Emancipation The Union Army And The Reelection Of Abraham Lincoln

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Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln

Author : Jonathan W. White
Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 080715458X
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln by : Jonathan W. White

Download or read book Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln written by Jonathan W. White and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2014-06-09 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Union army's overwhelming vote for Abraham Lincoln's reelection in 1864 has led many Civil War scholars to conclude that the soldiers supported the Republican Party and its effort to abolish slavery. In Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln Jonathan W. White challenges this reigning paradigm in Civil War historiography, arguing instead that the soldier vote in the presidential election of 1864 is not a reliable index of the army's ideological motivation or political sentiment. Although 78 percent of the soldiers' votes were cast for Lincoln, White contends that this was not wholly due to a political or social conversion to the Republican Party. Rather, he argues, historians have ignored mitigating factors such as voter turnout, intimidation at the polls, and how soldiers voted in nonpresidential elections in 1864. While recognizing that many soldiers changed their views on slavery and emancipation during the war, White suggests that a considerable number still rejected the Republican platform, and that many who voted for Lincoln disagreed with his views on slavery. He likewise explains that many northerners considered a vote for the Democratic ticket as treasonous and an admission of defeat. Using previously untapped court-martial records from the National Archives, as well as manuscript collections from across the country, White convincingly revises many commonly held assumptions about the Civil War era and provides a deeper understanding of the Union Army.

Abraham Lincoln's Path to Reelection in 1864

Author : Fred J. Martin Jr.
Publisher : AuthorHouse
ISBN 13 : 149183529X
Total Pages : 532 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (918 download)

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Book Synopsis Abraham Lincoln's Path to Reelection in 1864 by : Fred J. Martin Jr.

Download or read book Abraham Lincoln's Path to Reelection in 1864 written by Fred J. Martin Jr. and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2013-12-20 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PRAISE FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLNS PATH TO REELECTION IN 1864 OUR GREATEST VICTORY Political polls consistently record a substantial lack of confidence in national political leaders of both major parties and a disturbing sentiment that the United States is on the wrong track in current policy developments.. These sentiments lead to unfortunate summaries of alleged failures of our democratic institutions and proposals.. Fortunately, at this moment in our history, Fred J. Martin Jr. has stepped forward with a comprehensive analysis of politics in 1860s and most importantly, the political genius Abraham Lincoln as he led our country through a series of perilous crises into new paths of confidence and greatness. I admire, especially, Fred Martin's mastery of political detail and the large variety of motivations, strategies, and actions of a wide assortment of political players. -Former Senator Richard Lugar Arguably the most consequential election in American history, the presidential contest of 1864 has cried out for a more sophisticated analysis than it has heretofore received. Fortunately, Fred Martins background in political journalism and in banking has enabled him to provide such an analysis in this book, which is a welcome addition to the Lincoln literature. --Michael Burlingame, Author, Abraham Lincoln: A Life; Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies, History Department, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences University of Illinois, Springfield IL Fred Martin has written an illuminating account of the roots of Lincolns success as president, culminating in his victory in the critical election of 1864. Effectively using Lincolns words as well as those of his contemporaries, Martin demonstrates how it became possible for Lincoln to overcome his early background and become a skillful and ethical political leader who saved the Union and ended slavery. The book clearly is a labor of love for Martin, a long-time student of Abraham Lincoln. Every person interested in Lincoln and his presidency should have this well researched and well-written book in his/her library. -- William C. Harris, author of Lincoln and the Border States: Preserving the Union (2011) and Lincoln and the Union Governors (2013)

Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865

Author : William K. Klingaman
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101218703
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865 by : William K. Klingaman

Download or read book Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865 written by William K. Klingaman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2001-03-19 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this comprehensive account of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, William K. Klingaman takes a fresh look at what is arguably the most controversial reform in American history. Taking the reader from Lincoln's inauguration through the Civil War to his tragic assassination, it uncovers the complex political and psychological pressures facing Lincoln in his consideration of the slavery question, including his decision to issue the proclamation without consulting any member of his cabinet, and his meticulous attention to every word of the document. The book concludes with a discussion of what the Emancipation Proclamation really meant to four million newly freed blacks and its subsequent impact on race relations in America.

Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops

Author : John David Smith
Publisher : SIU Press
ISBN 13 : 0809332914
Total Pages : 171 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops by : John David Smith

Download or read book Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops written by John David Smith and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2013-11-04 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Abraham Lincoln issued his final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, he not only freed the slaves in the Confederate states but also invited freed slaves and free persons of color to join the U.S. Army as part of the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), the first systematic, large-scale effort by the U.S. government to arm African Americans to aid in the nation’s defense. By the end of the war in 1865, nearly 180,000 black soldiers had fought for the Union. Lincoln’s role in the arming of African Americans remains a central but unfortunately obscure part of one of the most compelling periods in American history. In Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops John David Smith offers a concise, enlightening exploration of the development of Lincoln’s military emancipation project, its implementation, and the recruitment and deployment of black troops. Though scholars have written much on emancipation and the USCT, Smith’s work frames the evolution of Lincoln’s ideas on emancipation and arming blacks within congressional actions, explaining how, when, and why the president seemed to be so halting in his progression to military emancipation. After tracing Lincoln’s evolution from opposing to supporting emancipation as a necessary war measure and to championing the recruitment of black troops for the Union Army, Smith details the creation, mobilization, and diverse military service of the USCT. He assesses the hardships under which the men of the USCT served, including the multiple forms of discrimination from so-called friends and foes alike, and examines the broad meaning of Lincoln’s military emancipation project and its place in African American historical memory.

Lincoln and Freedom

Author : Harold Holzer
Publisher : SIU Press
ISBN 13 : 0809387530
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis Lincoln and Freedom by : Harold Holzer

Download or read book Lincoln and Freedom written by Harold Holzer and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2007-08-27 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lincoln’s reelection in 1864 was a pivotal moment in the history of the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation had officially gone into effect on January 1, 1863, and the proposed Thirteenth Amendment had become a campaign issue. Lincoln and Freedom: Slavery, Emancipation, and the Thirteenth Amendment captures these historic times, profiling the individuals, events, and enactments that led to slavery’s abolition. Fifteen leading Lincoln scholars contribute to this collection, covering slavery from its roots in 1619 Jamestown, through the adoption of the Constitution, to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. This comprehensive volume, edited by Harold Holzer and Sara Vaughn Gabbard, presents Abraham Lincoln’s response to the issue of slavery as politician, president, writer, orator, and commander-in-chief. Topics include the history of slavery in North America, the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, the evolution of Lincoln’s view of presidential powers, the influence of religion on Lincoln, and the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation. This collection effectively explores slavery as a Constitutional issue, both from the viewpoint of the original intent of the nation’s founders as they failed to deal with slavery, and as a study of the Constitutional authority of the commander-in-chief as Lincoln interpreted it. Addressed are the timing of Lincoln’s decision for emancipation and its effect on the public, the military, and the slaves themselves. Other topics covered include the role of the U.S. Colored Troops, the election campaign of 1864, and the legislative debate over the Thirteenth Amendment. The volume concludes with a heavily illustrated essay on the role that iconography played in forming and informing public opinion about emancipation and the amendments that officially granted freedom and civil rights to African Americans. Lincoln and Freedom provides a comprehensive political history of slavery in America and offers a rare look at how Lincoln’s views, statements, and actions played a vital role in the story of emancipation.

Lincoln’s Hundred Days

Author : Louis P. Masur
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674067533
Total Pages : 385 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Lincoln’s Hundred Days by : Louis P. Masur

Download or read book Lincoln’s Hundred Days written by Louis P. Masur and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-09-22 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The time has come now," Abraham Lincoln told his cabinet as he presented the preliminary draft of a "Proclamation of Emancipation." Lincoln's effort to end slavery has been controversial from its inception-when it was denounced by some as an unconstitutional usurpation and by others as an inadequate half-measure-up to the present, as historians have discounted its import and impact. At the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, Louis Masur seeks to restore the document's reputation by exploring its evolution. Lincoln's Hundred Days is the first book to tell the full story of the critical period between September 22, 1862, when Lincoln issued his preliminary Proclamation, and January 1, 1863, when he signed the final, significantly altered, decree. In those tumultuous hundred days, as battlefield deaths mounted, debate raged. Masur commands vast primary sources to portray the daily struggles and enormous consequences of the president's efforts as Lincoln led a nation through war and toward emancipation. With his deadline looming, Lincoln hesitated and calculated, frustrating friends and foes alike, as he reckoned with the anxieties and expectations of millions. We hear these concerns, from poets, cabinet members and foreign officials, from enlisted men on the front and free blacks as well as slaves. Masur presents a fresh portrait of Lincoln as a complex figure who worried about, listened to, debated, prayed for, and even joked with his country, and then followed his conviction in directing America toward a terrifying and thrilling unknown.

