Lincoln Racist Dbq

In Lincoln’s First inaugural Address he attacks this immense problem of slavery. He begins with a promise that states that although he is a republican

Lincolns plan for reconstruction was the best because he wanted it to be quick and easy, without punishing the South. The south was so damaged; farmland, railroads, factories, bridges, all ruined! Not to mention slaves were now freed, but society was forever damaged from slavery. It just added more to racism. Slaves being free didn’t make them any better or equal, as a Caucasian man might say.

There was no proof guaranteeing that Lincoln did not want an all-white country. Removing slavery was probably the quickest way to end the Civil War. Defending and protecting the Union was something that Lincoln wanted more than anything else, more than giving the slaves their rights. Even as President, he never claimed that his goal was to abolish slavery, but to leave it alone and prevent its expansion

’I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.” What he means is that a country will crumble if they are fighting against themselves and cannot come to an agreement. People fought in the Civil War because they agreed with Lincoln. They believed that slavery was wrong and that it should be abolished. Also, they believed that this country was built on equality, and with slavery, there is none.

While I agree only the North supported the Emancipation Proclamation, it was still a bold move on Lincoln's behalf to issue the Emancipation Proclamation because a large portion of the Northern population did not support the freeing of slaves. They feared integration of blacks into their society. I don't believe Lincoln set out at the beginning of the war to end slavery, although the South opposed Lincoln for this reason. In the beginning of the war Lincoln may have strongly disagreed with slavery, but he was committed to allowing the South to keep slavery as long as it didn't expand and he was a man of his word. According to Stephen B. Oates, in "Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation," "Lincoln was as honest in real life as in the legend."

In my opinion, I strongly argue that Lincoln was not racist. He believed that “negro” equality is guaranteed by the laws of God according to Document A. Abraham Lincoln always listened to his people’s desires, even if that meant to shun his own beliefs. His dream was to provide the best equality for his people. Lincoln despised slavery and believed that all African Americans were men and they were all created equal as stated in the US Constitution. Lincoln has done many actions to help his citizens and to gain their equality.

In 1952, Thomas P. Benjamin, an expert in the history of Abraham Lincoln’s life, published his book, Abraham Lincoln: A Biography, which argues that Lincoln’s election was the cause of the war but Lincoln’s efforts would also lead to the North’s decisive victory. This argument renders similar to the arguments of Charnwood and Ludwig, but differs in the way that Lincoln’s actions are glorified tremendously in this second time period. Lincoln, along with his actions, are depicted as highly thoughtful, incisive and effective. His clearly recognized position of the moral issue of slavery gave rise to Lincoln’s fame and aided his presidential election.5 Benjamin further states the point that Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was an important milestone

In response to this claim, Lincoln stated in the fourth of the debates that he was “not in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races…and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.” Here, the inconsistency in the reasoning behind Lincoln’s opposition to slavery was most apparent. As Douglas pointed out in his rebuttal, “in every speech he made in the north he quoted the Declaration of Independence to prove that all men were created equal, and insisted that the phrase "all men" included the negro as well as the white man, and that the equality rested upon divine

"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Letter to Albert G. Hodges" (April 4, 1864), p. 281. Lincoln has always been against slavery from the beginning.

The Flames that Created a Fire across the Country: The Civil War The Revolution created the United States, but the Civil War determined what kind of nation it would be. Disputes kept building onto each other and eventually burst into a “fire” over the entire country. This would come to be known as the Civil War. The Civil War was not only fought because the North and South differed in their views on slavery, but through a combination of causes.

The Short and Long Term Political Effects of the Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation or Proclamation 95, signed and passed by president Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, was an executive order that changed the federal legal status of more than 3 to 4 million enslaved people in the designated areas of the South from slave to free. With the freedom of slaves across several rebellious states whose economies ran on slavery, the reception of the order was far from exceptional. The Proclamation ordered the freedom of all slaves in ten states, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas and North Carolina, and because it was issued under the president's authority to suppress rebellion,

In this election, Lincoln and Douglas had some series of debates over slavery. Although Lincoln never exactly stated that he wanted to abolish slavery, much of the South believed he was an Abolitionist. At his speech in 1858 in Springfield Illinois, Lincoln wanted the nation to be one thing or another, meaning all free or all slave, because it couldn’t keep going on how it was, else it would fall apart. In his speech, Lincoln said, “...but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other” (Doc G).

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

Lincoln also brings to surface the most natural difference mankind has ever known: race. It's a hard thing to deny especially when we learn about slavery based on skin color, and use words that negatively describe a person of a certain race. The sickening, but true fact is that people are judged, and receive unequal treatment based on what color they see when they look into the mirror. Even though we have no control over what color we see, America has faced this racist mind set since its existence. From slavery, to African American segregation in the and 60’s, skin color has caused people to be treated unfairly, all because of the choices nature has made for us.

In the early stages of war, Lincoln was “receiving pressure from the abolitionists and had lost to the Confederates in a “series of military victories” (Source F). Abraham Lincoln’s two Confiscation Acts, the first in 1861, “declared that slaves escaping to union lines would be considered contraband” which aided the escaped black man to join the Union army, and the second, in 1862, gave “the president the authority to recruit black men for the Union army” which leads us to believe that the President’s actions with regards to slaves during the Civil war, were motivated by “military strategy and necessity” (Source J). These two acts “provided a policy for military commanders and led the way for the Emancipation Proclamation” (Source F). By 1862, “Lincoln began to see slavery as part of the war and began toying with the idea of emancipation as a way to undermine the Confederate war effort” (Source E). Although the president was helping the slaves to freedom, he realised that in altering their inferior position in the South, his enemy would be weakened and he would have the upper hand.