Rhetorical Analysis Essay On Abraham Lincoln Dbq

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Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and Commander in Chief during the Civil War. He was a member of the Free Soil Party and later became a Republican. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the Confederate States after the Battle of Antietam, and ultimately led the North to victory in the Civil War. What most do not know, however, is that he got to that point after a long road of lying and deception. Abraham Lincoln constantly altered his views on slavery and other issues during the 1800s purely based on his audience. In addition to this very unpleasant approach, he freed the African Americans only as an advantage that could lead him into winning the war. Furthermore, Abraham Lincoln should be referred to as just another politician. We know him as “Honest Abe.” But really, he is anything but. Abraham Lincoln constantly changed his opinions and views on slavery and equality. “Unite as one people throughout this land, until we shall once stand up for declaring that all men are created equal”(Document A). This is one of his many statements at a speech in Chicago, IL, July 1858. He clearly states that he is in favor of equality and that he believes that not one man should be named superior rather than another. But just two months later, he remarks, in a debate with Stephen A. Douglas …show more content…

According to Document J, the Thirteenth Amendment, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” It proclaimed the freedom of slaves in ten states. Because it was issued under the President's war powers, it excluded areas not in rebellion, but in the end it applied to more than 3 million slaves at the time. Nonetheless, it was only a war measure to hurt the Confederacy and advance in the