Act of Justice

Author : Burrus Carnahan
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 081317273X
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

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Book Synopsis Act of Justice by : Burrus Carnahan

Download or read book Act of Justice written by Burrus Carnahan and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2007-09-21 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln declared that as president he would “have no lawful right” to interfere with the institution of slavery. Yet less than two years later, he issued a proclamation intended to free all slaves throughout the Confederate states. When critics challenged the constitutional soundness of the act, Lincoln pointed to the international laws and usages of war as the legal basis for his Proclamation, asserting that the Constitution invested the president “with the law of war in time of war.” As the Civil War intensified, the Lincoln administration slowly and reluctantly accorded full belligerent rights to the Confederacy under the law of war. This included designating a prisoner of war status for captives, honoring flags of truce, and negotiating formal agreements for the exchange of prisoners—practices that laid the intellectual foundations for emancipation. Once the United States allowed Confederates all the privileges of belligerents under international law, it followed that they should also suffer the disadvantages, including trial by military courts, seizure of property, and eventually the emancipation of slaves. Even after the Lincoln administration decided to apply the law of war, it was unclear whether state and federal courts would agree. After careful analysis, author Burrus M. Carnahan concludes that if the courts had decided that the proclamation was not justified, the result would have been the personal legal liability of thousands of Union officers to aggrieved slave owners. This argument offers further support to the notion that Lincoln’s delay in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation was an exercise of political prudence, not a personal reluctance to free the slaves. In Act of Justice, Carnahan contends that Lincoln was no reluctant emancipator; he wrote a truly radical document that treated Confederate slaves as an oppressed people rather than merely as enemy property. In this respect, Lincoln’s proclamation anticipated the psychological warfare tactics of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Carnahan’s exploration of the president’s war powers illuminates the origins of early debates about war powers and the Constitution and their link to international law.

Lincoln’s Hundred Days

Author : Louis P. Masur
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674071336
Total Pages : 476 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Lincoln’s Hundred Days by : Louis P. Masur

Download or read book Lincoln’s Hundred Days written by Louis P. Masur and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-09-22 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The time has come now," Abraham Lincoln told his cabinet as he presented the preliminary draft of a "Proclamation of Emancipation." Lincoln's effort to end slavery has been controversial from its inception-when it was denounced by some as an unconstitutional usurpation and by others as an inadequate half-measure-up to the present, as historians have discounted its import and impact. At the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, Louis Masur seeks to restore the document's reputation by exploring its evolution. Lincoln's Hundred Days is the first book to tell the full story of the critical period between September 22, 1862, when Lincoln issued his preliminary Proclamation, and January 1, 1863, when he signed the final, significantly altered, decree. In those tumultuous hundred days, as battlefield deaths mounted, debate raged. Masur commands vast primary sources to portray the daily struggles and enormous consequences of the president's efforts as Lincoln led a nation through war and toward emancipation. With his deadline looming, Lincoln hesitated and calculated, frustrating friends and foes alike, as he reckoned with the anxieties and expectations of millions. We hear these concerns, from poets, cabinet members and foreign officials, from enlisted men on the front and free blacks as well as slaves. Masur presents a fresh portrait of Lincoln as a complex figure who worried about, listened to, debated, prayed for, and even joked with his country, and then followed his conviction in directing America toward a terrifying and thrilling unknown.

The Emancipation Proclamation

Author : Ann Heinrichs
Publisher : Capstone
ISBN 13 : 9780756502096
Total Pages : 56 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis The Emancipation Proclamation by : Ann Heinrichs

Download or read book The Emancipation Proclamation written by Ann Heinrichs and published by Capstone. This book was released on 2002 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looks at the political and moral issues that caused President Lincoln to issue the 1863 document that freed many slaves, and at the immediate and long-term consequences of his action.

Abraham Lincoln and His Times

Author : Thomas J. Ebert
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476646392
Total Pages : 462 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

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Book Synopsis Abraham Lincoln and His Times by : Thomas J. Ebert

Download or read book Abraham Lincoln and His Times written by Thomas J. Ebert and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-08-03 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lincoln's significance in the history of slavery and emancipation, the Union's preservation and the formation of a new national vision is crucial to comprehending the antebellum and Civil War periods in American history. This is a one-of-a-kind hybrid reference work that combines chronology with almost 400 primary source papers to contextualize Lincoln's life within his historical era. These written materials serve as the foundation upon which historians can construct a picture of Lincoln's America. In addition to important chronology and documents, this work includes introductory essays that summarize the topics of each chapter, brief biographies of those referenced in the book, and a source bibliography. Historical records are the heart of this work. Documents illustrate different viewpoints, to provide a full grasp of the time and place, as well as Lincoln's significance during this era.

