Abraham Lincoln
Did Abraham Lincoln Free the Slaves?Taking Sides/Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History. Historians have long debated over the issue "Did Abraham Lincoln free the Slaves" or did the slaves free themselves from slavery by engaging in a dramatic movement of self-liberation. This debate can be seen in the writings of James M. McPherson from "Drawn with the Sword: Reflection on the American Civil War" and in Vincent Harding from "There Is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in American." McPherson believes Lincoln was the great emancipator of the slaves through his endless pursuit to abolish slavery, his political leader ship, and the use of the Union Army to act as a liberator of the slaves. Harding on the other hand maintains that Lincoln refused to use the issue of ending slavery as a war aim in the beginning and then issued the Emancipation Proclamation only when it fit it to who his own needs. Harding also states that after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued it failed to free any slaves and that it was the slaves who freed themselves by joining in !a dramatic movement of self-liberation.
During the course of the first two years Blacks continued to cross from the South to the North no matter what their condition in the hopes of creating their own freedom. By these actions the Cherokee would never sell their land. The founding fathers felt that the Indians could be civilized according to white society and take their place next to the white man. When the civil war broke out it was the slaves who thought the war between the North and the South had to end slavery. If the Union won the war slavery would be weakened or destroyed altogether. The only tribe to hold out was the Cherokees because they felt they had a right to self-government. Jackson also realized that some tribes did tried to become civilized, but realized the only hope of putting the !conflicts between the Indians and the whites was to remove the Indians. In fact if the Indians decided to stay on the lands they lived they would have to except that states laws. Lincoln did not compromise, but he was willing to reassure the southern states that slavery would be protected were it already existed. On different occasions Seward tried to compel Lincoln into compromising with the southern states on the issues of the Crittenden Compromise (which would allow the expansion of slavery) and the evacuation Fort Sumter. Harding stated, "Lincoln acknowledged that he had no real way of enforcing such a proclamation within the rebellious states, the proclamation's power to set anyone free was dubious at best. McPherson recognizes the limited Emancipation Proclamation was limited in its power to free the slaves. Which was meant to harass the Indians and force them to move because of the worsening conditions the Indians would have to live under by staying within the states, subject to that states laws. Jackson believed that removal of the Indians was the only way that their society would survive.
Common topics in this essay:
Emancipation Proclamation,
Jackson's Indian,
South North,
Indians Jackson,
Civil War,
Indians Georgia,
Remini Wallace,
North South,
Jackson Indian,
Proclamation Pronouncing,
free slaves,
emancipation proclamation,
slaves freed,
freed themselves,
motivated humanitarian,
removal policy,
issue slavery,
slaves freed themselves,
lincoln free,
lincoln free slaves,
indian removal policy,
indian removal,
jackson's indian removal,
jackson's indian,
policy motivated humanitarian,
|
Acceptance Essays
