Compare And Contrast The Civil War And Lincoln Leading The Union

The north may have beaten the south in the Civil War, but who was the better leader. Did Jefferson Davis actually do a better job of leading the Confederate states then Abraham Lincoln did leading the Union? In 1861 Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office apposing slavery. During the beginning of his first term as president Lincoln decided to stay neutral to avoid war with the south. Lincoln made sure to keep new states from becoming slave states, yet he didn’t make it illegal for states that already had slaves. This brought tension because this made it harder for the south to gain western political allies. This caused the slave states to secede and become the United Confederate States. They adopted Jefferson Davis as their president.

Soon after a peace conference reviled the southern states had no intention of rejoining the Union. Lincoln said the dismantling of the Union could not be allowed. He later stated about the two parties, “One of them would rather make war then let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than see it perish. In April of 1861 major Robert Anderson sent a request to Lincoln for provisions at Fort Sumter, which he approved. The south took this as a declaration of war and fired on the fort. Many historians believe Lincoln had underestimated the Confederates. He later stated to the public that he was “sadly disappointed I did not realize this country was sleeping under an active

During the war Lincoln had had two priorities: to ensure that Washington was well defended, and to conduct a quick war effort to satisfy the northern demand for a prompt, decisive victory. Lincoln appointed Major General George B. McLellan as general-in-chief of all Union armies. It took McLellan several months to plan and attempt his peninsula campaign. McLellan took troops from Washington to go to Richmond. His constant delays and the lack of troops in Washington frustrated both Lincoln and congress. Lincoln decided to hold back the troops, which McLellan blamed for his campaign failing. Lincoln decided to replace him with Henry Wagner after McLellan’s “Harrison’s Landing letter.” He also appointed John Pope as head of the new army of Virginia. Pope decided to go with Lincoln’s strategy and march to Richmond from the north instead from the coast. However, he lacked the reinforcements from McLellan and lost the second battle of Bull Run, forcing the troops back to Washington. During Naval operations Lincoln closely reviewed the dispatches and interrogated naval officers. Despite his dissatisfaction he restored McLellan as commander of all troops in Washington. Two days later Robert E. Lee attacked Antietam; the Union victory there allowed Lincoln to announce he would issue an