The essays, “Death of Abraham Lincoln” and “The Timely Death of President Harding”, critique society’s tendency to respect the dead and glorify the presidents’ former lives regardless of their characteristics while living. In February 1861, the people of New York greeted Abraham Lincoln with hostility because they judged him on his presidential platform, but after his death society respected him for his feats. Initially, Lincoln was not well respected by the United States and was scrutinized under the public eye unlike the beloved President Harding. In reality, Lincoln was a much more competent president than Harding during his short term and spread waves of improvement throughout the United States. Regardless of this, people expected Abraham …show more content…
In spite of this, Harding was honored like all influential and grandiose people who died, even Abraham Lincoln. Before his death, Harding had a presidency laced with scandal, corruption and incompetency. Harding’s knowledge about the world and his job was severely lacking and was appalling for someone epitomizing an iconic figure in the American culture. According to Samuel Hopkins Adams, author of “The Timely Death of President Harding”, Harding often complained openly about his lack of knowledge. Adams noted, “To any interviewer he said with disarming humility, “I don’t know anything about this European stuff…”. As for finances: “I can’t make a damn thing out of this tax problem”” (Adams 474). Harding was not beneficial to the United States and his scandals branded him as a man who was “war-weary impatient of problems too weighty for the mind in the street, cynically intolerant of a half-wrecked world’s troubles” (Adams 473). Clearly, Harding served very little purpose to the improvement of the United States and one would think his eventual death would be treated with the same apathy. But like all famous people that pass away, Harding was bid a farewell with compliments and statements that would equate him to the American hero. Harding was recognized after his death as “the idol of the man in the street, the apotheosis of the Average American, the exemplar of the triumphant commonplace” (Adams 469). In reality, Harding had a mistress, was friends with America’s greatest crooks, most of which landed in prison, and didn’t have the slightest idea about how to do his job. This suggests that it is a taboo in society to speak ill of the dead and people are willing to say anything to glorify the former life of the deceased whether or not it is
In “The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln,” Phillip Shaw Paludan argues that even though Abraham Lincoln faced unparalleled challenges, Lincoln was America’s greatest president as he preserved the Union and freed the slaves. According to Paludan, Lincoln’s greatness exceeds that of all other American presidents as Lincoln’s presidential service was remarkable in both the obstacles he faced as well as the ways in which he overcame them. Before accepting the distinguished chair in Lincoln studies at the University of Illinois, Springfield, Paludan was a professor of history at the University of Kansas for over 30 years. Paludan has authored several books including Victims: A True Story of the Civil War and A People’s Contest: The Union and Civil
In Richard Hofstadter’s book “American Political Tradition” he describes twelve biographical portraits of American statesmen, breaking them from longstanding reputations and putting them under scrutiny. Shockingly, among these statesmen is Abraham Lincoln. Hofstadter criticizes both his legacy and his political intentions. Lincoln, a president nationally regarded as a “self-made” man, nicknamed “Honest Abe,” and generally well liked, is not typically heavily criticized (Hofstadter 121). Hofstadter believed his reputation of being “self-made” was simply just a myth that he used to advance his political career and to seize opportunities of advancement (122). Although Hofstadter believes Lincoln’s reputation is not as notable as history says
When faced with differing threats, one haphazard and domestic the other formidable and foreign, both James Madison and Abraham Lincoln understood their audience and attempted to exploit this knowledge. While the specific details of why the United States went to war with Great Britain in 1812 and with the “so-called ‘Confederate States” in 1861, the similarities in language and imagery are evident. In their respective addresses to congress on the topic of impending or open war, both Presidents Madison and Lincoln attempt to appeal to the legislatures sense of patriotism, honor and pride in justifying their actions or desires.
Abraham Lincoln served in many facets of the United States government and was also a respected lawyer in Illinois. He was best known for being elected as the 16th President of the United States of America. As president, Lincoln guided the United States through one of the worst times in American history, the Civil War. From the start of his political career, Lincoln was instrumental in his efforts and eventual success in ending slavery in America. He was known for his public speaking abilities and delivered some of the most popular speeches in United States history. He lived a successful life before the presidency, during the presidency, and up to the time of his tragic death. His life was cut short when he was assassinated in 1865 while still serving as President of the United States. Lincoln was revered as one of the greatest presidents in American history. Prior to becoming one of the most powerful men in the world, Lincoln grew up in a poverty-stricken family.
A successful president’s legacy is measured by his ability to address issues of public concern, rid the government of corruption, create reliable foreign affairs with existing countries and most importantly, act as a voice of the people. However, it appears that Warren G. Harding was more concerned with striving to satisfy many of his cabinet members priorities, without weighing the negative consequences it could have on his presidency. Additionally, his successor Calvin Coolidge was caught in the web of political corruption and sexual scandals that had surrounded Harding’s presidency. Many historians have accurately depicted Warren G. Harding as one of the least consequential president’s due in part to his various political scandals that defined his term; whereas Calvin Coolidge has been wrongly tarnished with the same reputation as his predecessor without sufficient evidence.
leading up to and surrounding President Abraham Lincoln’s death. The purpose of this book is to
When in reality, how can a slave-owning President be a hero to Black Americans today? Similarly, Americans of native descent today could not worship Washington, if they knew explicitly how he had treated their ancestors. However textbooks do not explicitly reveal these faults, and even if they give some indication the authors make sure to justify Washington to the best of their ability. Many Americans fail to know very little about the claims of Washington’s greed for wealth, his inability as a politician and President to speak before the Senate and Congress, and the debate to whether he was as good a General as is commonly believed. In addition to these forgotten flaws and human frailties; are the purely fabricated tales of Washington’s childhood, which are still retold to children today.