Lincoln

Author : Harold Holzer
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0062265121
Total Pages : 174 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (622 download)

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Book Synopsis Lincoln by : Harold Holzer

Download or read book Lincoln written by Harold Holzer and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-12-11 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new book—and companion to the Steven Spielberg film—tracing how Abraham Lincoln came to view slavery . . . and came to end it. Steven Spielberg focused his movie Lincoln on the sixteenth president's tumultuous final months in office, when he pursued a course of action to end the Civil War, reunite the country, and abolish slavery. Invited by the filmmakers to write a special Lincoln book as a companion to the film, Harold Holzer, the distinguished historian and a consultant on the movie, now gives us a fast-paced, exciting new book on Lincoln's life and times, his evolving beliefs about slavery, and how he maneuvered to end it. The story starts on January 31, 1865—less than three months before Lincoln's assassination—as the president anxiously awaits word on whether Congress will finally vote to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Although the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier had authorized the army to liberate slaves in Confederate territory, only a Constitutional amendment passed by Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the states would end slavery legally everywhere in the country. Drawing from letters, speeches, memoirs, and documents by Lincoln and others, Holzer goes on to cover Lincoln's boyhood, his moves from Kentucky to Indiana to Illinois, his work as a lawyer and congressman, his unsuccessful candidacies for the U.S. Senate and his victory in two presidential elections, his arduous duties in the Civil War as commander in chief, his actions as president, and his relationships with his family, political rivals, and associates. Holzer provides a fresh view of America in those turbulent times, as well as fascinating insights into the challenges Lincoln faced as he weighed his personal beliefs against his presidential duties in relation to the slavery issue. The passage of the Thirteenth Amendment would become the crowning achievement of Abraham Lincoln's life and the undisputed testament to his political genius. By viewing his life through this prism, Holzer makes an important passage in American history come alive for readers of all ages. The book also includes thirty historical photographs, a chronology, a historical cast of characters, texts of selected Lincoln writings, a bibliography, and notes.

Antietam 1862

Author : T. Stephen Whitman
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 0313397341
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (133 download)

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Book Synopsis Antietam 1862 by : T. Stephen Whitman

Download or read book Antietam 1862 written by T. Stephen Whitman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2012-07-19 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains how the Battle of Antietam—a conflict that changed nothing militarily—still played a pivotal role in the Civil War by affording Abraham Lincoln an opportunity to announce the emancipation of slaves in states in rebellion. Antietam 1862: Gateway to Emancipation examines the connections between the Maryland Campaign culminating in the battle of Antietam in 1862 and the drive to emancipate slaves to win the war for the Union. The work's thematic chapters discuss how slaves' resistance to the Confederacy and flight to Union armies influenced Union domestic and diplomatic politics, Confederate military strategy, and above all, the leadership of President Lincoln. By focusing on the complex topics of antislavery politics, diplomacy, and slaves' resistance rather than the specific occurrences on the battlefield, this book shows how shrewd Abraham Lincoln was in assessing the consequences of fighting a civil war about slavery. The concept that slaves' resistance played a part in Lee and Davis's decision to cross the Potomac and invade Maryland is explored, as is the idea that this strategy delayed and ultimately dashed all of the Confederacy's hopes of help from the British.

Lincoln’s Proclamation

Author : William A. Blair
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN 13 : 9780807895412
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (954 download)

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Book Synopsis Lincoln’s Proclamation by : William A. Blair

Download or read book Lincoln’s Proclamation written by William A. Blair and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2009-11-01 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Emancipation Proclamation, widely remembered as the heroic act that ended slavery, in fact freed slaves only in states in the rebellious South. True emancipation was accomplished over a longer period and by several means. Essays by eight distinguished contributors consider aspects of the president's decision making, as well as events beyond Washington, offering new insights on the consequences and legacies of freedom, the engagement of black Americans in their liberation, and the issues of citizenship and rights that were not decided by Lincoln's document. The essays portray emancipation as a product of many hands, best understood by considering all the actors, the place, and the time. The contributors are William A. Blair, Richard Carwardine, Paul Finkelman, Louis Gerteis, Steven Hahn, Stephanie McCurry, Mark E. Neely Jr., Michael Vorenberg, and Karen Fisher Younger.

The Jewel of Liberty

Author : David E. Long
Publisher : Tradeselect
ISBN 13 : 9780811734417
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (344 download)

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Book Synopsis The Jewel of Liberty by : David E. Long

Download or read book The Jewel of Liberty written by David E. Long and published by Tradeselect. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This provocative book, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, marks a milestone in Civil War and Lincoln history. Dr. David E. Long, a professor of law and history, is the first to investigate deeply the events of 1864 that eventually produced Lincoln's re-election and, with it, the emancipation of the slaves. In so doing, the author illuminates and dramatizes a moment in which the fate of democracy itself was in the balance. Never in our past has the nature and future of the nation depended so much on the ballot box, for within that box truly lay The Jewel of Liberty. - Back cover.

