Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End SlaveryLincoln is the single most compelling figure in our history, but also one of the most enigmatic. Was he the Great Emancipator, a man of deep convictions who ended slavery in the United States, or simply a reluctant politician compelled by the force of events to free the slaves? In Father Abraham, Richard Striner offers a fresh portrait of Lincoln, one that helps us make sense of his many contradictions. Striner shows first that, if you examine the speeches that Lincoln made in the 1850s, you will have no doubt of his passion to end slavery. These speeches illuminate the anger, vehemence, and sheer brilliance of candidate Lincoln, who worked up crowds with charismatic fervor as he gathered a national following. But if he felt so passionately about abolition, why did he wait so long to release the Emancipation Proclamation? As Striner points out, politics is the art of the possible, and Lincoln was a consummate politician, a shrewd manipulator who cloaked his visionary ethics in the more pragmatic garb of the coalition-builder. He was at bottom a Machiavellian prince for a democratic age. When secession began, Lincoln used the battle cry of saving the Union to build a power base, one that would eventually break the slave-holding states forever. Striner argues that Lincoln was a rare man indeed: a fervent idealist and a crafty politician with a remarkable gift for strategy. It was the harmonious blend of these two qualities, Striner concludes, that made Lincoln's role in ending slavery so fundamental. |
From inside the book
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... John W. Wright, for his many helpful suggestions. At Oxford University Press, I will always be grateful to my editor, Peter Ginna, his assistant, Laura Stickney, and senior production editor Joellyn Ausanka for their many outstanding ...
... John W. Wright, for his many helpful suggestions. At Oxford University Press, I will always be grateful to my editor, Peter Ginna, his assistant, Laura Stickney, and senior production editor Joellyn Ausanka for their many outstanding ...
Page 19
... John C. Calhoun from an ardent supporter of broad construction of the Constitution for the purpose of creating magnificent public works (a program he supported when he served as secretary of war under James Monroe) into a militant ...
... John C. Calhoun from an ardent supporter of broad construction of the Constitution for the purpose of creating magnificent public works (a program he supported when he served as secretary of war under James Monroe) into a militant ...
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... John Richardson proclaimed the “absurdity of assuming the right to nullify Federal laws, as a sovereign right reserved to the State,” when the rights of any state could be easily trumped through the power of a constitutional amendment ...
... John Richardson proclaimed the “absurdity of assuming the right to nullify Federal laws, as a sovereign right reserved to the State,” when the rights of any state could be easily trumped through the power of a constitutional amendment ...
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... John C. Calhoun declared in his notorious “Positive Good” speech of 1837 that the greatness of every superior civilization was grounded in the existence of a mud-sill class of degraded workers.21 It was a militance that prompted several ...
... John C. Calhoun declared in his notorious “Positive Good” speech of 1837 that the greatness of every superior civilization was grounded in the existence of a mud-sill class of degraded workers.21 It was a militance that prompted several ...
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... John Tyler, a pro-slavery Virginian, appointed John C. Calhoun as his secretary of state, and the two of them forced the Texas issue by submitting an annexation treaty to the Senate. The Senate rejected this treaty, and the Texas ...
... John Tyler, a pro-slavery Virginian, appointed John C. Calhoun as his secretary of state, and the two of them forced the Texas issue by submitting an annexation treaty to the Senate. The Senate rejected this treaty, and the Texas ...
Contents
1 | |
5 | |
Lincoln and Free Soil 18541858 | 35 |
Lincoln and Slavery Containment 18591861 | 89 |
Lincoln and Emancipation 18611862 | 137 |
Lincoln and the War to the Death 1863 | 189 |
Lincoln and the WorstCase Future 1864 | 217 |
Lincoln and the BestCase Future 18641865 | 241 |
Notes | 265 |
Select Bibliography | 293 |
Index | 297 |
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Common terms and phrases
abolitionists Abraham Lincoln action amendment American anti-slavery April argued attack August battle began blacks Civil Collected coln command Compromise Confederate Congress Constitution convention December declared Democratic Dred Scott decision election emancipation Emancipation Proclamation enemy equal Eric Foner federal fight Frederick Douglass Free-Soil Free-Soil movement free-state freedom Frémont Grant Halleck Henry Halleck Ibid Illinois institution of slavery Jaffa James Jefferson John July Kansas Kentucky land LaWanda Cox leaders Lee’s army legislature Lincoln wrote Louisiana McClellan McPherson ment militants military Mississippi Missouri moral Nathaniel Banks nation negro North Northern political president presidential principles pro-slavery proclamation race racial Radical Republicans rebel Reconstruction Richmond save the Union secession Senate September Seward slavery slavery issue slaves South Carolina Southern speech Stephen Douglas strategy Sumner Taney Tennessee territory tion troops Unionist United University Press Virginia vote warned Washington white supremacist William York
References to this book
Antislavery Politics in Antebellum and Civil War America Thomas G. Mitchell No preview available - 2007 |