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Civil War Dbq

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Recommended: The impact of the emancipation proclamation

Contest over whether the U.S. should employ a strong central government or strong state governments, contention between slave states and non-slave states, and many other concerns led to the investment of a total war within the United States. Immediately after Abraham Lincoln was elected president, a number of southern states seceded from the Union, forming the Confederacy, which incited the nation’s bloodiest battle to date. Throughout the entire civil war, Lincoln consistently focused on his primary goal of preserving the Union while also introducing a mid-war goal of abolishing slavery.. Entering the civil war, Lincoln had specific issues he wanted to address during his presidency. Within weeks of Lincoln’s election, the north and the …show more content…

Lincoln introduced his new goal of reuniting the Union under a law that prohibited the act of slavery. This redirection of goals sparked a new interest of war supporters and increased participation in the Union army. The new army consisted of many former “slaves [who] fought in Yankee blue against their old masters” and new anti slavery activists. This was a necessary shift because the newfound participation was one of the integral parts of the Union’s success. In a letter written in response to Horace Greeley, written a year into the war, Lincoln expressed his willingness to adjust his goals based on the repercussions of his actions addressing his primary focus of preserving the Union. Lincoln expressed that if his plans were not working or benefiting his campaign to unify the states then he would “do less” Lincoln was willing to modify his strategy of reaching his main goal because the reunion of the southern and the northern states was an imperative aspect of building a strong country and remaining a global superpower. This paramount shift in goals and his display of potential revision were direct demonstrations of how Lincoln’s goals were not completely fixed from the start of the …show more content…

In the beginning of the war, his motivation was founded in the “belief that the south had no right to secede” and to counteract the south’s decision they declared war. Although the purpose for the war had changed from solely correcting the south’s decision to fighting for equality and abolishing slavery, Lincoln “remained steadfastly true throughout the war to his basic objective[s]” of reuniting the Union as a whole and keeping the United States together as a united force. On January 1, 1863 Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation which set free all slaves held by force in the rebellious states. This spiked participation in the Union army which was an imperative part of the success of the north. Lincoln enacted this policy knowing it would increase the Union’s chances of winning the war to assist him in reaching his consistent goal of reuniting and rehabilitating the Union including the seceding southern states. Lincoln was willing to employ different policies in order to establish a stronger force to reach his primary goal. Nearly a year after employing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg address which was a pivotal point in the Union’s support and motivation for the war. This incredible speech reinforced the moral of human equality and revitalized the Union participants’ interest in “the great task remaining before us.” This

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A great divide occurred in America during the Civil War, and country was split into two sides; the Union or the Confederacy. A book by the name of The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is a novel about one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War, which was the Battle of Gettysburg (which lasted three days). It has several historical figures in the book who fought in the war and suffered injuries, such as Henry Heth, Richard Stoddart Ewell, and John Buford. The Civil War was one of the many turning points in America’s history. It began with the seceding of the Southern states as they refused to emancipate their own slaves and letting them rebel.

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Lincoln is known for “saving the union” when he destroyed it and made it where it was no longer a voluntary action and forced the south, at gunpoint, to stay in the Union. The Civil War was not started to end slavery but to save the union and for states to no longer have individual rights. After the Civil War was over, taxes were raised in the south but no public benefit was ever seen and therefore most of the money was stolen and pocketed by republican activists. Over all, this war was not needed to free slaves but to reduce the power of the states and make America a more centralized government. Using military force to keep a state from seceding was unthinkable and it quickly became the policy of the Lincoln administration to use deadly force against anyone, including civilians.

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1025 Words | 5 Pages

James M. McPherson is the Author of the Book entitled What They Fought 1861-1865 For, in his introduction McPherson explains that he “…carved from research for a larger book tentatively entitled Why They Fought.” (McPherson, 1994) This is a book that elucidates the attitude of the soldiers that fought during the Civil War, it discusses their Honor and courage, masculinity, discipline, religion, their fear, pain, and death among others. In his synopsis, McPherson says that his book “…gives voice to the very men who risked their lives in this struggle and places them in the great and terrible choir of a country dived against itself.” (McPherson, 1994)

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676 Words | 3 Pages

At the beginning of Abraham Lincoln’s second term as the president of the United States, he was confronted with a severely split nation fighting in the bloodiest battle in American history. Lincoln had hoped that, by fighting the South and having them rejoin, he could keep the Union together. Although the Union troops eventually managed to force the Confederates to surrender, a cultural divide remained as the Confederate states were forced to reunite with the North and the North became more hesitant in their determination to subdue the South. Since governing a country in this state would be nearly impossible, Lincoln decided to address both the North and South in his speech by asking them to set aside their disagreements so that the split nation could be repaired. His speech, despite being very brief, connected with both sides through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos which helped him achieve his goal of keeping the

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470 Words | 2 Pages

Lincoln realized the change for why the war was being fought close to the time when he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. When the Civil War started, Lincoln understood it as trying to the keep the United States as one nation, or as Neels said, “ Lincoln’s goal was to preserve the Union, even if the slaves were free or not” (Neels, The Civil War, lecture). The South states were trying seceded from the North because of the way the economy was changing. “The North was becoming more industrialized, where the South still wanted to keep the old fashion style from when the nation was first started” (Neels, The Civil War, lecture). However, the tides turned during “the war from understanding that the nation needed to preserve the Union to the struggle

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925 Words | 4 Pages

From the moment Abraham Lincoln was candidate for his second presidential election, he had to accept current situation of the United States was on the way preparing for a Civil War. Once the mentality of the people was ready, the weapon was on their hands, and the gun battered to face a war that could happen any minute. Even though Lincoln was in charge as a leader of a country, then he could not do anything which was beyond his ability to reach. By manipulating his intelligent and brilliant words, Lincoln tried to convey the message of war should not have happened, and to analyze the disadvantages of this meaningless war. He sedately said, “And the war came.”

