Alexander Stephens Cornerstone Speech

“In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine,” he said, “is the momentous issue of civil war.” That sentence epitomizes Abraham Lincoln’s entire approach to the issue of secession. He considered it a constitutional impossibility, and would never officially concede that it had been successfully accomplished. That’s why, when he directly addressed citizens of the states that three weeks before had installed Jefferson Davis as president of what they claimed to be a separate nation, Lincoln still spoke of them as “my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen.” I think that the speech of Abraham Lincoln is more appealing as he did not considered the South as his

Apostles of Disunion, written by Charles B. Dew, is a book that focuses on the topics of Slavery, States’ rights, and Secession. The introduction chapter of the book talks about how Dew grew up as a “son of the south”, and how his ancestors fought for the confederacy. He talks about how he went to school in Virginia and he packed his Confederate flag to hang on his wall. Dew says that he didn’t think much about secession, however, he knew that the south had seceded for the lonely reason of states’ rights.

It would be more than difficult not to read Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address without some sense of pride or honor for one’s own country. He brings about a call to civility among all citizens striving for unity and harmony with one another. Lincoln understood the dilemma that slavery became for not only the Northerners attempting to abolish the practice entirely, but also for the Southerners perpetuating it in the first place. The fact that there was a faction rising in favor of slavery on a scale that would divide the country indefinitely and that Lincoln foresaw this danger demonstrates the level of prudence he was able to acquire up until his presidency. In this address, Lincoln stressed the importance of the nation staying unified and true to the principles set by

Secession is the means to withdraw one’s self from a federal union or other affiliated group. The southern secession was the separation of 11 states moving from the Union to the Confederate States Popular sovereignty helped the Union and the Confederates compromise by allowing the right to vote for or against slavery knowing that the popular vote would be to be against slavery, aiding in the final decision. The motive to use the

Lincoln's physical attributes, including his extraordinary six-foot-four-inch height, large hands, over-sized ears, prominent nose and ungainly gait, provided easy targets for ridicule. His lack of formal education (he spent only one year in school) supplied his detractors the ammunition to attack his intelligence and deride his mental abilities. How do they view South Carolina’s decision to secede and that of other Southern

DBQ: Political Disputes 1820-1860 For forty-four years, the United States of America was a thriving country. We had won our independence from Great Britain and we had started to create a country that would change the world. Yet, in the year 1860, a joined country and political agreement between all states seemed utterly impossible. People fought with each other so deeply about slavery, the country was divided between slave and free states. By the time of 1820 through 1860, political disagreement grew so large, there had been only one answer.

When the union won the civil war in 1865 it gave millions slaves their freedom but there was a bigger process in rebuilding the south. As Andrew Johnson in 1865 new southern state leaders passed “Blacks Codes” to control the behavior of former slaves and blacks. Many people in the north were very upset about these codes. since the North was very upset with this indecent that happened. It wore away their supporter known as the presidential reconstruction and led to victories of the radical parts of the republican party.

Lincoln talks about the union in Document G and said the following: “But you say that sooner than yield your legal right to the slave—especially at the bidding of those who are not themselves interested, you would see the Union dissolved.” If the South successfully separated from the North the Confederacy would no longer be under the control of the Union and Lincoln’s access to freeing the slaves would minimal. This “new nation” that Lincoln was trying to create and put into effect had a strong foundation based upon Constitutional rights which declare that all men are created equal. Yes, maybe Lincoln at this point wanted to keep the Union together, which can most definitely be perceived as racist too but slavery on the back burner for the time being, but in the end, he encouraged and defended the rights of all humans.

When Horace Greeley, an avid supporter of the president and renowned editor of the New York tribune challenged the president to free the slaves the president responded to him with a personal letter in august of 1862. Within the letter Lincoln acknowledges that Greeley means good intentions uttering that, “As to the policy I “seem to be pursuing” as you say, I have not meant to leave any one in doubt.” Throughout the letter Lincoln then tries to explain to Greeley his intentions for the war, “I would Save the Union. I would have save it the shortest way under the constitution… If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them.”

Secession was not the primary cause of the Civil War because Southern states felt that their state rights protected them and their rights to own slaves. Although Historians would argue secession was the primary cause of the Civil War because the war started after the South seceded.

‘Slavery was the root cause of secession’. ‘November 6 1860, Lincoln was elected president of America which resulted in panic emerging in the South’ . The election of Lincoln as president who was a Republican leader meant that ideologies, movements and values from the North would be implemented in the South which meant the abolition of slavery. Slavery was a huge characteristic of the South as the economy; politics; social status and psychological mind-sets were influenced by the process of slavery. The southern white population then derived the idea of secession which meant the South would gain independence from Northern aggression .

Stephens’s "Cornerstone Speech" clearly states that slavery was the "immediate cause" of the Civil War and that it was the "rock upon which the old Union would split." Stephens, who was a key leader of the Confederacy, acknowledges that the preservation of the institution of slavery was the main reason for the Confederacy's decision to secede from the Union. Stephens's speech emphasizes the Confederacy's commitment to maintaining the institution of slavery, stating that the new Constitution has "put at rest forever all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution" and that it was necessary for the preservation of a stable and orderly society. This demonstrates that the Confederacy saw the preservation of slavery as a central goal and a primary motivation for their decision to secede and go to

President Abraham Lincoln, in his inaugural address, addresses the topic of the civil war and its effects on the nation and argues that America could be unified once more. He supports his claim by using massive amounts of parallel structure and strong word choice. Lincoln ‘s purpose is to contemplate the effects of the civil war in order to unite the broken America once again. He adopts a very hopeful tone for his audience, the readers of the inaugural address and others interested in the topic of American history and the civil war.

President Lincoln stated that: “if I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it,..., and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would do it.”. This quote clearly shows that the freedom of slaves was not his concern and unnecessary if it did not help the Union; as the result, slavery still exists if there is no war. Free slave from bondage should be a Great Emancipator’s primary goal and he will do his best to achieve it no matter what, but president Lincoln’s thought differed from that because all he cares was the Union. Although he had many times admitting himself an anti-slavery but his words and thoughts obviously prove that he is

Two fundamental questions normally surround the history of any war: whether the war was inevitable and if it was necessary. These same questions emerge any time during debates regarding the American Civil war. The most cited cause of the Civil war is the secession of certain southern states that formed the Confederate States of America in January 1861. Thomas Bonner writes "Civil War Historians and the "Needless War" Doctrine" arguing that Southern Carolina seceded in 1860, followed by six other states by January the following year. A deep analysis of the events leading to the war indicates that the Union and the Confederates had profound ideological, economic, political, and social differences.