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James Mcpherson's Essay: Abraham Lincoln And The Civil War

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James McPherson’s collection of essays discusses the claims for and against Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War as revolutionary. McPherson holds that both of the aforementioned subjects are revolutionary in nature. The Civil War, he suggests when it is not being looked at through “presentism” is by nature a social and political revolution. Abraham Lincoln, he explains, is a conservative revolutionary; Lincoln’s purpose was always to preserve the union through whichever means presented them as necessary including abolitionism. McPherson explains how the war was revolutionary by dissecting Lincoln’s Presidency in regards to his actions and seemingly contradictory ideologies that led him to the emancipation, unconditional surrender, and constitutional …show more content…

Lincoln had never professed a personal acceptance of the institution of slavery. However, he had established, that if it were necessary to keep the union intact he would not dissolve slavery. When he was sworn in office Lincoln took an oath to the Constitution that protected slavery, and recited his responsibility as president to preserve the nation. The modification in means originated from his position as Commander and Chief of the military during wartime. Although his national strategy was to protect the union, the military strategy that he used to achieve it involved the abolition of slaves and using freed black men to fight alongside the Union soldiers. By this time, the war had shifted from a “limited” war to a “total” war with the purpose to over throw the social, economic, and political format of the southern government and culture. In the transition to a total war, it became clear that Lincoln was no longer to be considered conservative but rather more radical on the issue of slavery. McPherson, however, asserts that he was a “conservative revolutionary” in that he began conservatively, and under the circumstances—of both sides requiring total surrender--- was pushed toward a more radical standpoint to achieve his primary focus of saving the union. His radical stance ultimately led to the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment to create an

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During Abraham Lincoln’s presidency at the start of the 1860, an issue that had divided the nation was slavery. Lincoln’s election to presidency as a republic was not received well by the Southern slave states, as they thought that as a republican he was out to abolish slavery. In an effort to calm southern states and keep them from seceding from the United States, he attempts to ease them with his First Inaugural Address. In his First Inaugural Address his key points are to clam southern leaders of slave states, keep the states from seceding, and make them at ease as he enters presidency.

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Yet by using this quote McPherson is trying to step away from the obvious fact and show that while Union preservation was the main goal freeing the slaves was the last resort in preserving the Union, which is less

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Abraham Lincoln would lead the Republican Party even though he did not win the south over in the election. He promised that he would save the Union no matter what the cost. This disconnect in policy would later lay the basis for the Civil War, which started in 1861. He never envisioned a proclamation or ending slavery but he was ultimately committed to saving the Union from the succeeding south. Lincoln gave into the antislavery Republicans toward the end of the war and finally decided to make slavery the true basis of the war.

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The Radical and the Republican by James Oakes Book Review James Oakes’ The Radical and the Republican is a thorough and captivating account of two of America’s most distinguished figures, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas. In his intriguing and polished work, Oakes examines the issues of slavery, race, politics, and war in America during the mid-1800’s. Though both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas engendered immense social and political change throughout the Civil War era, the relationship between the two men is often neglected.

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McPherson discusses how he found countless of confederate soldier’s letters filled with phrases like “the holy cause of southern freedom, duty to one’s country and death before Yankee

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If the Civil war was not won by the Union, the slaves might be enslaved still and the Emancipation Proclamation would not have been successful. When Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the rebel states it infuriated the the Confederation. It also led to slaves to join the Union army during the war. Lincoln hoped by doing this it would to change the war from “save the Union” to “revolutionizing the war” (VHS). By “revolutionizing the war” it meant not having to fight

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The election of President Lincoln had a huge affect on the civil war. Lincoln made numerous attempts to free slaves and to end the civil war. All of his attempts had helped in ways to end the civil war. His attempts included of the 13th amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation, his hard work on keeping the United States as one, and etc. Also because of the election of president Lincoln the 14th and 15th amendment was later on made as one of the Civil War Amendments.

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You can see this in Document B, wherein 1858 Lincoln says this: “I have no purpose . . . to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists . . .” Later on in the same document he also states, “There is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights . . . in the Declaration of Independence- the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” While Lincoln was running for president, he promised to leave slavery alone in the South, but he also stays true to his personal morals through his time, that slavery

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Vu Pham Professor Sunshine McClain History 170 May 22, 2016 Abraham Lincoln Does Not Deserve To be The Great Emancipator Abolition of slavery was a big controversy in the United State of America in the nineteenth century due to the different stances between northern and southern states which led to the American Civil war. At the present time, Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States who supported the north (Union) thought that free the slave could help him united all the states. As the result, he passed out the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, which give freedom to slaves in the states that the Union did not control. After the war, he issued the Thirteenth Amendment on December 6, 1865, to free all slaves.

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Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America is a biography that tells the life and success of Abraham Lincoln. At the beginning it talks about his life and how rough he grew up. As Lincoln grew up he wanted to learn to read and write because he was ashamed that his father couldn 't. Lincoln learning to read and write was a key factor to help him win the election and become as successful as he was. Even as a young child Lincoln claims to naturally be anti-salvory ( page 281). This is important to his stand point during the war.

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American Civil War historian, James M. McPherson, in his essay How Lincoln Won the War with Metaphors, argues that if the Union and the Confederacy had exchanged presidents the Confederacy might have won the war. He supports his claim by comparing and contrasting Jefferson Davis’s lack of ability to communicate in an uplifting fashion to Abraham Lincoln’s use of figurative language, especially his metaphors that have the persuasive power of concreteness and clarity which everyone understands and by providing numerous examples of Lincolns metaphors. McPherson’s purpose is to demonstrate how Lincoln was a powerful leader due to his ability to communicate in an inspiring way and appeal to the peoples’ emotions through his use of figurative language

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