Before President-Elect Abraham Lincoln could take office, seven states seceded from the Union. Lincoln saw this as an attack against democracy. He said this great nation had been founded on freedom and the pursuit of happiness. All people should have the right to rise up and better themselves. Slavery was a cancer in the body of America. However, he believed that slavery was protected by the Constitution where it already festered, but he would do all in his power to keep it from spreading. Southerners considered him an abolitionist.

On the road to the White House, he gave speeches about what he thought the Founding Fathers had founded this country on, equality. Because he was faced with assassination threats, Lincoln was inaugurated with protection of the police and the military. Lincoln addressed the Southerners as the cause of the crisis and only they could stop it. Five weeks later, the Confederates responded by attacking Fort Sumter.

In the first two years of war, Lincoln was depressed and worried about losing. Hate mail continued to come and grew evermore hateful. However, Lincoln remained dedicated to preserving the American Dream the Founding Fathers had envisioned for America. Lincoln thought of the popular government system as an experiment and if it would fail would prove that the people could not rule themselves. The democratic republic the United States represented was under harsh scrutiny by those believed a constitutional monarchy was a better form of government. Lincoln believed the Union was fighting to prove that a popular government could work, provide equality for the people and allow them to better themselves, and also put down any rebellions against it.

In the beginning of the war, Lincoln took more of a defensive role. He did not want to see it turn “into a violent and remorseless revolutionary struggle.” But he would have to take a more offensive role eventually. Marshal law was declared and arrested political adversaries. Lincoln also got two laws passed to seize enemy property.

The cause of the war still lingered, slavery. He allowed slavery to continue in the four loyal slave states. He wanted to put the country back together as it was before the war, letting slavery exist in the south. But pressure grew to emancipate the slaves as the war moved on. Frederick Douglas, several Senators, and members of Lincoln’s cabinet pushed for Lincoln to emancipate the slaves. By 1862, the Union had a shortage of troops and it was believed that freed slaves could take up arms and fight against the evil slave masters. Many slaves were leaving the plantations and crossing over to the Union side. Some of the generals would send the slaves back to their masters while others would allow them to get aid from charities. Lincoln did not want a federal law against slavery. He favored the abolition of slavery in the loyal slave states. But when that did not work, Lincoln decided to move forward with the emancipation of the slaves.

On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation declared that the Union and freedom were the objectives of war. This new idea would crush the old social order of the South. The Emancipation Proclamation faced objection by Democrats and conservative Republicans pleaded with Lincoln to give up this endeavor. Lincoln would hold his ground against slavery.

Another problem was Lincoln wanted unconditional surrender of the South. The Democrats just wanted peace and would worry about the “reunion” of the United States later. This would be a big issue in the election of 1864. Lincoln thought he would lose. Some wanted Lincoln to declare himself dictator and cancel the election. Lincoln of course refused and said the election was essential.

In November 1864, Lincoln won the election. It proved that the people could have an election in the middle of any crisis. Also, with Lincoln’s reelection, he set out to pass a constitutional amendment against slavery. In April 1864, the Senate passed the emancipation amendment but the House did not. Lincoln would bargain with representatives behind the scenes to pass the amendment. Finally on January 31, 1865, the House passed the emancipation amendment. The end of the war was also evident at that time. Lincoln supported harsh war tactics, which included burning the Shenandoah Valley, to end the war as soon as possible. Five months later, the war was over.

Lincoln had done all he set out to do. He stomped a rebellion, showed that popular government did work, and abolished the “cancer” in American politics. After all his accomplishments, he was assassinated.

WORKS CITED

Carriker, Robert M. and Mary Farmer-Kaiser. Optimism, Struggle, and Growth: Readings on an Expanding American. Vol 1. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 2001.