Abraham Lincoln s The Argument Against The War - 1182 Words

Destiny Hellyer Hist-1301 â€Å"Abraham Lincoln Condemns the War with Mexico, 1848† 1) What is Abraham Lincoln’s main argument against the war? When Lincoln was a Congressman in the House of Representatives, during his short term, he loudly opposed the Mexican war held in 1846. His main argument was that the war was unconstitutional and unnecessary and was based on a lie. He faced severe criticism from fellow Whigs including other congressmen for raising voice against the USA intervention in the Mexican territory and promotion of slavery there. This was against the popular President James Polk’s moves to acquire lands under USA control. Lincoln thought it was unjust and tyrannous. 2) What evidence does Lincoln use to support his anti-war argument? Lincoln believed that Polk had invaded Mexico based on a lie. So he questioned the President Polk’s intent of going to war which was based on Mexico crossing national borders in order to draw first blood in the US soil. He challenged Polk in the House floor to prove the claim of waging the Mexican war by providing evidence and facts in a fair and just manner. Lincoln emphasized that Polk should not resort to rhetoric, evasions, and arguments and should be precise and transparent in presenting the facts that led to the war. 1) Mexico was declared independent in 1821 following a series of revolts and political turmoil due to Spanish colonial rule. The independent land of Mexico sought to secure its borders against illegal AmericanShow MoreRelatedThe Views On Lincoln s Presidency1738 Words   |  7 Pagesslavery, and the unification of a nation as a whole, I distinguished that several authors have contending visions of Lincoln’s actions during his presidency. Some authors (Dirck, Guelzo, Striner) portray Lincoln as the great emancipator in depicting him as a crusader whose main purpose during the Civil War was only to accomplish the abolishment of slavery. In contrast, some authors (Escott, Gates, Foner, and McPherson) maintain a more critical stance on Lincoln’s decision to abolish slavery citing thatRead MoreThe Main Cause Of The American Civil War1047 Words   |  5 Pagesof the American Civil war must be resolved, and while there are many ideas, history reveals that there was only one . There are many arguable motives to the start of the Civil War, but there are four main concepts. These four concepts were slavery, taxation, the election of Abraham Lincoln and lastly, struggling with power between the Northern and Southern states. To start with, the end of slavery is undoubtedly one of the most popular arguments to the creation of the Civil War. While many considerRead MoreThe Declaration Of The United States1346 Words   |  6 PagesNorthern, the Middle, and the Southern Colonies) allowed English expansion of trade. However, in 1770, Colonists revolted against England in a sequence of deliberate acts, such as the Tea Act and the Stamp Act, mainly involving unnecessary taxation of Colonists. Rising tensions eventually resulted in a Revolutionary War between England and the Colonies; The Thirteen Colonies won the war. It was the Treaty of Paris (1783) that finally ended all ties with Britain; America would claim its identity as itsRead MoreLincoln, Grant, And Whitman1605 Words   |  7 PagesLincoln, Grant, and Whitman Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Walt Whitman all represent a period of time in which the United States was embroiled in turmoil. From the year 1861 to 1865, the Union army from the North battled the Confederacy of the South, and when it came to an end at the Appomattox Courthouse, over 620,000 men had lost their lives (Civil War Casualties, n.d.). President Abraham Lincoln had finally found a general he could trust in Ulysses S. Grant, who had forced the surrenderRead MoreAbraham Lincoln And The Todds, A Family Divided By War1521 Words   |  7 PagesAbraham Lincoln is best known for his great speeches and his role in the civil war, but what most people do not know is how he and his wife met and what effect her family had on his presidency. In Stephen Berry’s book House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds, a Family Divided By War, Berry tells about the life of Abraham and his wife Mary Todd. In this book, he includes the influence that the Todd family had played on his personal life as well as his presidency. This book begins with Mary Todd’s grandfatherRead MoreLincoln And The Emancipation Slavery990 Words   |  4 Pages Lincoln and the Emancipation Slavery caused many violent events in the 17 and 1800’s. The South and the North could not agree with slavery; the North was anti-slavery and the South were pro-slavery. The south considered slaves to be their own personal property and the slaves were not allowed to be counted as a citizen of the United States; they were only considered to be counted as 3/5 of a person. Because slave owners were so harsh to their slaves, the slaves generated many slave rebellionsRead MoreThe Abraham Lincoln s Childhood1317 Words   |  6 Pages Summary The book starts with talking about Abraham Lincoln’s childhood. Abraham was born in Nolan Creek, Kentucky in 1809, to his parents Nancy Hanks and Thomas Lincoln. Abraham s father Thomas was described as â€Å"a tinker- a piddler- always doing but doing nothing great† (2). During his childhood, the family would move several times, first to Indiana and later to Illinois. Abraham’s mother, Nancy Hanks, died when he was still a boy. The following year his father, Thomas remarried to Sarah Bush JohnstonRead MoreChapter Eight Of The American Era880 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Ku Klux Klan. If anything, the attempt to create stability to the war-torn South ended up making things worse in both the North and South. Chapter nine is discussing how Lincoln s true legacy is placed, most notably the construction of the American System suggested by Henry Clay. With his presidency, Lincoln threatens that he will attack any state that fails to collect enough funds for its protectoral tariffs. Lincoln also issued large sums of money to the construction of transcontinentalRead MoreSignificance And Impact Of The Emancipation Proclamation1658 Words   |  7 PagesS. History 1A 5 May, 2015 Significance and Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation Abraham Lincoln once said, A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. (Lincoln s House-Divided Speech in Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858). The critical issueRead MoreEssay on The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln1007 Words   |  5 Pages Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States of America. Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, and died on April 15, 1865. As a young child, Abraham lived in a log cabin in Illinois. Around the age of twelve he began working, wielding an ax, building fences, and cutting wood. Later, Abraham Lincoln married a woman named Mary Todd; together they had four children. Lincoln started his presidency on March 18, 1861, but his term was cut short on April 14, 1865, by the assassin