Historical Background Of Lincolns Position - Book Report/Review Example

Historical Background Of Lincoln’s Position Introduction Abraham Lincoln remains the most revered of all US presidents. In fact, historians fondly suggest that the only figure rivaling the number of essays written in America about Lincoln in Jesus Christ. In America, Lincoln holds so high a moral status that his images and quotes are used as reference points to America’s highest values. Despite the high praises bestowed upon Lincoln’s legacy, it is worth acknowledging the fact that as a Congressman and finally a president, Lincoln was constantly ridiculed by political elites from both the North and Southern states. In their works, many essayists writing about Lincoln often encounter conflicting moments when trying to balance the ideological sources of Lincoln’s ridicules, and the highly-esteemed accolades that Lincoln’s legacy enjoys today. As a means of enhancing professionalism, The Organization of American Historians has combined works of history scholars depicting exceptional analysis of Lincoln’s political career. Some of such essays are combined inside a book called, The Best American History Essays on Lincoln. This essay involves review of Chapter 11 of the book, a chapter titled, “Lincoln and the Constitution.” Lincoln and the Constitution Lincoln, as the 16th US president, led the nation through the Civil War. The American Civil War marked a time when the nation was experiencing the greatest crisis in its political, moral and constitutional fronts. The war consumed many American heroes, including Lincoln. In April 1865, only a month before the war terminated, Lincoln was assassinated. Prior to his assassination, Lincoln had occupied the US presidency office since March 1861. During his term as the president, Lincoln stood for certain moral, political and constitutional principles. Some of these principles included preservation of the North and South Union, strengthening of the Federal government system and abolition of slavery. Distinctly, Lincoln’s strong position regarding these principles motivated his opponents to engineer the assassination. Lincoln’s ideologies at that time went contrary to those of influential political figures. For example, Lincoln’s stern position on slavery was termed by his opponents as tyranny. In chapter 11 of the aforementioned book, the essay, ‘Lincoln and the Constitution’ was written by Mark Neely Jr. At the beginning of the chapter, Mark highlights the historical background of Lincoln’s position with respect to the US constitution. As the chapter progress, Mark highlights in momentary incidents of Lincoln’s careers since 1828. Apparently, Lincoln was born and raised in poor rural settings characterized by wanton poverty and lack of economic opportunities.1 As a youth, Abraham Lincoln subscribed to values of the Whig Party. The Whig Party was concerned about the powers of the presidency as provided by the constitution. Members of the Whig favored empowerment of the Congress as opposed to strengthening of the president. In addition, the Whig fought for the aspects of economic protectionism and modernization. Having stemmed from an economically inadequate childhood, Lincoln was eager to uplifting the economic prospects of poor Americans. Protectionism was the only viable way of improving economic prospects of these poor Americans.2 However, the ruling Democratic Party opposed protectionism. Issue of Economic Protectionism The conflicting economic views between the Democratic political front and that of the Whig Party led to a series of constitutional debates. At any episode of the debates, Lincoln stressed that the US Constitution permitted elements of protectionism, specifically the funding of internal improvements by the federal government. Contrarily, the Democratic Party maintained that such funding was unconstitutional. At one moment, James Polk, the Democratic president stated that funding of internal improvements by the federal system can only occur after the US Constitution has been amended to permit such actions. Lincoln was not pleased with Polk’s statement. In response, Lincoln said that amending the constitution because of the funding issue would trigger a habitual need to alter the supreme law whenever difficulties arise.3 Lincoln liked to think of the constitution as a perfect set of laws that required no amendments. In his defense, Lincoln mentioned that altering the funding act would yield new challenges that may necessitate subsequent altering of other parts on the constitution. Based on the above paragraph, it emerges that Lincoln was a constitutional conservative. At the age of 27, Lincoln wanted to run for a second term in Congress election. At that time, there was a hot debate regarding the manner in which proceeds from sale of public lands by the federal government should be distributed. The Democratic Party maintained that proceeds will be deposited in the federal bank, and states should borrow development capital from the federal bank and pay interest on the loan. On the contrary, Lincoln emphasized that proceeds from the land sales should be equitably distributed to each state, and