Biography of Abraham Lincoln: The Real Lincoln by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

1634 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Lincoln's impact on the civil war

DiLorenzo, Thomas J. The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnessecary War. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 2002. Abraham Lincoln was elected as sixteenth president of the United States of America in 1861 and served until his assassination in 1865. He is viewed as a popular political figure and is known as the “Great Emancipator” for his role in freeing the slaves during the 1860s (Columbia University Press 2013, 1). He delivered the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 that declared “all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforth shall remain free” (Columbia University Press 2013, 1). Although the Proclamation made Lincoln seem like a hero, others would soon realize that the proclamation was a war tactic and in reality did not put an end to slavery. In The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War by Thomas J. DiLorenzo, the reader will discover facts about President Lincoln that are not told in the average history book. Within the chapters of DiLorenzo’s book, he explains Lincoln’s true view on slavery, reasons for his political success, and why Lincoln encouraged war between the North and the South. The first chapter of this book is simply an introduction. It gives an overview of each chapter and helps the reader prepare for what to expect. Throughout the entire book, Thomas J. DiLorenzo explores the Lincoln presidency and his traits and accomplishments that are popular to the world. He reveals the truths behind these common myths that have been researched by many over the years. Chapter two expresses the uncertainties about how Lincoln truly felt about racial equality. Lincoln is often referred to as the “Great Emanc... ... middle of paper ... ...oln looked up to Whig Party member Henry Clay and set out to impose on the government the idea of his “American System”. He stated several times that he did not recognize slaves as equals and he was a white supremacist. During the war between the North and South, many innocent civilians were killed which made Lincoln look bad. Because of his manipulation of the American government, researchers recommend calling President the”Great Centralizer” instead of the beloved “Great Emancipator”. Works Cited Columbia University Press. "Emancipation Proclamation." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. (Sept. 2013):1. History Reference Center, EBSCOhost 39004893. Blashfield, Jean F. "Abraham Lincoln." Abraham Lincoln (Jan. 2002):6-10. History Reference Center, EBSCOhost 75650202.

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Killing Lincoln

    2215 Words  | 5 Pages

    leading up to and surrounding President Abraham Lincoln’s death. The purpose of this book is to

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The 14th Amendment

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln became the United States' 16th President in 1861, delivering the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy in 1863. If there is a part of the United States history that best characterizes it, it is the interminable fight for the Civil Rights. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. The Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal”. Even when the Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, and the black people embraced education, built their own churches, reunited with their broken families and worked very hard in the sharecropping system, nothing was enough for the Reconstruction to succeed.

    Read More

  • Lincoln's Suspension Of Habeas Corpus Analysis

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Civil War not only proved to be the country’s deadliest war but also precipitated one of the greatest constitutional crises in the history of the United States. President Lincoln is revered by many Americans today as a man of great moral principle who was responsible for both preventing the Union’s dissolution as well as helping to trigger the movement to abolish slavery. In retrospect, modern historians find it difficult to question the legitimacy of Lincoln’s actions as President. A more precise review of President Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War, however, reveals that many, if not the majority, of his actions were far from legitimate on constitutional and legal grounds. Moreover, his true political motives reveal his

    Read More

  • Lincoln The Great Emancipator Dbq Analysis

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lincoln became president in January of 1860. During this time, many of the Southern states began to secede, plunging the United States into a Civil War. At the beginning, the war was about state’s rights, but it eventually became about slave rights. In the end, the Union won, America was reunited, and the slaves were freed. Many say that Lincoln was the Great Emancipator because of this act, but did you know he didn’t want the freed slaves to have the same rights as whites? From the time he was involved in the political realm to the day he was assassinated Lincoln was just another politician. If he was really the Great Emancipator he would have been more focused on the slaves than the Union. He also wouldn’t have issued the Emancipation

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Abraham Lincoln And James Oakes

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    James Oakes gave a brilliant and unique perspective to a relationship between two well known historical figures of their time. Abraham Lincoln is a well-admired president for the United States because as Americans culture teaches that he was an honest and well-respected man. He heard about a young African American man, who had high aspirations for his life and the blossoming United States. This man’s name was Frederick Douglass. James Oakes demonstrates how both Douglass and Lincoln worked towards the abolishment of slavery and effectively producing better outcomes within antislavery politics.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Radical And The Republican

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    James Oakes’ The Radical and the Republican narrated the relationship between two of America’s greatest leaders: Frederick Douglass, the “radical” abolitionist, and Abraham Lincoln, the “Republican” politician. He did an astonishing job of demonstrating the commonalities between the views of Douglass and Lincoln, but also their differences on their stance of anti-slavery politics and abolitionism. Despite being on the same side of the argument of slavery, Douglass and Lincoln went about their opinions separately. Lincoln held a more patient and orthodox stance on anti-slavery, while Douglass was proven to be obstinate and direct with

    Read More

  • David Herbert Donald's Lincoln about Abraham Lincoln

    1675 Words  | 4 Pages

    David Herbert Donald's Lincoln is a biography of our sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln. At the age of twenty one, he was sure he did not want to be like his father Thomas Lincoln, an uneducated farmer, so he left his fathers house permanently. He had many jobs, learned many lessons, and made both friends and enemies, all which helped him to become one of the greatest presidents of the United States of America during the time the country had split, the Civil War. Thoroughly researched and excellently written, this biography comes alive and shows us what really happened during the early to mid-nineteenth century and it still puts us in the point of view of our former president, using the information and ideas available to him.

