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According to Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War was caused by the Southern states' breach of the constitution and their desire to continue with slavery. In his inaugural speeches, he outlined the...
Nov 15, 2021 · In doing so, we know, Lincoln was transforming the meaning of the Civil War itself. What had begun as a war justified in the name of union now became a war to end slavery. But simultaneously, and just as important, Lincoln was also re-forming the basic character of the Constitution.
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As Washington celebrated the expected end to the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln delivered what would be his last public address from a White House balcony.
With the fall of Petersburg and Richmond, and Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox, Washington was consumed by celebration. On the evening of April 10, 1865, a crowd of some 3,000 people gathered outside the White House, hoping for some rousing words from their president. In response to their cries of “Speech!”
President Abraham Lincoln demurred, saying he would deliver an address the following evening, after he had adequate time to prepare. As consolation, he issued a special request for the Marine band. “I have always thought ‘Dixie’ one of the best tunes I have ever heard. Our adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate it, but I insisted yesterday that we fairly captured it.” As the crowd laughed and cheered, Lincoln added, “It is good to show the rebels that, with us, they will be free to hear it again.”
The Civil War and Its Legacy
With Union victory on the horizon, the president’s mood was somber, even as the capital’s joyful hubbub swirled below him. According to what he told his wife and others close to him, disturbing dreams visited Lincoln in the early spring of 1865. In one, he encountered a large group of soldiers and citizens in mourning before a shrouded figure in the East Room of the White House. When he asked one of the soldiers who the corpse belonged to, the man replied “The President…he was killed by an assassin!”
In another of Lincoln’s dreams, he was on a ship moving rapidly through the water toward a vast and unknown shore. Having had similar dreams on the eves of Antietam, Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Lincoln apparently considered this one a good omen, believing it a sign that Confederate General Joe Johnston would soon surrender to William T. Sherman in North Carolina.
A definitive biography of the 16th U.S. president, the man who led the country during its bloodiest war and greatest crisis.
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Aug 24, 2010 · Beginning by invoking the image of the founding fathers and the new nation, Lincoln eloquently expressed his conviction that the Civil War was the ultimate test of whether the Union created in...
4 days ago · Unhampered by outworn military dogma, Lincoln could all the better apply his practical insight and common sense—some would say his military genius—to the winning of the Civil War. There can be no doubt of Lincoln’s deep and sincere devotion to the cause of personal freedom .
1 day ago · Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.—died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.) was the 16th president of the United States (1861–65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
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Jul 9, 2024 · Abraham Lincoln - Confederacy, Outbreak of American Civil War: No sooner was he in office than Lincoln received word that the Sumter garrison, unless supplied or withdrawn, would shortly be starved out. Still, for about a month, Lincoln delayed acting. He was beset by contradictory advice.
