Any determined person who set out to find the most influential and instrumental source responsible for the Civil War would be hard pressed to find anyone more influential than Abraham Lincoln. The first example that supports this is the strategic cunning of Lincoln in the time building up to the Civil War is his understanding that if they had been the ones to fire the first shots of the war the northern United States would most likely lose support from the neutral states of Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington D.C. This would have been extremely detrimental to the success of the north in the War. Lincoln demonstrates this understanding in his first Inaugural Address when he says “In your hands, my dissatisfied
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The south believed that States rights should be protected by the government. “Property was the creation of the states and if a state created ‘property in man’ the federal government was obliged to protect it, like any other form of property” [Text pg. 431] The north believed that taking precedence over the rights of property, the Constitution recognized slaves as “persons” not property. Because of this view Lincoln repeatedly vocalized his disagreement with the Dred Scott decision and commonly revisited Jefferson’s views on citizens’ rights. “Lincoln praised Thomas Jefferson for elevating human rights over property rights.” [Text pg. 431] Even though at this time war in America brought upon death in gruesomely massive numbers, Lincoln felt that the war was inevitable and action had to be taken in one way or another. “Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.” [Lincoln …show more content…
I believe that part of this is due to the fact that I was born many years after this conflict and was raised to be disgusted by slavery and what it involves. Perhaps, had I been raised on a large plantation in the south and had I been a slave owner myself, I would then have a very different view on the necessity of the Civil War. Although it has been many years since this gruesome slaughter of a war ended there are still prejudices present in American society today. A couple examples of this prejudice still present in today’s society are the K.K.K. and the current issue of the Ferguson trial. I agree that without the abolition of slavery America would not be the symbol of freedom it has become but would be viewed as a great contradiction. The Civil War was about bringing the people of America together as “One Nation, under God, with liberty and Justice for all.” Slavery in America had to be done away with in order to achieve these values that we now stand for. “This nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from earth.” [Lincoln Documents] Although many Americans wished that Andrew Jackson was president at the time of the Civil War I believe that no man other than Abraham Lincoln possessed what it took to lead the country to become a truly unified
The south believed that States rights should be protected by the government. “Property was the creation of the states and if a state created ‘property in man’ the federal government was obliged to protect it, like any other form of property” [Text pg. 431] The north believed that taking precedence over the rights of property, the Constitution recognized slaves as “persons” not property. Because of this view Lincoln repeatedly vocalized his disagreement with the Dred Scott decision and commonly revisited Jefferson’s views on citizens’ rights. “Lincoln praised Thomas Jefferson for elevating human rights over property rights.” [Text pg. 431] Even though at this time war in America brought upon death in gruesomely massive numbers, Lincoln felt that the war was inevitable and action had to be taken in one way or another. “Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.” [Lincoln …show more content…
I believe that part of this is due to the fact that I was born many years after this conflict and was raised to be disgusted by slavery and what it involves. Perhaps, had I been raised on a large plantation in the south and had I been a slave owner myself, I would then have a very different view on the necessity of the Civil War. Although it has been many years since this gruesome slaughter of a war ended there are still prejudices present in American society today. A couple examples of this prejudice still present in today’s society are the K.K.K. and the current issue of the Ferguson trial. I agree that without the abolition of slavery America would not be the symbol of freedom it has become but would be viewed as a great contradiction. The Civil War was about bringing the people of America together as “One Nation, under God, with liberty and Justice for all.” Slavery in America had to be done away with in order to achieve these values that we now stand for. “This nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from earth.” [Lincoln Documents] Although many Americans wished that Andrew Jackson was president at the time of the Civil War I believe that no man other than Abraham Lincoln possessed what it took to lead the country to become a truly unified