[1-1] of 1

Posts from simon, Los Angeles

simon, Los Angelessimon, Los Angeles
simon, Los Angeles

I would say that there are many valid points, and many invalid points. First, this was obviously a qualifying statement. It's just like when Rush Limbaugh says, "Now I'm not judging anybody's personal life but..." or when Obama says, "Now the folks on the left want to do this, I don't, but..." Second, Lincoln was born in the 19th century. The belief that blacks were inferior was as widespread as the Greek belief in Zeus; even the fringe radical abolitionists saw blacks as inferior to whites (except of course, for Frederick Douglas). In 1858, Lincoln's (public) position was not even abolitionist, (abolitionists were seen as dangerous, even in the North - the Northwest including Illinois was the more conservative part of the North) it was opposed to the expansion of slavery. He thought that slavery would eventually die out. He didn't like slavery, he didn't condone it, but he wasn't a radical. He was a tad bit too progressive for the Illinois electorate in 1858. He became more and more of a radical as time went on. He was still somewhat ahead of his times, and as somebody pointed out, the fact that he had to state this in response to Stephan Douglas's race baiting is a testament to that fact. I read the transcripts, and I understood the context. As to the charge that he exerted unconstitutional power. It is true that he did take some actions that were unconstitutional, but he was a lawyer, and certain things ought to be noted. First, Lincoln freed the slaves using his wartime powers, that is why it was done for military and strategic purposes. The slaves were not all freed in 1863, this wasn't accomplished until the Thirteenth amendment. (after his death.) Lincoln famously said that if he had to free all the slaves to save the Union then he'd do it; and that if he had keep slavery intact to save the Union, that he'd do it. However, in 1864, Lincoln was made fake offers to enter into peace talks. His two demands: 1. An end to confederate insurrection as the Confederates rejoined the Union, and 2. An end to slavery in the south. Now, Lincoln believed he could free slaves for military purposes under his war powers; he didn't believe he could constitutionally grant all the slaves their freedom without an amendment to the constitution. This is to his credit, he only acted unconstitutionally under his war powers (so it wasn't really unconstitutional) but he was still cautious about the constitutional limits of his power. At the same time, he became so opposed to slavery that he was willing to make that a condition. (although he knew that the offer was phony, so he might have been calling the other guy's bluff.) He got a lot of pushback for the Emancipation Proclamation. He got even more when people heard about the fact that he made slavery a condition. Now, to the whole point of the colony. Lincoln basically told the black leaders that he didn't believe blacks could be treated fairly in American society because of racism. He wanted blacks to leave the country to ease racial tensions, and so that they could have the dignity of freedom. It was, given the context, a pragmatic approach that he felt would be better for everyone concerned. Times have changed, but we must judge Lincoln for the man who he was, the life that he lived and the times in which he lived it. My verdict: he was one of the greatest Presidents in history. One last thing to note: Those who say that the Civil War was a war of northern aggression forget who fired on Fort Sumpter. The confederates started the war. Finally, the confederacy was not a true republic. The very process of succession is evidence of this. According to South vs South, most southerners didn't want succession. The powerful planters forced it. Hence the term "A rich man's war but a poor man's fight." The confederacy was an oligarchy, which had the white working class just barely above the slaves in the pecking order. If they got away with succession, other states might have followed suit. We wouldn't be a strong republic which protects the rights of citizens, gives the people self sovereignty,and which is united enough to defend our borders, if the confederacy won it's independence. There would be a lot of oligarchies labelled republics without the values at the heart of this country, and without the ability to defend themselves from true foreign aggression. The experiment of America would have failed, a republic would have perished from the earth. Enough said.

Get a Quote-a-Day!

Liberty Quotes sent to your mail box daily.