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The Similarities Between Abraham Lincoln And The Civil War

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Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” These words reflected the exact circumstance that was presented to the nation in the times leading up to the Civil War. Before there was a Union and Confederacy, the division began with just the Northern and Southern states. Not only were these regions different regarding geography, but they also had many different views about individual life in the states. One of those differences revolved around slavery. The Northern states were in favor of ridding the nation of slavery, but according to Louis P. Masur’s The Civil War, the Southern states considered it to be a necessary evil. Thus, leading to the “debate [that] framed a disagreement about slavery, that never ended.” In Ken Burn’s Civil War, Shelby Foote mentioned that the war began because the nation couldn’t compromise. Southerners refused to get rid of the very institution that assisted with their economic prosperity. Considering the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney, the South’s demand for slavery grew even more. Naturally, the Northern states …show more content…

Lincoln, as a President, was neither for nor against slavery. According to Professor Clavin, as a stance in his platform, Lincoln had no intentions to interfere with the states’ declared liberties, which included refraining from disturbing the institution that kept blacks in bondage. Furthermore, he ensured many that it was also his intention to abide by Fugitive Slave laws. However, Lincoln understood that it was his duty to make sure that slavery didn’t expand into new states or current free states. With documents like the Northwest Ordinance and the Compromise of 1850, Ken Burn’s mentioned that these notable features threatened the equilibrium of power as more free states were added to the nation. Moreover, this imbalanced created an unsettling feeling for the

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While the North tried to stop the South from withdrawing their spot in the Union, the North also denied the Southern states rights. Sectional groups assembled in the North regarding the “unnatural feeling and hostility” to slavery in the South. “ By consolidating their strength, they have placed the strength... no avail in protecting Southern rights (Document I). The Northerners believed that slavery is not right, and also that “the demand of African slavery throughout the confederacy” is unheard of.

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The people of the Confederate States were people who did not agree with Lincoln’s beliefs and ideas. President Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I think Lincoln said this quote because he is trying to say that even though the United States became two nations, it will not be able to go against its

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In 1793 man named Eli Whitney's created an invention this machine was able to reduce the time it took to separate seeds from the cotton this creation was called the cotton gin. The invention help cotton become very profitable. It was a major economic difference between the north and south region. Down in the south the economy started only worrying about the cotton which means they depended on slavery but up North they worried more on their industries to help more with their work. Up north their industries were buying raw cotton and putting it into finished goods.

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Before the Civil War their were many arguments that went back and forth between the North and South. The main argument though was that the North considered slavery unbiblical, unlawful, an horrible. The South on the other hand though considered their right, because the Constitution stated that a man had a right to his own property and the slaves were their property. The South also attacked the North with the claim that their slaves were better off on the plantations than the workers in the Northerners’ factories where they were harshly treated. Both sides felt like their opinion was better than the others and this was how the Civil War

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Both sides showed different opinions one trying to keep slavery while the other wanted to get rid of it. The North wanted to abolish slavery because it was against the Constitution and wanted racial equality. The Confederate soldiers were fighting for their right to have slavery and own slaves. Throughout the war they realized that the war would end much faster if they fought to free slaves. The reason and start of the Civil War was because of slavery.

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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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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.

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Understanding the Differing Sides of the Civil War Abraham Lincoln introduces in his a “House Divided” Speech with the following: “If we could first know where we are and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object and confident promise of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has only not ceased but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. " A house divided against itself cannot stand (Lincoln, 1858).”

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In America in the 1840s and 1850s the north were growing industrially and relying on factories while the south was still rural and all about agriculture the two were growing apart. There became the debate over slavery and the north saw it has morally wrong while the south saw no problem with it. In the 1860s the south finally seceded from the union when Lincoln became president. In effort to try and help with issues there became many compromises like the compromise of 1850. While some believe the civil war started over “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” there is historical evidence that shows that the real causes for the secession of the southern states and the starting of the civil war to force them back into the union, were overwhelmingly the caning of

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However, he acknowledges one of the greatest arguments against repeal remains self-governance. It is the greatest weapon the South used in order to defend their right to own slaves, and it is the principle that replaced the Missouri Compromise: popular sovereignty decides whether the state has slaves, not a nationally imposed mandate. Rather than disputing this, Lincoln endorsed this ideal of self-governance as one of his moral tenets. After previously defending the “humanity of the slave,” (152) he applied this at a fundamental level to the right of self-governance: “But if the negro is a man, is it not to that extent, a total destruction of self-government, to say that he too shall not govern himself?” (153).

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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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Only a small percentage of Northerners were abolitionists and wanted to abolish slavery all together. The Southerners mainly heard from this small percentage of Northerners, which fueled their paranoia. The South believed that the best way to ensure the continuation of slavery would be to expand slavery into the new western territories. The Civil War would be a war essentially based on the expansion of slavery, not the existence of slavery

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Two fundamental questions normally surround the history of any war: whether the war was inevitable and if it was necessary. These same questions emerge any time during debates regarding the American Civil war. The most cited cause of the Civil war is the secession of certain southern states that formed the Confederate States of America in January 1861. Thomas Bonner writes "Civil War Historians and the "Needless War" Doctrine" arguing that Southern Carolina seceded in 1860, followed by six other states by January the following year. A deep analysis of the events leading to the war indicates that the Union and the Confederates had profound ideological, economic, political, and social differences.

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First of all, The Northerners and Southerners were fighting for completely different reasons. Northerners thought they were fighting to save the union. They believed that slavery was morally wrong and that it needed to be abolished.” The abolitionists saw slavery as an abomination and an affliction on the United States, making it their goal

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“A house divided against itself cannot stand” -Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln was utterly correct when he stated this, the Civil War brought a great amount of tension amongst the states. In the northern states the war began as fight against the succession of the Confederate states from the Union. While in the south fought against the threat to their everyday lives, which one major part was slavery. Throughout the Civil War over 620,000 soldiers lives were lost and among those deaths 40,000 of them were the lives of African-American soldiers.

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