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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Page 9
... federal funds to encourage the gradual liberation of slaves. As a test case, Lincoln offered this voluntary phaseout package to the handful of border slave states that had not attempted secession. What he hoped to achieve was the ...
... federal funds to encourage the gradual liberation of slaves. As a test case, Lincoln offered this voluntary phaseout package to the handful of border slave states that had not attempted secession. What he hoped to achieve was the ...
Page 16
... Federal Constitution, which was being drafted at this time, gave the Federal Congress the power to shut off the importation of slaves after twenty years. Together, the Northwest Ordinance and the Constitution's importation cut-off ...
... Federal Constitution, which was being drafted at this time, gave the Federal Congress the power to shut off the importation of slaves after twenty years. Together, the Northwest Ordinance and the Constitution's importation cut-off ...
Page 19
... federal government in ways that would insinuate an anti-slavery agenda into slave states by measured degrees. These fears propelled one of the most spectacular ideological turnabouts in American history, the transformation of South ...
... federal government in ways that would insinuate an anti-slavery agenda into slave states by measured degrees. These fears propelled one of the most spectacular ideological turnabouts in American history, the transformation of South ...
Page 20
... federal level, lest a newly powerful federal government fall into the hands of abolitionists, who would use their power to strike at the slavery system in all of the slave states. Historian William W. Freehling put it succinctly; the ...
... federal level, lest a newly powerful federal government fall into the hands of abolitionists, who would use their power to strike at the slavery system in all of the slave states. Historian William W. Freehling put it succinctly; the ...
Page 21
... 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, as soon as three-quarters of the states had chosen to ratify one. The ...
... 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, as soon as three-quarters of the states had chosen to ratify one. The ...
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 |