In Abraham Lincoln Chapter 3, author George McGovern writes about
some of the difficulties Lincoln was faced with and how he used his
priorities to try and resolve these difficulties. No other American
president had ever faced the challenges of disunion, rebellion, and
Civil War. Southerners viewed the election of Lincoln as a preemptive
act of war and just six weeks after Lincoln's election in 1860, South
Carolinas legislature was already drafting articles of secession.do
union came apart after six cotton states had follow in their footsteps.
Even through all of these disputes and the growing number of the Souths
military, Lincoln was still not convinced that the crisis was real and
decided to stay silent on the matter until he was inaugurated, believing
that he had no power to do anything about it until he officially took
office. McGovern also writes that Lincoln chose a very unusual tactic
while choosing the members of his cabinet, selecting his chief rivals in
the Republican nomination and men who were former Whigs and Democrats.
On Inauguration Day, May 4, 1861, Lincoln is highly anticipated address
was an attempt to assure wary Southerners that their property, their
peace, and their personal security would remain intact. This attempt to
prove to be unsuccessful and then more weeks after Lincoln's
inauguration, secessionists took control of federal farts, eventually
leaving only Fort Pickens in Florida and Fort Sumter in South Carolina
under federal control. McGovern also tells us that link and used extra
legal actions without congressional approval which were critical to his
administration such as the suspension of habeas corpus, the censorship
of the press, And ordering a blockade of southern ports. Congress later
passed a law that those who were drafted could pay a fee for someone
else to take their place in the war. Every action Lincoln truck was
ultimately to save the Union.
In Chapter 4, McGovern writes about the changes in Lincoln's views on
slavery and emancipation. The Emancipation Proclamation greatly
transformed the notion of freedom in America, freeing up to 4 million
slaves. At the beginning of his political career, Lincoln had made it
clear that he didn't want to abolish slavery where it already existed,
only to halt the extension of slavery. The author also informs us that
Lincoln wanted to balance his personal views on slavery with his
interpretation of the Constitution. His politically diverse cabinet was
deeply divided over the issue of slavery, so much so that they had
stopped meeting regularly until Lincoln had instructed them to meet
every Tuesday and Friday. Lincoln decided to issue the Emancipation
Proclamation after coming to the conclusion that he had the authority to
free slaves under the circumstances of the rebellion. This proclamation
was absolutely essential for the salvation of the Union and the powers
of the president overrode the constitutional protection of slavery. By
providing freedom for the slaves, this also gave them the motivation to
fight for the Union. In both chapters of Abraham Lincoln, McGovern uses
strong evidence by tying in some of Lincolns quotes to support his
claims and make them more reliable. Lincoln's views on both slavery and
emancipation were both greatly altered during the span of his
presidency.
The purpose and point view of the author is to educate his readers
about the hardships that Lincoln faced in his presidency and to express
his changing views on slavery and emancipation. The author really sheds
light on Lincoln's struggles to make both parties content, although
ultimately failing to meet both of their demands and having to choose
one side over the other. We mainly hear Lincoln's voice in this text,
but I would also like to hear a little more of Lincolns cabinets views.
How many of them supported The Emancipation Proclamation? How many
opposed it? Even though Southerners greatly opposed the proclamation, it
proved to be extremely successful in the end.
In class, we talked about Lincolns views against secession after
reading from his first inaugural address. We discussed how Lincolns
views were greatly influenced from his experiences as a lawyer and
referred mostly to the Constitution when making decisions. We also
talked about some of the warnings Lincoln gave to the South. The South
couldn't demolish the contract without the agreement from the North and
they could violate the contract, but not without suffering from the
repercussions. Lincoln greatly relyed on the lawyer part of his brain
and his knowledge of the Constitution to convince the South that
secession would be a mistake. We also discussed the extra-legal steps
that Lincoln issued, such as suspending habeas corpus, censoring the
press, and issuing a draft law in which people who were drafted could
pay a fee for someone else to replace them in fighting in the war. Our
discussions in class greatly enhanced our understanding of the topic and
made many of us eager to continue reading.
We also asked some historical questions about the reading. One in
particular was, "what is the authors argument"? Though he doesn't make
his personal views known, he makes it clear that Lincolns efforts in his
presidency greatly shaped the country and their treatment towards
others. He also makes it known that Lincoln did his best to prevent
secession and stay true to the Constitution. We were also asked, "what
evidence does the author use to support his claim"? The author uses a
lot of evidence by giving specific dates and locations and using many of
Lincolns Direct quotes to tie into the reading, expressing Lincoln's
views in a more personal and relatable way. These questions really
helped us to dig deeper and analyze his personal and political views.
A few questions still remain; what was President James Buchanan's
views on slavery? Did he support or oppose Lincoln? Also, were any of
Lincoln's cabinet members so frustrated that they deserted Lincoln and
dropped out of the cabinet?