each state can use the money in internal improvement projects without having to borrow from the federal government.4 Regarding the sharing of monetary proceeds, Lincoln was facing rigid opposition from the Supreme Court’s decision on constitutionality of the national bank. However, Lincoln mentioned that the constitution recognizes the role of Congress in collection of taxes and payment of national debts. Lincoln maintained that since the Congress perform fiduciary duties for the federal government; the federal system should reciprocate by distributing revenue to individual states. Issue of President’s Power to Wage War Aside from the issue of funding for internal improvements, Lincoln remained indifferent to the powers of war as exercised by the president. In 1854, Lincoln was concerned that the Mexican War was a violation of the constitution by the president. Lincoln emphasized that the war was unnecessary. However, the president, James Polk, wanted the war for purposes of demonstrating military prowess under his command, thus earning him votes for the election.5 According to Lincoln, the power to wage war was vested in the US Congress and not in the presidency office. In a letter to Herndon, a professional friend of Lincoln, it says that the war-making power is not vested on any single person. Lincoln noted that the act of vesting the war-making power to the president takes America back to the kings’ times. In a democratic governance system, citizens of The United States, through their representatives in Congress, decides when and when not to wage a war on an external enemy.6 Unfortunately, the war was fought, and Lincoln’s constitutional concerns were never regarded by the president. Issue of Slavery At this juncture, it emerges that Lincoln was opposed to the popular views of the ruling party. Apart from the issues of economic protectionism and the Mexican War, Lincoln was also concerned about the constitutional legality of slavery in America. After the Mexican War, the issue of slavery occupied America’s constitutional debates. Expectedly, Lincoln voiced anti-slavery interpretation of the constitution. In analyzing the issue of slavery, Lincoln used an interesting analogy of an ailing man. Lincoln emphasized that the US Constitution did not explicitly mention anything about Negro slavery. However, the founding principles of the constitution, especially on the principle of fundamental human rights, guarantees slaves a right to freedom. In this case, Lincoln mentioned that the constitution treats the issue of slavery in a similar manner that a cancer-ailing person treats a cancerous growth. If an ailing person cuts the cancerous growth, he will risk bleeding to death. On the other hand, leaving the cancerous growth to advance would inevitably lead to an eventual death. In this case, the constitution left out slavery until such a time when concerns regarding the issue would be inevitably necessary. In this context of slavery, one can realize that the anti-slavery interpretation of Lincoln goes against his pattern of constitutional conservatism. As mentioned earlier, Lincoln wanted the constitution to remain unaltered. In addition, his Whig background would not tolerate empowerment of colored Americans. At this point, Lincoln admitted that the US Constitution has for the first time been confronted by a social problem.7 In discussing the issue of slavery, Lincoln refrained from referring to the constitution. Lincoln relied on the Declaration of Independence, which asserts that in America, every man is created equal before God and that each person deserves certain unalienable rights. In challenging the slavery position of his opponents, Lincoln reiterated that individuals propagating slavery were exercising double standards, given that the same persons upheld provisions of the Declaration of Independence. At the time when discussions regarding constitutionality of slavery intensified, Lincoln was struggling to save the Union. Because of the Civil War, there was a growing rift between the Southern states and the Northern states. Southern states like Mississippi and Tennessee wanted slavery to continue because these states had vast farms requiring slaves for labor.8 Contrarily, Northern states advocated for the subject of emancipation. Lincoln was split between saving the Union and freeing the slaves. In 1861, Lincoln was elected president. While in office, Lincoln learned that the constitution gives the president powers to abolish slavery in enemy territories. At that time, Southern states like Missouri had increasingly became indifferent to the federal government that Lincoln immediately labeled such states as enemy territories. In September 22, 1862, Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, thus freeing all slaves in The United States.9 In conclusion, it is evident that Lincoln had a conservative journey regarding the Constitution. Throughout his political career, Lincoln struggled to keep his constitutional ideologies afloat amidst the drowning power of the Democratic opponents. Bibliography Neely, Mark. Chapter 11 - Lincoln and the constitution. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Read More