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
Results 1-5 of 37
Page 17
... . Such was the overall situation before the great Missouri crisis broke out in 1819, when Lincoln was ten years old. The MissouriCrisis and Its Aftermath The state of Louisiana had LINCOLN AND SLAVERY : THE PROBLEM 17.
... . Such was the overall situation before the great Missouri crisis broke out in 1819, when Lincoln was ten years old. The MissouriCrisis and Its Aftermath The state of Louisiana had LINCOLN AND SLAVERY : THE PROBLEM 17.
Page 18
... Louisiana had been admitted to the Union as a slave state in 1812. But the rest of the Louisiana Purchase, which the United States had acquired from France in 1803, was in a state of limbo regarding slavery. Congress had not yet ...
... Louisiana had been admitted to the Union as a slave state in 1812. But the rest of the Louisiana Purchase, which the United States had acquired from France in 1803, was in a state of limbo regarding slavery. Congress had not yet ...
Page 19
... Louisiana Purchase. The free-state system would gradually overwhelm the slave-state system in its geographical magnitude, and hence in its representation in Congress. The Thomas Proviso passed, and the boundary line was established ...
... Louisiana Purchase. The free-state system would gradually overwhelm the slave-state system in its geographical magnitude, and hence in its representation in Congress. The Thomas Proviso passed, and the boundary line was established ...
Page 26
... Louisiana, and his daughter (by that time deceased) had been married to Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. Free-Soil Whigs (“Conscience Whigs,” as they called themselves) were sufficiently troubled by the nomination of Taylor to ...
... Louisiana, and his daughter (by that time deceased) had been married to Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. Free-Soil Whigs (“Conscience Whigs,” as they called themselves) were sufficiently troubled by the nomination of Taylor to ...
Page 35
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
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 |
Other editions - View all
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 |