Abraham Lincoln and Slavery

Abraham Lincoln and Slavery

Introduction

Abraham Lincoln is the 16th president of United States of America. According to the American historians he is considered to be the greatest president of the country. On the other hand, American students believed him to be, after Lyndon B. Johnson to be the best president who fought for the cause of the African-Americans, though, not equality. Lincoln's greatness, however, does not derive from his being the "Great Emancipator" who freed the slaves. Throughout his career he opposed slavery because he believed that it violates the natural rights. However, he also opposed civil rights of Africans, which includes right to vote and to hold the office. All in all, if abolitionism is concerned, Abraham Lincoln described it as “dangerous radicalism.”

Thesis Statement

“Abraham Lincoln was not an abolitionist but a “Free Soiler”, who opposed slavery on moral grounds but was also prepared to accept it as long as it was not extended beyond the South to the "free soil" of the North.”

Discussion

After the Civil war, slavery was formally abolished in 1865 along with the sanction of the second proposed Thirteenth Amendment. Here, it is important to note that slavery was not abolished as a consequence of being recognized wrong and unjust by the white or the power elite of the country. It was abolished as a practical result of a war fought to preserve the union of the state rather than to eradicate the evil of slavery. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which set in motion slavery's abolition as a military necessity, to win the war and preserve the Union rather than as a moral necessity to end slavery and secure the freedom of the enslaved Africans. Indeed, Lincoln had earlier proposed—as a means to preserve the Union—what would have been, if ratified, the first Thirteenth Amendment, which would have forever allowed the Southern states to maintain slavery without federal interference. On the other hand, Thirteenth Amendment was defeated 95 to 66 in a house at the time of its first presentation with hardly any representatives from the South.

Influential member of the Whig party

Lincoln is, in its way, a Western man who has suffered the imprint of Jacksonian Democracy (Andrew Jackson). He holds several jobs, but nevertheless continuing to study law allowing him to enter the bar. In 1837, he opened an office in Springfield, which he managed to make it the capital of Illinois. Tall, robust, the ugly face, careless elegance, Lincoln is simple, even humble It does not also hate accentuate its simplicity and humility. Yet he did not fail of powerful friends. By his marriage, he teamed up with a wealthy family. The cases he handles are those of trading houses and shipping companies. In 1834, he made his entry into politics: elected to the legislature of Illinois, sitting there eight years. He is not a candidate in 1848 and returned to his law practice, while participating in the campaign of 1852.

Admirer of President Jackson, Lincoln is not less ...