Reading the history of President Lincoln was a pleasure. It measured morality in a way that is still with us today. I think his steadfastness of the morality within the US Civil War is profound. It changed this country forever. Not every President can say that. He was right for the time of our country with his character and determination to be a strong President that would bring all states under the new laws that defined humanity.
I realized how wrong a US Supreme Court could be and the fact of the matter is "Citizens United" is a moral issue. It has divided this country.
Today, we are seeing a strong resurgence of values that lifts up all Americans to a standard defined within our birth right. That birth right was defined by President Abraham Lincoln, it is not an abstract idea.
In July 1862, (click here) President Abraham Lincoln, third from left,
delivered the first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation to his
cabinet. The Proclamation freed all slaves in areas of rebellion and
effectively codified abolition as a Union objective for the Civil War.
It went into effect on January 1, 1963. The legacy of this document
earned Lincoln a reputation as “The Great Emancipator." From the Emancipation Proclamation:
First Paragraph:
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom....
There are certain understandings by Americans that are reflected in their upbringing simply because our culture dictates it. Free thought, freedom to speak, freedom to be understood in the demands of our government. All that basic understanding of our democracy is a birth right.
...all persons held as slaves...
President Lincoln in his speech points to the slaves as the people who are to be recipient to the rights all other Americans who are not slaves understand. He doesn't say "All Lives Matter" in his speech, he points to the enslaved people of the USA. Does that mean these rights are now exclusive to the Slaves Only. Of course not and I think I made my point in regard to modern day politics.
But, President Lincoln drew a line the political sand of the USA. He began the war with Union soldiers only when it was evident the Confederacy was serious about secession in a way that would change the United States forever. The Confederacy acted prematurely to any actions President Lincoln might propose to the Congress. They declared war before there was a reason for it.
The US Civil War to President Lincoln was not simply a political volley, it was the character and morality of our people that acted to preserve the Union.
I am convinced President Lincoln believed the founding documents of our democracy were at stake during the Civil War. We were a country founded as no other country had been founded before. From the Declaration of Independence to the Ten Amendments to the US Constitution all carved out a very unique set of values. The people were to rule their own land without inhibition. No monarchy. No dictator. It was the people that were to rule their land through a representative government.
It was unique for the late 1700s. Today, some would say it is a pipe dream. But, back in the day the colonists laid the ground work and began the new government. There was skepticism for a long time even after the colonists won the Revolutionary War. The founding scholars fully expected it all to fall apart, but, they were alive and filled in the new government. They had the concept down right and allowed the new country to roll out as stated.
The USA Civil War would have changed that US Constitution. I am convinced of it. The Civil War was about freeing the slaves, but, it was also more than that. It was a test of the country's will to end an insurrection. It lasted just shy of four years. It was a war. The South had raised a formidable army. The South was determined to secede. And why not let them is that is what they want. Why not let them simply have their slaves and allow the rest of the country peace?
I think it was the idea of the insurrection, but, there was also a moral overlay to it. There were real reasons to fight the secession of the southern states and bring the country back together regardless of a divisive decision by the US Supreme Court. It was more than boundaries and border lines. It was about the very democracy we as a country carved out for ourselves.
The USA Civil War put a stamp on our birth right. It is a birth right for all Americans. Hearing and reading the words of Abraham Lincoln as President of this country stated about slaves only reaffirmed our beliefs for ourselves.
