Download A Study on Abraham Lincoln`s Assassination: Conflicts Provoked in

A Study on Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination: Conflicts
Provoked in the Presidency of Lincoln (1861-1865)
By
Vivian Hsu
Tainan Girls' Senior High School
Advisor: 廖珮君老師
Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to thank my teachers and advisors for helping me so much
during this process. Thanks to my history teacher Pei Chun Liao, for being so
supportive when I had to change my topic so many times, spending so much time
discussing with me, and helping me find the next step to take when I felt lost. Thanks
to my English teachers Christine Tsai and Daniel Lambert, as well as Professor Chong
Iau, for assisting me in any way I needed help, correcting my thesis and providing me
with ideas. I would also like to thank our homeroom teacher, Wanda Wang, for being
considerate and supportive through the process. Thank you, members of the 217
family, for enduring my constant craziness and tears, and also supporting me when I
felt I could no longer work it through. Last but not least, I would like to thank my
parents and my sisters, for giving me different ideas and helping me with the research
when I was most in need of them. I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to
these people, including you, who are reading this, for making my thesis possible.
Table of Contents
Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Motivation and Purpose of Study
1.2 Limitations and Methodology
Chapter Two Overview of Lincoln's Life
2.1 Lincoln's Timeline of Events
2.2 Important Policies
2.2.1
Political Policies
2.2.2
Economic Policies
Chapter Three Discussion on Lincoln's Assassination
3.1 Assassination
3.2 Controversies Caused by the Policies and Voices Against
Lincoln
3.2.1
Political Aspects
3.2.2
Economic Aspects
Chapter Four Conclusion and Introspection
Appendix: References
Chapter One:
Introduction
1.1 Motivation and Purpose of Study
In November of the year 2010, a bullet was shot through the face of Lien Sheng
Wen, Lien Chan’s son in an election campaign. Fortunately, Lien Sheng Wen survived;
however this led me to think of one word - assassination. There had been a few
assassination attempts of public figures in Taiwan in the past years, but the first
country that comes to my mind when I hear the word "assassination" is the United
States of America. It occurred to me that the USA, the first country to implement the
Separation of Powers, which has become a powerful and influential country in the
world over the last few centuries, has had many cases of assassinations in its not long,
but rich history. After some research, I found out that there have been as many as
twenty assassination attempts on presidents in the USA, four of which have succeeded.
Of the four successful assassinations, I noticed that the assassination of Abraham
Lincoln is the first in American history as well as one of the most well-known
historical events around the world.
As we all have studied in history, Lincoln was the mighty president of the United
States of America who unfortunately got assassinated. What I'd like to discuss is the
reason why. If Abraham Lincoln was such a great president, why would there be
people plotting to kill him? Why wouldn't all people worship and praise him like the
contents in our history textbooks do? Surely there must have been a reason, or reasons,
behind Lincoln's assassination. During the nineteenth century, the distinction between
the North and South had become more and more significant, and this must have led to
many disagreements.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to affiliate Lincoln's assassination to the
policies made during the time. Lincoln certainly made many policies during his
presidency, but the policies may have provoked conflicts, planting potential factors
for his assassination. This study hopes to conclude by inferring the possible conflicts
that may have led to Lincoln's assassination.
1.2 Limitations and Methodology
This study only focuses on the policies within Lincoln's presidency. Most people may
believe the cause of the assassination to be only the slavery issue, yet Lincoln's
policies were not only confined to slavery. Therefore, this study looks at the
assassination from two major aspects, political and economic, in which Lincoln may
have enumerated polices that caused controversy. However, due to the time constraint
and limited amount of information available in Taiwan, I narrowed my research scope
and relied on many online websites. Due to this fact, I chose only one policy in each
aspect, which are the Emancipation Proclamation and the Protective Tariff, because
more information were found on these two policies and also because they were
perhaps the most controversial during the presidency of Lincoln.
The first chapter of this study is the introduction, introducing the motivation,
purpose, limitations and methodology.Chapter two provides a timeline of Lincoln's
life, and also depicts his political career. In the second section of chapter two,
Lincoln's two important policies are introduced. These policies are mostly depicted
from the perspective of Lincoln, explaining why he enumerated and supported these
two policies. This study enters its core in chapter three. Chapter three is started off by
the assassination of Lincoln from beginning to end, and later on discusses the policies
mentioned in chapter two, section two. This second section of chapter three is written
from an “anti-Lincoln” point of view, and infers whether these controversies were
likely to lead to the assassination of Lincoln. Chapter four concludes this whole paper,
summarizing and also discussing what we can gain or learn from this historical event.
Chapter Two:
Overview of Lincoln's Life
2.1 Lincoln's Timeline of Events
1806- Thomas Lincoln and
Nancy Hanks marry.
1809- Abraham Lincoln, born
February 12, 1809, Hardin
County, Kentucky.
1817- Lincoln's family
settles in Perry County,
Indiana.
1830- Lincoln family move into
Illinois, near Decatur.
1832 - First political speech.
Henry Clay, Whig platform.
Defeated through strong
local vote. Deputy surveyor
in Sangamon County.
1831 - Enlisted in Black Hawk
War. Store clerk and merchant
in New Salem. Studies for the
law.
1838 to 1840- Re-elected to
State legislature.
1844 - Proposed for
Congress.
1845 - Law partner with W.
H. Herndon, for life.
1846 - Elected to Congress,
the single Whig Illinois
member; voted antislavery;
sought abolition in the D.
C.; voted Wilmot Proviso.
Declined re-election.