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1228 Words | 5 Pages

A reunion required both justice and charity. Lincoln spoke, “with malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right”. He alludes to Ephesians 4:30-32 at the end of his “Second Inaugural Address”, which explained how the Union should embark on their onward journey. Through God’s justice, the Union, including both the North and South, “became equal and restored to justice”, which allowed for the ushering in of the new birth of freedom Lincoln envisioned in his “Gettysburg Address”. Justice for the evils of slavery had been satisfied by God’s divine interjection in the actions of the war.

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723 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil War caused Lincoln to step into action to fix a problem that divided the nation. President Lincoln was the president of the United States during the Civil War. Since the country was divided, Lincoln had to make an important decision about fighting in the Civil War. In the beginning, Lincoln argued that the reason for fighting in the war was to protect the Union, but by the end of the war, he added a reason, which was to end slavery To begin with, Lincoln’s main focus of the war was to protect the Union. During Lincoln’s speech in the First Inaugural Address, he states, “ You have no oath… to destroy the government, while I have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it” (First Inaugural Address).

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630 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil War rid the United States of peace and solidarity. Abraham Lincoln, in his Second Inaugural Address, expands on the country’s war motives and fight to restore the values that it stands for. With his usage of syntax, diction, and religious allusion, Lincoln seeks to mend the divided nation. President Lincoln’s careful use of inclusive words and phrases strengthen the feeling of unity throughout his address. The word choice highlights his attempts to remain impartial concerning his views on the war.

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1794 Words | 8 Pages

In his first inaugural address, March 4, 1861, Lincoln expressed his view that, “one section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes that it is wrong and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute,” it must be noted that, Lincoln originally resisted calls for abolition, because “he did not want to alienate border-state Unionists and northern Democrats,” but “with war threatening, Lincoln [made a calculated move] by sending armed ships to resupply Fort Sumter. [In response] Davis ordering the bombing of the fort on April 12, 1861. This attack marked the beginning of the Civil War,” (Two Viewpoints; Goldfarb, 59; America’s Stories). This type of war was completely new and thus “required a new kind of political leader, one with skills not only to direct armies but also to guide the energies of the citizenry toward victory.

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714 Words | 3 Pages

As Commander in Chief, Lincoln initially wanted to ameliorate relations with the Confederacy by having them return to the Union and cease rebellion. So President Lincoln was cautious to abolish slavery. As he once wrote in a letter, “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy Slavery.” Fearing the South’s advance in the War, President Lincoln utilized the Union victory at Antietam, to deliver his decree. The Emancipation Proclamation did three things: it undermined the Confederacy's slave economy, created an influx of soldiers for the Union and made the Civil War explicitly about the institution of slavery.

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117 Words | 1 Pages

This article describes five events about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Slavery was a major dilemma in the United States when Abraham Lincoln was President. Multiple people were outraged because of Lincoln trying to abolish slavery. 11 southern states now known as Confederates, were in favor of slavery, in fact so in favor of slavery the Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861. Lincoln's goal was to get the nation back together and on April 9, 1865, he succeeded.

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653 Words | 3 Pages

Thanks, in part, to Lincoln's reshuffling of his military leaders, the Union forces would soon capture victory over the Confederates. Afterward, Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation called for the freeing of all slaves in territories still at war with the Union. Later, during his Gettysburg Address, he gave the war its universal meaning as a struggle to preserve a nation based on freedoms and dedicated to the idea "that all men are created equal. "Lincoln was reelected in 1864.(notable

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715 Words | 3 Pages

“I do not intrude to tell you - for you must know already -” he begins, “that a great proportion of those who triumphed in your election, and of all who desire the unqualified suppression of the rebellion now desolating our country, are sorely disappointed and deeply pained by the policy you seem to be pursuing with regard to the slaves of rebels.” The way Horace Greeley writes his indictment, one would think he was writing a strongly worded letter to a close friend in an argument, not the president of the United States. Addressing Lincoln as “you” and openly criticizing his administration, Greeley pens a perfect example of the public debate in the public sphere so essential to American Politics. In response, Abraham Lincoln wrote another public letter, stating, “I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution.

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In this context, the Emancipation Proclamation was a defining factor in the moral foundation of the Civil War, which had been fought on the issue of slavery as a contradiction to American freedom. More so, northern abolitionist provided greater moral and economic support for Lincoln’s cause, since he had become fully committed to ending slavery as an institution throughout the South. In this context, Lincoln not only ended slavery, but he also gained much needed military and economic morale by taking greater control of the governmental and military establishment to accomplish this victory over the

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