    Read More

  • Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipation

    1764 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the Abraham Lincoln’s short time as president, he managed not only to save a nation deeply divided and at war with itself, but to solidify the United States of America as a nation dedicated to the progress of civil rights. Years after his death, he was awarded the title of ‘The Great Emancipator.’ In this paper, I will examine many different aspects of Lincoln’s presidency in order to come to a conclusion: whether this title bestowed unto Lincoln was deserved, or not. In order to fully understand Lincoln, it is necessary to understand the motives that drove this man to action. While some of his intentions may not have been for the welfare of slaves, but for the preservation of the Union, the actions still stand. Abraham Lincoln, though motivated by his devotion to his nation, made the first blows against the institution of slavery and rightfully earned his title of ‘The Great Emancipator.’

    Read More

  • Abraham Lincoln: Best President

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    President Lincoln has had numerous achievements, such as ending slavery, modernizing the economy, and preserving the Union. Lincoln is famously known for ending slavery. He issued the Emancipation of Proclamation. The presidential proclamation was issued during the American Civil War. Lincoln stated in his speech, "I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of states, and henceforward shall be free."

    Read More

  • Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Analysis

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would recognize the South as an independent nation, ensuring Union success in the war. In his speech, Lincoln used the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism, to touch the hearts of its listeners.

    Read More

  • Abraham Lincoln and Slavery

    1612 Words  | 4 Pages

    Then, once the Civil War began, he was merely trying to preserve what was left of an unstable union. The true “Emancipators” of slavery lie in the grass roots people of that time, the abolitionists, Frederick Douglas, and the slaves themselves. The slaves earned their freedom. Lincoln was merely a man who let the events of his era determine his policy. “I claim not to have controlled events but confess plainly that events controlled me.”

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Abe Lincoln In Illinois

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    During week nine of class, we watched the 1940 film, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, written by Robert E. Sherwood. As we continued to look at the most precise version of Abraham Lincoln each week, the one theme that stood out over the rest in this film was Lincoln’s reluctance throughout his political career, specifically on the issue of slavery. Although previous readings had glossed over this characteristic of Lincoln, Sherwood’s film even goes as far as to coordinate Abe’s reluctant attitude with the overall darkness of the background and clothing of the characters the more this trait is expressed. Mr. Sherwood’s choice to exemplify this aspect of President Lincoln was due to the World War Two era in which it was produced. Unlike previous weeks,

    Read More

  • Abraham Lincoln and the Kansas-Nebraska Act

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln’s original views on slavery were formed through the way he was raised and the American customs of the period. Throughout Lincoln’s influential years, slavery was a recognized and a legal institution in the United States of America. Even though Lincoln began his career by declaring that he was “anti-slavery,” he was not likely to agree to instant emancipation. However, although Lincoln did not begin as a radical anti-slavery Republican, he eventually issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves and in his last speech, even recommended extending voting to blacks. Although Lincoln’s feeling about blacks and slavery was quite constant over time, the evidence found between his debate with Stephen A. Douglas and his Gettysburg Address, proves that his political position and actions towards slavery have changed profoundly.

    Read More

  • The Great Emancipator Analysis

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln deserves the accolade “The Great Emancipator”. The title “Great Emancipator” has been the subject of many controversies. Some people have argued that the slaves themselves are the central story in the achievement of their own freedom. Others demonstrate that emancipation could result from both a slave’s own extraordinary heroism and the liberating actions of the Union forces. However, my stance is to agree that Abraham Lincoln deserves to be regarded as “The Great Emancipator” for his actions during and following the Civil War.

    Read More

  • The Emancipation Proclamation Rhetorical Analysis

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    The drive to end slavery in the United States was a long one, from being debated in the writing of the Declaration of Independence, to exposure of its ills in literature, from rebellions of slaves, to the efforts of people like Harriet Tubman to transport escaping slaves along the Underground Railroad. Abolitionists had urged President Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves in the Confederate states from the very outset of the Civil War. By mid-1862, Lincoln had become increasingly convinced of the moral imperative to end slavery, but he hesitated (History.com). As commander-in-chief of the Union Army, he had military objectives to consider (History.com). On one hand, emancipation might

    Read More

More about Biography of Abraham Lincoln: The Real Lincoln by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

Open Document