ipl-logo

Abraham Lincoln's Letter To Abolitionist Horace Greeley

1973 Words8 Pages

As the United States began it’s transformation between 1854 to 1865, the man in the high chair of the United States Government had changes in his views on the issues of race and slavery in America. In a letter to abolitionist Horace Greeley just one year after the Civil War had started, Abraham Lincoln states that, “My paramount object in this struggle (the war) is to save the Union… and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.” In completely changing his personal views on the equality of all races, and by gradually moving towards the total abolishment of slavery, Abraham Lincoln led the movement towards the creation of a nation in which all humans are created equal. The Kansas-Nebraska …show more content…

“They (the Founding Fathers, in the Declaration of Independance) meant to set up a standard maxim for free society… constantly looked to, constantly labored for… and thereby constantly spreading... the happiness and value of life to all people of all colors everywhere,” Lincoln said. Here, Lincoln's position on race is beginning to change. In another statement made during the speech, Lincoln states, “In some respects (a black woman) is certainly not my equal; but in her natural right to eat the bread she earns with her own hands without asking leave of any one else, she is my equal, and the equal of all others...” This is the first time that Lincoln has broken off from the misogynistic, superioristic views that most white men held during this time. Although he is not yet viewing himself as equal to a black woman in terms of social hierarchy, he is indeed shedding life on the fact that she, and “all others” should indeed share the same natural rights. In 1858, during the election for United States senator of Illinois, seven debates took place between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, the incumbent Democratic Senator. In one of these debates, Lincoln changed his position on race in America. He states “Let us discard all these things, and unite as one people throughout this land, until we shall once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal.” “Uniting as one people” and the idea of mixing races was so unorthodox in the current situation of antebellum America. The South responded to this idea in September of 1864 in an anti republican and anti Abraham Lincoln political cartoon titled “The Miscegenation Ball” which depicts a united society where white men dance and flirt with black women. This cartoon puts forth the fear that many voters share about mixing white and black people in society. A large

Show More
Related

How Did The Civil War Affect Sectionalism

602 Words | 3 Pages

President Abraham Lincoln battled the Kansas- Nebraska Act. Many looked at slavery as cruel, sad, and unfair which was one of the reasons why people thought of the idea to get it abolished. People who hold a high political power up north was scared that the extension of slavery moving toward the west that the states would give the states down south influence in such areas. When Abraham Lincoln was elected to be the president of the United States the other eleven states came from the Union. Lincoln thought this was very unacceptable and he decided to declare war to preserve the

Read More

Compare And Contrast Lincoln's Letter To Horace Greeley

203 Words | 1 Pages

The southerners believed that Abraham Lincoln was an abolitionist. While the election were going on during 1860, the leaders of the south told the south to secede from the Union if Lincoln were elected. It was true Lincoln was in abolitionist, but his concerns were saving the Union not about caring for the slaves. Lincoln wrote a letter to Horace Greeley which clearly stated that his intentions were not to bring an end to slavery. The south were so against Abolitionist, because Abolitionist were people who worked to end slavery.

Read More

Anthem 'And Lincoln 6 Echo'

1377 Words | 6 Pages

Equality and Lincoln are truly “unconquered souls”. Equality and Lincoln both define societies rules, they won't let a higher power change who they are and suppress their curiosity. In Anthem Equality-72521 question his society,

Read More

An Analysis Of Abraham Lincoln's 'Letter From Birmingham Jail'

1213 Words | 5 Pages

He conveyed to the audience “…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom…” from slavery and that the living need courage to keep fighting towards that goal (287). With his quote about equality, Lincoln means that this nation was conceived to be equal to all men. After

Read More

Similarities Between Lincoln And Frederick Douglass

1013 Words | 5 Pages

Though in the beginning of this man’s life, Lincoln did not acknowledge equality or fully support the abolitionist movement like Douglass had done, he would learn eventually that morally, slavery could not continue and the most threatening problem at the time was the ever rising sectionalism and ceding of the south. Lincoln’s main goal was to preserve the union at all costs, after the Civil war he wanted to help rebuild the south, mend national hegemony, and reform political/ social institutions, “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as god gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind the nation’s wounds,” (Lincoln 303). The way in which Lincoln replaces the word, war with “work” supports that the endeavor of achieving a certain goal is not an easy one. In a way, civil war was almost necessary, a step back in order to go forward to maintain the union. Following more recent events, California had wanted to become its own country and political debates of the recent election have sparked a once again growing sectionalism within the American nation, “Nonetheless, no single case, law or amendment could instantly erase the long tradition of prejudice and equality” (The Zigzag Road to Rights

Read More

How Did Abraham Lincoln Deserve To Be The Great Emancipator

695 Words | 3 Pages

President Lincoln stated that: “if I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it,..., and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would do it.”. This quote clearly shows that the freedom of slaves was not his concern and unnecessary if it did not help the Union; as the result, slavery still exists if there is no war. Free slave from bondage should be a Great Emancipator’s primary goal and he will do his best to achieve it no matter what, but president Lincoln’s thought differed from that because all he cares was the Union. Although he had many times admitting himself an anti-slavery but his words and thoughts obviously prove that he is

