To what extent did Lincoln’s economic. military. and political policies from 1861 to 1865 contribute to the saving of the Union? Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860. As a president of the United States. Lincoln’s end was to maintain the Union together. The job of bondage and the sezession by the South are chiefly the two issues that lead to the dissolve of the Union. in which Lincoln put all his attempts to cover with during his presidential term. “He believes this authorities can non digest for good half slave and half free. He does non anticipate the Union to be dissolved ; He does non anticipate the house to fall ; but he does anticipate it will discontinue to be divided. ” Lincoln claimed that it is either all free or all slaves in the Union. the Union can non digest half free and half slaves. Lincoln viewed bondage as “a moral. societal. and political wrong” . He “does non believe it is a constitutional right to keep slaves in a district of the United States” ( Paul Boyer 360 ) . Lincoln’s dream was to liberate all the slaves. but this dream can merely travel by bit by bit. he can non stop bondage instantly because it will further the dissolve of the Union.
However. Southerners viewed his triumph of being a president of the United States as a triumph for abolishment. Here the job raised. southern provinces decided to get down the procedure of sezession from the Union. Lincoln’s difficult clip began from now on. How was he traveling to work out this job? Lincoln aid preserved the Union in three different facets which are economic. military and political policies. His economic scheme was to utilize capital. arm and trade ; his military scheme was the war of abrasion and the three-part scheme to take over the control of Mississippi River and Richmond ; his political scheme was to assure he will non stop bondage instantly but bit by bit and set up the Emancipation of Proclamation to claim that every slaves in South will be free so that they will give up to contend against the Union. Since the procedure of sezession is inevitable. the southern provinces were fall ining together to organize a new state called the Confederacy. This new formation indicated that Lincoln was losing portion of the Union.
As a president. Lincoln was seeking his best to assist continue the Union. At the beginning of the Civil War. Lincoln applies the northern advantages to assist beef up the armed forces. First. the North had a immense population advantage. so that the North were able to enroll more soldiers and voluntaries to assist battle for the war. Second. “the North controlled more than 85 per centum of the nation’s industry and important material resources. These advantages enabled the North to bring forth military supplies and replace lost or damaged equipment more quickly than the Confederacy” ( Boyer 371 ) . With these economic advantages. Lincoln was able to provide the ground forces with better nutrients. shelters and vesture. The soldiers did non necessitate to endure every bit more as the Confederate. Even if the Union was out of supplies during the war. it would be more fasten to resupply it. “In add-on. since most of the nation’s railway lines were located in the Northeast and Midwest. the Union could travel military personnels and supplies with ease” ( Boyer 371 ) .
The economic and transit advantages besides helped fix the procedure of resupply and helping the ground forces. The per centum for the Union to win the war was higher since the North was holding better economic advantages than the South. During the Civil War. Lincoln’s military schemes was chiefly to split the south geographically. so that southern provinces are happening hard to link with each other. Lincoln used a three portion scheme. foremost. he plan to take over the control of the capital of the Confederate which is Richmond. Second. Lincoln program to derive control of the Mississippi River. this “allowed north to perforate deep into the South. and prevent the Confederate states from utilizing the waterway to resupply its forces” ( Boyer 375 ) .
To take over the control of the Mississippi River. North needed to command the largest metropolis in the South which is New Orleans. “New Orleans is a cardinal port for providing military personnels along and west of the river. capturing New Orleans would let the Union to cut off supplies to western Confederate forces and to travel military personnels up the Mississippi River” ( Boyer 383 ) . Third. Lincoln used the Anaconda Plan to establish a naval encirclement of the South to slowly squash the life out of the South like Eunectes murinuss snake. This hurts the south economic system by halting the South from merchandising with foreign states. This three portion scheme helped weaken the forces of the Confederacy and farther the procedure to win the war. Lincoln’s another military scheme was to pin down the Confederacy ground forces force inside Vicksburg until they are died by hungering. In this manner. they can coerce the Confederate to give up without blowing any work force and utilizing any force. In add-on. Lincoln used “the war of attrition” to go on to contend until the South ran out of work forces. supplies. and the will to contend ( Boyer 392 ) .
Besides. Lincoln used the scheme called the “total war” to strike at the Confederate economic resources by taking away what supplies they could utilize and destructing anything that might be helpful to the Confederate. combustion farmhouses. butchering farm animal. and rupture up railway paths ( Boyer 394 ) . These military schemes gave the Confederate a difficult clip in both economic and war. Near the terminal of the Civil War. Lincoln was forced to alter the intent of the war from continuing the Union to get rid of bondage by emancipationists. Frederick Douglass said it did non deserving if the war was merely fight for salvaging the Union without stoping bondage. “A house divided against itself can non stand” agencies that the United States can non ever divided into two parts. one is the Union who opposed bondage. and another is the Confederate states who supported bondage.
As Lincoln said in his address “I have no intent. straight or indirectly. to interfere with the establishment of bondage in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to make so. and I have no disposition to make so” ( Abraham Lincoln ) to claim that bondage should be abolished bit by bit. non instantly. because it would upset the South. And it is incorrect to let bondage to distribute to every other portion of the broad universe. Lincoln helped continue the Union politically by doing the Emancipation of Proclamation to liberate all slaves populating in countries still arising against the United States. He assured it would use merely to the Confederate provinces to peace the struggle in the Border States. “Lincoln hoped that if slaves learned that the North was contending to liberate them. they would abandon their Masterss. thereby weakening the South’s economy” ( Boyer 385 ) .
Lincoln’s political scheme to free slaves in the Confederacy aid continue the Union by weakening the Confederacy’s economic system and doing them can non stand by oneself and was forced to unify with the Union. Abraham Lincoln was a great leader and president of the United States. Although. he was holding a difficult clip during his presidential term. he ne’er planned to halt assisting the Union. Alternatively. he helped salvage the Union in three different facets: economic. military and political schemes to derive back the districts from the Confederacy and united them to develop the United States of America. Without the aid of Lincoln. the United States would be spliting into two parts and bondage would still be. Without the aid of Lincoln. the United States would non be able to reunite together as a complete state. Lincoln’ attempts to assist continue the Union will ever remain in every Americans’ head.
Plants Cited1. Boyer. Paul S. “Chapter 12 The Civil War 1861-1865. ” Holt American state. Capital of texas: Holt. Rinehart. and Winston. 2005. 360. 368. -372. 375. 382-387. 390-395. Print. 2. Abraham. Lincoln. “From Lincoln’s Cooper Union Address. ” The Cooper Union Speech. Library of America. Cooper Union. New York City. 27 Feb. 1860. Address. 3. “Abraham Lincoln’s Speech at Peoria. Illinois. ” Editorial. The OAH Magazine of History Oct. 2007: 35. Print. 4. “Abraham Lincoln: First Inaugural Address. U. S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989. ” Bartleby. com: Great Books Online — Quotes. Poems. Novels. Classicss and 100s more. 02 Feb. 2013 & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. bartleby. com/124/pres31. hypertext markup language & gt ; .