The Emancipation Proclamation

Author : Elaine Landau
Publisher : Enslow Publishing, LLC
ISBN 13 : 9780766028999
Total Pages : 52 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (289 download)

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Book Synopsis The Emancipation Proclamation by : Elaine Landau

Download or read book The Emancipation Proclamation written by Elaine Landau and published by Enslow Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Examines the events leading up to President Abraham Lincoln's decision to write the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery, including the beginning of the Civil War"--Provided by publisher.

How We Elected Lincoln

Author : Abram J. Dittenhoefer
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN 13 : 0812291093
Total Pages : 118 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (122 download)

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Book Synopsis How We Elected Lincoln by : Abram J. Dittenhoefer

Download or read book How We Elected Lincoln written by Abram J. Dittenhoefer and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2014-06-09 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abram J. Dittenhoefer was a young South Carolinian who embraced abolition and moved to New York in order to work for the newly formed Republican party and its antislavery platform. Even though he was in his early twenties, he quickly established himself as a savvy and creative campaigner, and when he encountered Abraham Lincoln in New York City on February 27, 1860, a mutual friendship and trust were established. Soon, Dittenhoefer became a member of Lincoln's political circle, and he helped direct both of Lincoln's successful bids for the presidency. In How We Elected Lincoln, originally published in 1916 and appearing now for the first time in paperback, we have the only firsthand account of Lincoln's political campaigns. Here Lincoln emerges as a real human being, full of doubts and convictions, while the usual dry-as-dust recitation of political facts is transformed into heated, vivid, nail-biting episodes. Lincoln was an underdog in both of his elections, and Dittenhoefer conveys the extreme tension and acrimony of each campaign. Drama surrounds this wartime president who faced a grueling reelection campaign at the same moment he was grappling with the darkest moments for his Union cause. Faced with competition within his own party, Lincoln resigned himself to defeat but continued to make astute decisions. The sudden success of Ulysses S. Grant on the battlefield in the autumn of 1864 turned the tide for both the Union Army and Lincoln's fortunes with the electorate. According to Dittenhoefer, Lincoln's greatest legacy was the eradication of American slavery, and in this compact account the author shows from direct experience the difficulties and resistance Lincoln encountered while working to achieve his goal.

The Emancipation Proclamation

Author : Harold Holzer
Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 080713144X
Total Pages : 180 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis The Emancipation Proclamation by : Harold Holzer

Download or read book The Emancipation Proclamation written by Harold Holzer and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2006-05-01 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Emancipation Proclamation is the most important document of arguably the greatest president in U.S. history. Now, Edna Greene Medford, Frank J. Williams, and Harold Holzer -- eminent experts in their fields -- remember, analyze, and interpret the Emancipation Proclamation in three distinct respects: the influence of and impact upon African Americans; the legal, political, and military exigencies; and the role pictorial images played in establishing the document in public memory. The result is a carefully balanced yet provocative study that views the proclamation and its author from the perspective of fellow Republicans, antiwar Democrats, the press, the military, the enslaved, free blacks, and the antislavery white establishment, as well as the artists, publishers, sculptors, and their patrons who sought to enshrine Abraham Lincoln and his decree of freedom in iconography.Medford places African Americans, the people most affected by Lincoln's edict, at the center of the drama rather than at the periphery, as previous studies have done. She argues that blacks interpreted the proclamation much more broadly than Lincoln intended it, and during the postwar years and into the twentieth century they became disillusioned by the broken promise of equality and the realities of discrimination, violence, and economic dependence. Williams points out the obstacles Lincoln overcame in finding a way to confiscate property -- enslaved humans -- without violating the Constitution. He suggests that the president solidified his reputation as a legal and political genius by issuing the proclamation as Commander-in-Chief, thus taking the property under the pretext of military necessity. Holzer explores how it was only after Lincoln's assassination that the Emancipation Proclamation became an acceptable subject for pictorial celebration. Even then, it was the image of the martyr-president as the great emancipator that resonated in public memory, while any reference to those African Americans most affected by the proclamation was stripped away.This multilayered treatment reveals that the proclamation remains a singularly brave and bold act -- brilliantly calculated to maintain the viability of the Union during wartime, deeply dependent on the enlightened voices of Lincoln's contemporaries, and owing a major debt in history to the image-makers who quickly and indelibly preserved it.