Hellen Wang
Influential American Figure Essay
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth,” a quote once said by Abraham Lincoln, who led the United States through the American Civil War. While under Confederate fire at the Battle of Fort Stevens, Lincoln risked his life to fulfill his duties as commander-in-chief and as the president of the United States. Thus, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which led the way to the end of slavery and established the 13th amendment, he also created the US National Banking System which gave America its first paper printed currency. Abraham Lincoln also signed The Homestead Act that led to the expansion westwards.
Throughout the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln fought hard to preserve the Union at all costs. It was not until September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation that would free all slaves in states that still rebelled against the Union by January 1, 1863. “I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free,” a quote said by Lincoln while giving the Emancipation Proclamation. Though it took some time for the Emancipation Proclamation to commence, when it took effect in January of 1863 it freed 3.1
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Chase created the national banking system with the National Bank Act of 1863. During the beginning of the Civil War, the war with the South was so expensive that there was no way to finance it. Lincoln wanted a economy that was always progressing, he also wanted a stronger Union. That is why Lincoln passed the National Bank Act of 1863, it established a national currency called “greenbacks”. Though the National Bank Act of 1863 did improve the financial problems, it wasn't enough to pay it all off. Thus, without Abraham Lincoln there would of been a greater financial problem during the Civil
It is found that although Lincoln opposed the spread of slavery into new territories, he denied any intention of interfering with the institution in those states where it already existed. After his election to the Presidency in 1860 precipitated Southern secession and civil war, Lincoln declared that he was leading a struggle only to preserve the Union and not to destroy slavery. It seems that his initial thought was not to end slavery and eliminate racial inequality. Two years later, Lincoln changed his position and eventually proclaimed the emancipation of those slaves held within rebel territory. He justified that action solely as a matter of military necessity. After the Civil war began, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to win
When the Civil War began in 1861, the issue of slavery was not the central focus of the war effort on the side of the Union. While it was still important to many in the North, the main war aim of the Union side was to preserve the Union and make sure it remained intact. As the war dragged on and more soldiers died on both sides, Lincoln realized he would need to entirely cripple the already weak Confederate economy, and he did this by making the Emancipation Proclamation, which became effective January 1, 1863. This executive order stated that all slaves in states currently in open rebellion against the United States were free from slavery. By doing this, he caused African Americans in slave states to cross into Union territory and into
Have you ever wondered how we became united as one whole country during the Civil War? I believe it was because of one man and his moving and touching speech. The man was the 16th president of the United States and his name was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln saved many lives and took care of the families who had lost a loved one. Abraham Lincoln was a hero to America.
On January1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation, while the nation was coming near its third year of the bloody civil war. The proclamation affirmed "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward
During the Civil War President Lincoln announced freeing all enslaved people in the confederate state. As this happened about 4 million people were freed and guaranteed to be treated like whites were treated. The Emancipation Proclamation didn't free any slaves in the Union states, but it was a good step to abolish slavery. Lincoln hoped that the he could win the Union side. He also hoped it would weaken the Confederacy's effort in the war. The Proclamation announced that black men can fight as a soldier in the war. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.
The Civil war was one of the bloodiest in human history up to that time. In September 1862, Lincoln issues his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, it was a military move, giving the south four months to stop rebelling, threatening to emancipate their slaves if they continued to fight, promising to leave slavery untouched in states that came over to the North. By the beginning of 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued and it declared slaves free in those areas still fighting against the union. The more blacks that were free joined the war and
President Abraham Lincoln of the Union on January 1st signed into law the Emancipation Proclamation to the citizens of both the Union and the Secession states. Said proclamation has ordered the immediate release of all slaves in states. In the following sections of this article we will discuss the reactions of both the Union and the Secession states in the days following the release of the proclamation.
As the nation approaches the third year of a brutal civil war, President Abraham Lincoln introduces the preliminary emancipation proclamation. Stating, "all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people which shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." As of the first of 1863, the Proclamation ensured enslaved citizens liberty and freedom using the significance and purpose of the Proclamation, the effects towards both the North and South, and the strength it had given the Union. From the early days of the civil war, slaves had acted to secure their own freedom and liberty. Lincoln’s decision to act on the proclamation was a necessary legislation that
But by mid-1862, as thousands of slaves fled to join the invading Northern armies, Lincoln was convinced that abolition had become a sound military strategy, as well as the morally correct path. On September 22, soon after the Union victory at Antietam, he issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free” (History staff, 2009). Abraham Lincoln only cared about creating a better Union army. He never planned to abolish slavery. Abraham Lincoln knew that his country was for slavery.
Actually, the proclamation freed no slaves. It applied only to Confederate territory, where federal officers could not enforce it. The proclamation did not affect slavery in the loyal Border States. Lincoln repeatedly urged those states to free their slaves, and to pay the owners for their loss. He promised financial help from the federal government for this purpose. The failure of the states to follow his advice was one of his great disappointments.
The Emancipation Proclamation was a carefully crafted speech that was certainly not made overnight. The country had been moving towards it gradually, beginning with the The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act in April of 1862, which freed all slaves in Washington in return for payment to their owners. The Second Confiscation Act in July of 1862. Stating that if the rebellion were to continue not to end within sixty days, the North would be sanctioned to seize rebel property, namely slaves. However, Lincoln’s ultimate goal was the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of the Constitution, not the freeing of slaves, which is clearly seen in this letter to Kentucky newspaper editor A.G. Hodges. He explains his rationale behind emancipation by stating, “I was, in my best judgment, driven to the alternative of either surrendering the Union and the Constitution, or of laying strong hand upon the colored element. I chose the latter.” Lincoln is referring to allowing African-Americans to join Union military campaigns and fight against the Confederacy. The addition of African-American soldiers would help tip the balance in their favor even more in the North’s favor, helping them to secure important victories. These former slaves
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.
Abraham Lincoln and Slavery Many Americans believe that Abraham Lincoln was the “Great Emancipator,” the sole individual who ended slavery, and the man who epitomizes freedom. In his brief presidential term, Lincoln dealt with an unstable nation, with the South seceding from the country and in brink of leaving permanently. The differing ideologies between the North and South about the economy and slavery quickly lead to civil war.
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.
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