The outbreak of the American Civil War caused The United State to form two separate nations that would battle for their right to govern. In the South the Confederate States of America form under the leadership of Mississippi senator Jefferson Davis. In the North, what states remained from the United States became the Union, under President Abraham Lincoln. These two leaders came from two completely different backgrounds, yet history set them to compete head to head over the future of the United States. These men both had different forms of political experience and had different military strategy. In the end one would show superior leadership and tactics that help secure their victory.
Although Lincoln was not liked in the south; the south had to deal with th...
. .’, concludes James Oakes’ book with the aftermath of the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination. Oakes discussed the respect Douglass gathered for Lincoln over the years and the affect his assassination had on both himself and America as a whole. Oakes even brushed over Douglass’ relationship with Andrew Johnson, the president succeeding Lincoln. Analyzing his experience with the new president, it was safe to say that Andrew Johnson had no consideration as to what Douglass and Lincoln previously fought for. Johnson did not have the same political skills as Lincoln did, and he did not retain the same view for America that Lincoln did. It was obvious that Douglass held Lincoln at a higher standard than Andrew Johnson, stating that he was a “progressive man, a humane man, an honorable man, and at heart an anti-slavery man” (p. 269). Oakes even gave his own stance on Andrew Jackson, “It was a legacy that Andrew Johnson could ever match. When all of Lincoln’s attributes were taken into consideration - his ascent from the obscurity to greatness, his congenial temperament, his moral courage - it was easy for Douglass to imagine how much better things would be ‘had Mr. Lincoln been living today’.” (p. 262). It is hard to imagine the pre-war Douglass to have said something like that as opposed to an older, much more reserved Douglass. With the abolishment of slavery, so came much discrimination. Without
Throughout the course of history, there have been many civil wars. In those civil wars, many persons fought and died in battles to defend their beliefs. In the aftermath of a major battle, a people’s morale is as shattered and broken as the bodies of those that were slain. Following the battle, a funeral is conducted in remembrance of the deceased. At these funerals a funeral oration is usually given by a well-known domestic public figure, such as when Abraham Lincoln gave his “Gettysburg Address” in 1863 AD and when Pericles gave his funeral oration to Athens in 431 BC. These speeches were made not only to put to rest the souls of the dead and the grief of those who knew them, but to give those people hope that their friends and loved ones did not die in vain and to remind them why their civil war was being fought.
A number of the decisions and actions undertaken not only during the course of Jackson’s presidency, but also as a pre-political individual alone, depict a man certainly capable of a villainous description. While one could attempt to describe Andrew Jackson as a hero, one would be required to ignore repeatedly documented events and personal accounts to the contrary. However, a successful counterargument resides in the fact that, in trivial terms, history is not black-and-white. Oftentimes, history is perceived through two viewpoints. The first observes history where morals and beliefs are not entered into the equation. To use American history as a template, many historical figures, such as Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln, are represented as unblemished and faultless; the focus is primarily placed on intelligent, influential quotes and political achievements. The second viewpoint represents the same individuals as flawed and human, straying far from the untarnished and blameless leaders of the first example; through the second point-of-view, personal dealings and character reside at the core. Neither of these methods of studying history is necessarily false, as neither promotes false information. However, within itself, history is unbiased, and the legacy of America’s seventh president lies in between these two often-employed viewpoints. As
As you can imagine the assassination of Lincoln greatly influenced the relationship between the north and the south. The assassination soured their relationship, increasing the north’s hate toward the south (The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln pg.51). Even before the north even knew who killed Lincoln, they blamed the south. The north mourned whereas the south was happy (History Engine). In the north, not only whites, but blacks too mourned for their fallen president (History Engine). In the south most were happy, but not all of them (History Engine). Some southerners joined with the north in their sadness and sorrow. The ones who mo...
The two most discussed assassinations out of the four within the position of the United States President are that of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. There are many similarities between the two and there are also some differences. There are many similarities associated with the assassination of Lincoln and Kennedy. They were both assassinated on the same day, and the men that were caught for the crime were born a century apart from each other and they were both killed before their trials. A difference between the two men is Lincoln was poor and worked his way to the top and Kennedy was born into a wealthy family in which his father was a large political figure. Both men had different struggles but they were similar in many ways.
The book I selected to review is “The Life of Abraham Lincoln” by Henry Ketcham. This book is an autobiography about Abraham Lincoln’s life. It also touches on some writings that are derived from “The Famous Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln”. The book starts out describing the young man, Abraham Lincoln and how he had a much taller figure comparing Abraham Lincoln to the other population of the nineteenth century. It also goes on to describe how he arrived in the New Salem area and became a very well-known figure of the area. The story would continue onto every other important aspect of Abraham Lincoln’s life, studying law and campaigning for a seat in the Illinois legislature where he would eventually win, meeting his wife Mary Todd, not