In 1952, Thomas P. Benjamin, an expert in the history of Abraham Lincoln’s life, published his book, Abraham Lincoln: A Biography, which argues that Lincoln’s election was the cause of the war but Lincoln’s efforts would also lead to the North’s decisive victory. This argument renders similar to the arguments of Charnwood and Ludwig, but differs in the way that Lincoln’s actions are glorified tremendously in this second time period. Lincoln, along with his actions, are depicted as highly thoughtful, incisive and effective. His clearly recognized position of the moral issue of slavery gave rise to Lincoln’s fame and aided his presidential election.5 Benjamin further states the point that Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was an important milestone …show more content…
Initially, Lincoln hoped for gradual emancipation; he created a plan in which the border states would first abolish slavery, and then the rest of the states would follow.10 This plan would offer a slow solution that would stop the rebellion and guarantee the safety of the Union. However, this plan failed has as the border states refused to act. Finally, his last alternative was the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln believed that it was a military necessity to use the slaves as a source of strength. Consequently, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation as it was his only option to stop the spread of slavery. Similarly, Einhorn analyzes Lincoln’s views regarding slavery and the African race. Einhorn depicts that Lincoln supported human rights, that blacks should be treated as humans despite their skin color. However, Lincoln did not support complete equality. He did not advocate for political and social equality of whites and blacks. Ultimately, Lincoln wanted to stop the spread of slavery, but he did not believe that whites and blacks should live together with equality. He pushed for colonization as this plan would end the interactions between whites and blacks in the …show more content…
The author does this by examining quotes from historical figures, such as Abraham Lincoln, from a specific speech, letter or document. Oates attempts to recreate what is happening during the time of the quote in order to give an accurate representation of the the context of the quote. This approach allows the reader to understand how Abraham Lincoln was not super-human, and his actions were, in fact, influenced by pressuring factors. Einhorn uses literary analysis as a method. He examines Lincoln’s use of rhetorical devices in order to illustrate what were Lincoln’s true intentions. He studies history in a different fashion which enables the reader to have sense of what Lincoln’s feelings, regarding slavery,