Lincoln was surrounded by chaos during the war years. He strongly embraced one basic proposition: to preserve the Union. In his Gettysburg Address, he asserted "a new birth of freedom." For Lincoln, the concept of a democratic America symbolized "the last, best hope of earth." This basic, yet weighty concept, defined the essence of this conflict: there would be no compromise. We can't help but ask: was his approach to the war a symbiotic expression, based on his personal approach to the idiosyncratic tragedies of his own life?.
Lincoln vowed to preserve the Union even if it meant war. He eventually raised an army and navy of nearly 3 million northern men to face a southern army of over 2 million soldiers. In battles fought from Virginia to California (but mainly in Virginia, in the Mississippi River Valley, and along the border states) a great civil war tore the United States apart. In pursuing victory, Lincoln assumed extra-legal powers over the press; virtually ignored the Supreme Court, declared martial law in areas where no military action justified it, quelled draft riots with armed soldiers, and drafted soldiers to fight for the Union cause. 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.
What started as a war to preserve the Union became a battle for freedom and a war to end slavery when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January of 1863. Although the Proclamation did not free all slaves in the nation "indeed, no slaves outside of the Confederacy were affected by the Proclamation "it was an important symbolic gesture that identified the Union with freedom and the death of slavery. As part of the Proclamation, Lincoln also urged black males to join the Union forces as soldiers and sailors. By the end of the war, nearly 200,000 African Americans had fought for the Union cause, and Lincoln referred to them as indispensable in ensuring Union victory.
It was only as commander in chief that Lincoln could constitutionally free the slaves. ... Lincoln wasted no time in his reaction to the aggression on the part of the South. ... On May 4, Lincoln called for 42,000 additional volunteers to serve for three years. ... "This is essentially a people's contest," Lincoln told Congress. ... To win the war, President Lincoln had to have popular support. ...
Abraham Lincoln never believed in equality for blacks. ... Lincoln believed that slavery was wrong, but was in no sense an abolitionist. ... Lincoln never viewed the war as a means to end slavery. ... It was the embodiment of Lincoln's beliefs: free but unequal. Although Lincoln believed that blacks should not be equal to whites, Lincoln was against slavery, for it deprived blacks of basic rights. ...
ABRAHAM LINCOLN Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky. ... When Lincoln was seven his family moved to Indiana. ... Lincoln attended Ford's Theater that day. ... Lincoln was stolen from his grave at Oak Ridge. ... May Abraham Lincoln rest in peace. ...
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin on the frontier in rural Kentucky in 1809, to parents of low social standing and little education. ... When he was only 9 years old, his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died. ... Lincoln had less than one full year of education in his entire life. ... Lincoln began to court Mary Owens. ... The Lincolns had four sons. ...
Abraham Lincoln With his cabinet Abraham Lincoln is regarded by many historians as the greatest president ever to stand at America's helm. ... In the beginning, Lincoln's secretary of state, William H. ... Chase, Lincoln's first secretary of the treasury. ... Lincoln's personal secretary, John Nicolay, wrote, "There is enough in Chase's letters abusing Lincoln behind his back for quite a scorcher." ... Even so, Lincoln, against all odds, looms as the greatest of Presidents....
Lincoln than most know. ... On Sunday, Feburary 12, 1809 Thomas and Nancy Lincoln give brith to Abraham Lincoln in a log cabin near Hodgenville Kentucky. ... In 1818 tradgity strikes the Lincoln's as Nancy dies from milk sickness. ... The next year Lincoln takes a floatboat trip to New Orleans. ... Thankfully Lincoln happened to like his stepmother. ...
Abraham Lincoln • Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in 1809 near Hodgenville, Kentucky. ... • In 1836, Lincoln became a lawyer. ... • In 1846 Lincoln ran for the United States House of Representatives and won. ... • Abraham Lincoln is elected as 16th U.S. president and the first Republican. ... • Lincoln and his wife Mary see the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. ...
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin near Hodgenville, KY. ... His father was Samuel Lincoln and his mother was Nancy Lincoln they married on June 12, 1806, 3 years before Lincoln's birth. ... After his mother died the Lincolns had a hard time keeping there house functioning. ... Lincoln was encouraged to study law by Stuart and he obtained a license on Sept, 9 1837. In 1859 Lincoln moved to Springfield to become Stuart's partner in Law. ...
Lincoln never said he would get rid of slavery. ... That is why they thought that President Lincoln was going to free all slaves. Abraham Lincoln never narrated that he would get rid of all slavery. ... Lincoln did think getting rid of slavery would be gracious. ... Abraham Lincoln never showed that he could be trusted on ending slavery. ...
