Yanling Hao
8/3/2020
William E. Gienapp, Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography
Abraham Lincoln is considered as one of the greatest presidents in American history. He was born into an undistinguished pioneer family in 1809 and was assassinated in 1865. He served his presidency from 1860 to 1865. During his five years of presidency, he achieved a great deal of accomplishments: winning the civil war, preserving the Union during the Civil War, signing the Emancipation Proclamation and beginning the process of abolishing slavery. Lincoln’s stories are fascinating and inspiring to read. In this essay, two books are going to be reviewed and to be compared to find out how Lincoln’s views on slavery influence his election and on the civil war; what his strategy was upon the war; and what his purpose was of signing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Lincoln’s antislavery attitudes led to his presidency election in 1860 and also led to the Civil War in 1861 after he was elected. Both Gienapp and Foner gave detailed information about Lincoln’s family and political background. His parents were against slavery and he declared that he was “naturally anti-slavery”. During his political life of 4 terms of as a Whig in the state legislature and one in Congress from 1847 to 1849, Americans’ division over slavery deepened. The North were strongly against slavery while the South considered it was their freedom to keep slaves to work on their plantations. In 1846, the Mexican War was started by President Polk and the North “believed that Polk had deliberately provoked a war with Mexico in order to acquire additional slave territory.” Before Lincoln was elected in 1860, the division between North and South upon slavery was brought to focus because it greatly threatened the unity. Lincoln claimed that “this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free” and “Americans must choose between favoring and opposing slavery. There could be no middle ground.” America desperately need someone who was able to bring the unity. Lincoln was silent on slavery in the South to preserve the union, but he was “inflexible-stopping the expansion of slavery.” Geinapp and Foner had similar opinions that Lincoln’s antislavery attitudes inevitably led to his presidency and the Civil War.
The Civil War could not be won without Lincoln’s determination and strategies. Foner stated that in the war’s first year, Lincoln’s “paramount concerns were to keep the border slave states in the union.” Gienapp mentioned that Lincoln “planned to conduct a limited war that would not fundamentally reshape southern society.” Foner acknowledged that slavery was the social and economic foundation of the South. Lincoln became to realize that to adopt the policy of emancipation was necessary to weaken the South’s ability to sustain the war. To face the brilliant Southern commander, General Robert E. Lee, Lincoln took the responsibilities of pushing the troops to battle fields. Foner recognized McClellan as “a brilliant organizer succeeding in welding his men into a superb fighting force.” Gienapp claimed that McClellan “had an overriding fear of failure.” McClellan’s inactivity made Lincoln have no choice but to “take these army matters into his own hands.” Fortunately, Lincoln found General Grant, who agreed with Lincoln’s strategies of having a total war and fighting vigorously against Lee and the South to win the war. With General Grant at the front, Lincoln shifted his focus back to White House.
On January 1 of 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Lincoln to aid the war. Foner claimed that “the Emancipation Proclamation altered the nature of the Civil War and the course of American history.” Gienapp stated that the Emancipation Proclamation changed the character of the war from “limited war” to “revolution”. It also represented a turning point for Lincoln. At Gettysburg Address in 1863 after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Lincoln gave a speech. He declared “all men are created equal” and ensured “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” The Thirteenth Amendment he signed represented his determination of abolishing slavery throughout the entire nation. The Emancipation Proclamation approved of enlisting Blacks troops to aid the war and the Northern whites were impressed by their fighting abilities. However, the Emancipation Proclamation did not liberate all the Blacks. It only applied to the areas where the union had no power and it did not apply to the loyal border slave states or the areas of Confederacy occupied by Union soldiers. It basically meant that the Blacks under Confederacy power had to wait till the North won the war to gain their freedom.
With over 700,000 military casualties, the Civil War was devastating for both the North and the South. However, with the division between the North and the South upon the slavery, the Civil War was inevitable. Lincoln led the Union to win the Civil War, destroying the slavery, unifying the nation and building up a modern America. Lincoln himself grew from a person who hesitated to interfere with the slavery in the South to a person who was determined to abolish slavery throughout the entire nation.
网友评论