essay edit

Slavery and Civil War

Justin Wilson

Professor: Karen Lynn Marrero

HIS 2040

20 Oct 2014

Abraham Lincoln before winning the elections on March 4th 1861 as the sixteenth president of America served in the Illinois legislature as a lawyer (Lincoln, 2011, p1). He became a lawyer through his hard work and effort when he read. An Indiana neighbor stated, “What Lincoln read he read and re-read- read and studied thoroughly (Lincoln, 2011, p4).”He ruled in a phase of America’s history that was significant and this was during the era of the civil war. Being the first president from the Republican Party, he led to the end of the civil war and finally ended civil war in the United States of America. Below is an essay that gives a brief explanation of Abraham’s effect during the civil war period.

Lincoln’s words in his speeches always foresaw the future of the citizens. He always talked of America free from slavery without considering the race of any person. In the same breath, he wanted democracy for the people in which he talked of in his speech on the Dred Scott decision (Lincoln, 2011, p25). He pressed upon a question on why the court did not agree to the people of Utah practicing democracy, of which there was no such hindrance in the constitution. Most people in the United States of America found the habit of the “Mormons” in Utah as being immoral but President Lincoln aimed and called for peace in order to stop the bloodshed through the several massacres instigated (Lincoln, 2011,p27).

Lincoln talked of all men created equal in the eyes of God, decided to do what was the opposite in his Peoria speech. He states that people took others as slaves and they made it look as if it was a religious thing to do (Lincoln, 2011, p13). Lincoln attacked Taney’s claim of the constitution not belonging to the blacks. In the same breath, blacks could not sue in the law courts. He took his time to explain how the blacks had legal rights to do what the white men were entitled to do. In general, he talked of equality of men in his country and the respect that the people of America should present to one another. Lincoln preached and talked against the slavery that was rampant in the United States, he wanted to bring about development to the American economy through humanity and equality.

In 1860, he took up the republican seat as its head and as well tried to abolish slavery with no help from any southern state (Lincoln, 2011, p58). It was quite clear that the democrats disagreed with the republicans. One would think that with him on top of affairs, it would be much easier for him to completely put a stop to it but it proved much harder than he thought. He talked of the divided house in his speech and the irony in it. He wanted the unity of the republicans and the democrats felt to be the key factor that drove the Americans to the development that they needed as a nation.

During his first inauguration address he read a simple statement on the delivery of the fugitives. “No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such labor or service is due (Lincoln, 2011, p64).” This was a law that was intended for the owners of the fugitives who had escaped into other states. They were to be delivered to the owners to whom they owed services with simple consequences. After this statement the president took his oath of office as the president.

The president chose a cabinet in which most of his members had a low opinion of him. He was willing and determined to work with the team because he placed them in posts that they were able to handle; he called the cabinet “A team of rivals” (Lincoln, 2011, p64). In his first inaugural speech, he asked whether it shall be peace for the south and the civil war started and Lincoln set out 75000 troops to overwhelm the southern states. The president did not decide to fight because he had the abolition of slavery in mind but rather to suppress the southern states as his loyal duty to the country. He knew little about military so he decided to study about it and actually turned out better at it than some of his generals that the destruction of the enemies was far much better than capturing the rival capital.

He made a decision and removed Major General George McClellan who was in charge of the union army and replaced him with Major Grant who had won at the Siege of Fort Donelson, Battle of Vicksburg and Chattanooga (Lincoln, 2011, p98). In 1862, he announced emancipation proclamation and declared freedom to the slaves in the southern states as he had the rights to reclaim the property of those in the states as the president. He made other contentious decisions that led to the breach of the constitution. He suspended habeas corpus and closed down the newspaper that was opposing the war. Half of the members of his cabinet believed that his move was the violation of article IV, section three of the constitution.

In the 1864 elections, Lincoln did not think that he would be re-elected due to the long period of war in the country, a war that had dragged for over three years that had brought down the economy of the country. Huge battles like the Battle of Shiloh, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Chickamauga each produced over ten thousand casualties (Lincoln, 2011, p162). The democratic union had Major McClellan as their presidential candidate who took advantage of the war situation that Lincoln had. Lincoln made a step and allowed the soldiers that were in their own troop camps to cast their votes, something never done in the American history. The Democrats made a few mistakes and Lincoln was re-elected in his inaugural speech called for “malice towards none, with charity for all.” (Lincoln, 2011, p162)

On April 9, 1865, General Robert Lee surrendered the confederate army to Grant following the Appomattox campaign and Appomattox courthouse, marking the end of the war. Lincoln let the citizens of the associate capital go free. His prime goal as he has said was, “lasting peace among them.”

The last speech that President Lincoln made he stood over the door of the state house. He reflected on the same principles that he held on to in the previous wars. He called for all the states merging into the union; develop the economy by working together. He also called for the freedom of every one and asked for the acceptance of the citizenship of the blacks because they had valid rights in the united states of the America according to the constitution. John Wilkes Booth was the man who assassinated the sixth president of the United States of America by shooting him in the head. (Lincoln, 2011, p205)