Abraham Lincoln and The Civil War

After independence, USA was associated with vast political, socio-cultural events. According to Norton (2014), the Early America Republic ranged between the years 1789-1829. The early republic was also associated with socio-political issues such as gender inequality and slavery. In the mid-1800s, a rift between the North and South led to the Civil War. The war became huge during the reign of President Abraham Lincoln. The basis of the discussion below is on the events that took place in Early Republic and during the American civil war. The paper will explore various occurrences during this period by analyzing the points of view of two primary sources namely: The Lee Resolution; The document Chronicles of United States history and Abraham Lincoln’s papers at the Library of Congress.

The Lee Resolution

Initially, the Lee resolution was written by Richard Henry Lee in 1776 in the form of an assertion. It was later compiled by the National archives. The source was written as a declaration for the second continental Congress. The author was born in Virginia in 1732 and he died in 1794 (Norton, 2014). The document was organized into three parts namely independence issue, confederation for the states and American foreign relations. The letter was created to plan treaties, amend the congress and plan for forthcoming treaties. Lee’s source was a reflection of various social, political and international issues that affected the early republic. Originally, the British had a powerful rule over the Americas since it was one of their thirteen colonies. Due to cases such as high taxation, mistreatment and inequality, the colonies started to go against British colony hence occupying the various territories and being dependent (Lee, 1776). The revolutionary war of 1775 led to independence and a new government was formed. In the year 1776, Henry introduced the Lee Resolution where he advocated for the self-governance of the American colonies (Lee, 1776). Additionally, he proposed the formation of foreign alliances and an amalgamation plan. Due to disagreements, the proposal was delayed until the first move to declare the independence on June the same year. The rest of the proposals were passed on September 1776. The Lee Resolution came to effect on August 2nd.

after being signed by a committee of five and the President of the Congress. Internationally, the charter led to a sequence of events such as the treaty of Paris in 1783, the Virginia plan in the year 1787 and the treaty of alliance with France where the United States joined military support against Great Britain after which the constitution of the United States was proposed in 1778. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay took part in writing the Federalists papers aiming at influencing approval of the constitution. (Lee, 1776). Moreover, the federalists were involved in the splitting up of parties together with the democratic-Republicans. Eventually, George Washington was declared the first president after winning the elections.

Abraham Lincoln papers

Abraham Lincoln wrote the source and it basically entailed his words, thoughts and actions. It is a collection of 10 papers written by Abraham Lincoln and Robert Lincoln, while his secretaries wrote the later sections. Abraham was born in 1809 and died in 1865. The first papers were written in 1865 while he was still alive (Norton, 2014). The reason for writing the documents was to preserve the speeches and digital images of Lincoln and the Civil War. The major events discussed in the source are: the civil war, abolition of slavery and international conflict. The document notes that the war began a month after he entered presidency. Lincoln issued a preliminary emancipation declaring the beginning of the war (Lincoln, 1865). The inaugural address declared the end of slavery. The war resulted from the enslavement of black people (Lincoln, 1865). More so, Lincoln declared democracy in all states. With regard to international conflicts, the President decided to rebel against the British ideologies especially after recognition of the Southerners by the British. There was more to be lost because the British supported the South. The combat caused a destruction of transport systems but a good number of black people were freed. Moreover, it caused loss of lives which approximated to be above 600,000 (Norton, 2014). The thirteenth amendment to the constitution abolished slave trade in the United States.

In conclusion, the two articles discussed similar themes namely: International conflict, social and political movements that forever revolutionized the United States. America had undergone various setbacks due to British colonization. The sources explain changes such as declaration of independence, suspension of ally states, abolition of slave trade, and initiation of the restoration age. Essentially, the Lee resolution initiated the declaration of independence and resulted in creation of continental congress (Lee, 1776). On the other hand, the Lincoln paper provides a sneak peek of how President Lincoln influenced slavery and integrated the United States. As indicated above, the civil war and the time before, and after the occurrence influenced the country positively and negatively. Both papers agree that all the events that occurred were directed towards the fight for human rights and freedoms.

References

Lee, R.H. (1776). Lee Resolution. An Act of enforcement the fifteenth amendment to the constitution of the united states and for other purposes. Record group 11; National Archives.

Lincoln, A. (1865) Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 3. General correspondence 1837 to 1897: Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1865 Second Inaugural Address; endorsed by Lincoln March 4.

Norton, M. B. (2014). A people & a nation: A history of the United States.