No president in history had ever exerted so much executive authority, but he did so not for personal power but in order to preserve the Union. ... A statement of presidential intent to free the nation's slaves would clear the ideological waters and proclaim in no uncertain terms Lincoln's determination that the United States joins the world anti-slavery effort. ...
This plan required at least 10 percent of the people who voted in 1860 to take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Union, upon doing so they would receive a presidential pardon. ... President Johnson was a strong believer in letting the state governments have most of the power in their own states, rather than the federal government. ...
In addition the city's strategic value, the battlefield outcome also would directly influence the result of the upcoming presidential election between incumbent Abraham Lincoln and his democratic opponent General George B. ... Due to the candidates' conflicting views on whether to continue fighting or settle for peace, the victor contained the power to decide the conclusion of the Civil War. ... This political calculation that transferred military command led to eventual loss in Atlanta that enabled Lincoln to win the Presidential Election, which ultimately decided the war's con...