Read More

House Divided Causes

1505 Words | 7 Pages

A House Divided: The Causes and Effects of the Civil War in the Institution of Slavery, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Militant Presidency of Abraham Lincoln The causes and effects of the Civil War will be defined through the institution of slavery and the military leadership of President Lincoln to resolve the uncompromising political position of the South/Confederacy. Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech will be an important primary source that defines the underlying resistance to the expansion of slave states into new territories taken by the U.S. government before the Civil War. More so, the uncompromising and increasingly militaristic aggression of the South in seceding from the Union defines the effects of this political “divide” between

Read More

Abraham Lincoln Dbq

498 Words | 2 Pages

Lincoln thought that all men were created equal but thought that African Americans shouldn't have social and political rights. Many people accused Lincoln of giving them every right as a normal man. He did not want them to be able to vote or to be able to be in a jury but he believed that they should have the right to improve their way in the society. They were kind of equal to white men, they just wouldn't have slavery and would decide the way they want to live. On April 11,1865 the last speech he made was about limited black suffrage.

Read More

Uncle Sam's Thanksgiving Dinner Analysis

962 Words | 4 Pages

Thomas Nast’s cartoon “Uncle Sam’s Thanksgiving Dinner” depicts the United States in a positive light contrary to the dark past that plagued the country through the centuries putting the focus on Nast’s idealistic view of America. This cartoon shows ethnic equality in the United States with multiple races sitting around a table, from the Native American and Irishman to the African American and Chinese family this cartoon attempts to depict a togetherness of all races represented in American. The phrases on the two bottom corners that read: “Come one come all” and “Free and Equal” attempt to show the equality in America at this time without addressing the lack of equality that occurred in the previous one hundred years. This cartoon by Nast

Read More

Comparison: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

606 Words | 3 Pages

“There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.” Declared Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Dr Martin Luther king Jr. who gave the I Have A Dream speech claimed that all men are equal no matter the skin color. Abraham Lincoln, the United States sixteenth president who gave the Gettysburg Address, stated that all men are created equally and everyone should be free from slavery. Even though both of these men have made a huge impact to our country, both of these have made a huge impact to our country, both of them have their differences.

Read More

Abraham Lincoln Great Emancipator Essay

574 Words | 3 Pages

Also seen in Card 2, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Lincoln declared, "I agree [that the black man] is not my equal in many respects. but in the right to eat the bread which his own hand earns, he is my equal, the equal to Douglas, and the equal of every living man.” (Lincoln, A. The presenter is a presenter. 1858. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. .

Read More

Abraham Lincoln's Idea Of Equality During The Civil War

534 Words | 3 Pages

This laid the foundation for the civil rights movements of the 19th century, which fought for equal treatment for marginalized groups, such as African Americans and women. The Gettysburg Address, delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, is one of the most important speeches in American history. It is widely recognized for its powerful message about the importance of equality. In the address, Lincoln declares "that all men are created equal" and asserts that this proposition is "dedicated to the proposition that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." Lincoln's proclamation of equality was a bold statement at a time when slavery was still prevalent in the United States.

Read More

Race And Ethnicity Paradigm

1025 Words | 5 Pages

Everyday the future in America looks brighter for the issues dealing with race and identity. Brave souls are not letting racism, class discrimination, or sexism hold them back anymore. Furthermore, the fight for a balanced society that pushes for equality is on the horizon. As we close on an era, based on purely the skin of the person, we need to analyze the impacts of the Ethnicity paradigm and Class paradigm on politics of the 20th century. Race and Ethnicity are used interchangeable in everyday conversation, however; they are not the same.

Read More

President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Essay

348 Words | 2 Pages

Lincoln could thus transcend the historical specificity of the moment while imbuing it with greater meaning. Although the question of whether Thomas Jefferson had meant to include African Americans in his proposition about equality had long been debated, Lincoln throughout his career had always argued that the proposition included all men, including Africans, because in his philosophical view all men were entitled to the natural rights of life, liberty, and property. Thus, the war had, against Lincoln 's wishes, given rise to a "new birth of freedom." To some, Lincoln 's words are disingenuous since when he spoke them he was not committed politically to the full emancipation or freedom of the enslaved African and certainly not to their equality. However, in this instance the words of Lincoln came to have more significance historically than his deeds, because they became a part of the rhetoric of freedom and in doing so helped to make it a reality.

Read More

Racial Tensions Essay

912 Words | 4 Pages

Racial tensions in America have risen at an exponential rate in recent years. It is time to re-examine the issues in ways which undermine the very basis of racial conflicts. When I was in 9th grade my English teacher showed us various people who considered themselves black. As the class looked at the images, people had varying ideas as to whether the person was in fact of one race or another. Race is clearly a relative term based upon individual person’s perceptions.

Read More

More about Abraham Lincoln's Letter To Abolitionist Horace Greeley

Open Document