Douglas’ statements about the Republicans’ slavery stance by using not only the oppositions wording against them, he supported his arguments with true examples sited from the signatories of the Constitution and their past voting record, from information gleaned during his career as a lawyer, and from his sense of honor and ethics. Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party had some very strong constituents, mainly those with very strong Free Soil tendencies. For this reason along with personal beliefs on Lincoln’s part the Republicans, led by Lincoln in the presidential election, were strongly against the expansion of slavery into the territories

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. Although when they are more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

Lincoln held firm to the idea that the United States’ defining quality was its uniquely democratic government. The Constitution was cherished by Lincoln, and it was for the preservation of this document that Lincoln was willing to carry out whatever task necessary. However, Lincoln’s interpretation of the Constitution legitimized the ownership of slaves, and he was not willing to sidestep the constitution unless it became absolutely necessary to do so (as a war measure). Only after the United States had been immutably split and hundreds of thousands of lives had been lost did Lincoln finally take decisive action.

2. Given this outstanding success, why did the internationalization thrust of the late 1980s and early 1990s fail?