Lincoln

War is almost over guys

Cooper Institute? Union Address

Lincoln asks the question, according to the Constitution, is the Federal Gov able to control slavery in the Federal Territories. Lincoln says yes and shows the voting history behind every signer which shows that most intended for the federal government to have authority over slavery in the territories 

Apple of gold and Picture? Frame of Silver

Apple of gold is the Declaration of Independence; Frame of silver is the Constitution. The constitution protects the declaration of independence, and you can’t have one without the other. 

Election of 1860

There were four candidates Lincoln, Douglas, Breckenridge, and Bell. Lincoln won the electoral vote in eighteen states.  

Address at Independence Hall

I would rather be assassinated on the spot than surrender the principles of the DoI. Every political thought I’ve ever had is rooted in the DoI 

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederacy. Argues the secession is not a revolution.  

Alexander H Stephens

VP of the confederacy. Secession is a revolution and the DoI is not correct because all men are not created equal.  

Fort Hill Address

Calhoun’s speech given during the nullification crisis arguing secession is not a revolution since it’s not illegal. The states form the union, so the states have the right to leave the union.  

Fort Sumter

The fort that started the war. One horse died.  Lincoln in a move of prudent genius sent supplies to the fort and warned the confederacy that if they attacked, they would fight back making it so that the war would not be the fault of the north.

the better angels of our nature

A quote from the first inaugural appealing for clarity of mind and peace. 

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Typically, the government must provide a reason to arrest someone, however Lincoln suspends to arrest people so that they don’t have to provide a reason. It’s a question of whether the president has the authority to do this, however congress retroactively approved his suspension.  

Border States

Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, and Missouri were very important to Lincoln as if they were to secede, the union would lose the war. 

Emancipation Proclamation

Frees the slaves in areas of active rebellion.  

Four Score and Seven Years Ago

Biblical language used in the Gettysburg address that dates the beginning of the Union to the Declaration of Independence.  

A new birth of freedom

End of the Gettysburg Address that calls for the nation to uphold the ideals and principles of the Founders without question. His initial call for reconstruction was worded as a call for action. 

and the war came

In the 2nd Inaugural address where Lincoln does not blame the South for the civil but rather frames it as the natural consequence of American slavery. 

George McClellan

A Union general who was great organizer but awful at actually using his soldiers and generally ineffective. He was fired twice and then proceeded to run against Lincoln in 1864. 

Ulysses S Grant

Commanding general of the Union army and the only one who ever got victories including Vicksburg. Was a notorious drunkard and when Lincoln was told, he said to send a barrel of whatever he drinks to every general in the army 

Horace Greeley

An abolitionist who wrote a letter to Lincoln in the New York tribune condemning Lincoln for not acting more aggressively for the problem of slavery. 

Edward Everett

The keynote speaker at Gettysburg who spoke before Lincoln. Afterwards he told Lincoln that nothing he said could compare to anything he said.  

Frederick Douglass

Abolitionist who was a former slave who thought Lincoln was too slow to act on slavery but later realized that Lincoln’s prudence was what won the war and called him a statesman.  

In what ways are Lincoln's First and Second Inaugural Addresses different, and why? 

• Length  

• Purpose: 1-convince the South to not secede. 2- a call for reconciliation 

• Fellow citizens vs fellow countrymen 

• The focus on Divine will in the second 

• The north won’t start a war vs. And the war came 

• First is very legalistic and the second is poetic

Lincoln justified all his actions as President as being constitutional. Taking one example that some people considered to be unconstitutional, show whether Lincoln had good arguments on his side or not. Examples might be the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, his initial executive actions at the outbreak of war, or his Emancipation Proclamation. 

• Writ of Habeas Corpus 

• Arguments 

• Article 1, Section 9. Lincoln has the power during rebellion alongside congress but also he’s in session and it is practical for him to have it. It’s just in Article 1 

• The wording is not explicit, and it is silent as to who has the power to enact this.  

• The Founders intended this to be an emergency law due to congress taking a long time to gather, and this would need to be enacted quickly. 

• This isn’t permanent 

• He will sacrifice one law for the entire constitution. Willing to lose a limb in order to not sacrifice the whole body

What were the major arguments for and against the right of secession? Which side had the better argument and why? 

• For 

• The Union is a compact between the states therefore the states can leave whenever they want. Calhoun 

• Secession is lawful and right, but it’s not a revolution. They are not breaking the law because it’s constitutional by Davis.  

• Stephens says it’s a revolution and lawful.  

• Government is being too oppressive so therefore you have the right to revolution argument from the DoI and secession is revolution made by Calhoun  

• Against 

• The people made the Union not the states by Lincoln  

• It’s candy-coated rebellion  

• The Union is perpetual, and you can’t leave so therefore this is rebellion.  

• Secession is anarchy  

Compare and contrast Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural. 

• Compare: 

• Both are very poetic in nature.  

• Lincoln’s greatest works 

• Past present future 

• Unfinished work 

• Contrast: 

• G: Focus on the Union, human agency 

• SI: whole nation, reconciliation, God’s will

What was Lincoln's position on slavery, his approach to emancipation, and his understanding of the meaning of the Civil War? How do Lincoln's views on these things help us understand his statesmanship as President? Make sure you root your argument in specific documents that we read in class. 

• Prudence, Justice, and Courage.  

• Slavery: Personally, against slavery but legally conscious If slavery’s not wrong, nothing is wrong. Duty as a president vs. Personal feelings.  (Greely letter (Personal wish)) (Prudence) 

• Emancipation: only will do it as a war measure and finds it just (Independence Hall Address) (Justice, prudence, and courage) 

• Meaning of CW: His goal was to preserve the Union (Greely Letter and Gettysburg Address (Testing whether that nation can endure))(Prudence)