1834 - Elected to State
legislature as Whig. (Resides in
Springfield till 1861. Law
partner with John L. Stuart till
1840.)
1835 - Postmaster in New
Salem; appointed by President
Jackson.
1840 - Partner in law with S. T.
Logan.
1842 - Marrys Mary Todd. Of
the four sons, Edward died in
infancy; William at twelve;
Thomas ("Tad"), aged twenty;
Robert M. T., minister to Great
Britain, presidential candidate,
secretary of war to President
Garfield. His only grandson,
1848 - Electioneered for
General Taylor.
1849 - Defeated by Shields
for United States senator.
1854 - Won the State over to
the Republicans, but by
arrangement transferred his
claim to the senatorship to
Trumbull. Debated with
1851 - Thomas Lincoln dies.
Douglas in October.
Declined the governorship
in favor of Bissell.
1856 - Organized the Republican Party and
became its chief; nominated vice-president,
but was not chosen by its first convention;
worked for the Fremont-Dayton
1852 - Electioneered for
General Scott.
1858 - Lost in the legislature the
senatorship to Douglas.
presidential ticket.
1860 - May 9, nominated for
President, "shutting out" Seward,
1859 - Placed for the presidential
candidacy. Made Eastern tour "to get
acquainted."
Chase, Cameron, Dayton, Wade,
Bates, and McLean.
1862 - Emancipation announced.
1863 - January 1, emancipation
proclaimed. November 19,
Gettysburg Cemetery address.
December 9, pardon to rebels
proclaimed.
1864 - Nomination
as Republican
presidential candidate for
re-election. Re-elected in
November 8.
1861 - March 4, inaugurated sixteenth
President; succeeds Buchanan, and
precedes his vice - Andrew Johnson, whom
General Grant succeeded. Civil War began
by firing on Fort Sumter, April 12.
1865 - March 4, inaugurated for the second
term. April 14, assassinated in Ford's
Theater, Washington by Wilkes Booth.
April 19, body lay in state at Washington.
April 26, Booth slain in resisting arrest
near Port Royal.
Graph 1: Lincoln’s Timeline of Events
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th American president, serving from 1861 until his
assassination in 1865. He successfully led his country through a decisive crisis – the
American Civil War - turning the United States of America into a democratic and
liberal nation. The American Civil War is known to be the turning point of America’s
history, and Abraham Lincoln not only abolished slavery but also ushered in a new era
of American power on the world stage. This extraordinary president, applauded for his
achievements and dedication to the nation, has been given the name of “the best
president” by many scholars1; however, his life was ended unexpectedly and
tragically when he was assassinated in 1865.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a poor family, spending his childhood years
working hard to increase the family income. He didn’t receive much schooling when
he was young; however he loved reading and tried every way to find books to read.
Though he was mostly self-educated, his confidence and sense of justice motivated
him to achieve a higher goal – in 1832 he entered politics. He joined the Whig party,
which advocated a strong, and centralized federal government, opposing the
Democratic Party. He began his political career by running for office in the Illinois
state legislature as a Whig candidate. However, before he even started campaigning,
he was faced with taking the leader role in the Black Hawk Indian War. With his
providence, the Black Hawk Indian War ended peacefully with no military action
taken at all. Nevertheless, the Black Hawk Indian War gave him only two and a half
weeks left to campaign, resulting in his defeat in the election.
However, in 1834, Lincoln ran for legislature once again and won the election
for the Whig party. He was elected to the lower house, in which he sat firmly for four
successive terms until 1841, and took the position of state assemblyman at the age of
twenty-five. During the sessions, Lincoln became more and more interested in the
bills promoted for the improvement of roads and canals in the state. He voted for them
all, and this interest certainly planted the seeds of Lincoln’s future proposed economic
policies. In 1836, Lincoln successfully became the Whig party leader as he won the
re-election.
Lincoln, known for his prominent achievements in solving the issue of slavery,
made his first public statement on slavery in 1837. Together with another legislator,
they showed resentment to a resolution that did not see slavery as an immoral practice.
While Lincoln actively participated in politics, he developed an interest for law; along
with the encouragement of the Whig legislator John Todd Stuart, Lincoln became an
attorney at law in 1836, working hard and justly freeing his clients from guilt.
1
About.com: American History http://americanhistory.about.com/od/abrahamlincoln/p/plincoln.htm
Lincoln was acquainted with Stephen A. Douglas, a prosecuting attorney, during
his life as a lawyer. However, not only did they meet often in the courtroom, but they
also gathered together a lot in the political arena. Douglas was a Democrat, supporting
the rights of individual states to govern themselves. Therefore, rivalry naturally
formed between the two.
By 1845, Lincoln had turned his aim towards national politics. He wanted to win
the Whig party nomination to the United States Congress, in which he failed.
Nevertheless, in 1847, he was elected to Congress favorably, in time to express his
opinions on the Mexican War, which had just broken out in 1845. Nonetheless, it was
exactly his opinions and claims that brought him criticisms, for he had “betrayed” his
country by opposing the Mexican War and going against the Democratic President
James Polk. Consequently, he lost his chance of running for the second term in the
Congress.
At the time, the issue of “slavery” had become wildly discussed. Lincoln
supported the abolition of slavery; however, he was concerned about the economy of
the South once slavery was ended. He was actually indifferent to Mexico annexing
Texas in the Mexican War, for Texas was already a slave territory; but he was fearful
of the expansion of slavery into new areas.
In 1854, Lincoln once again met with Douglas, strongly opposing the
Kansas-Nebraska Act, a bill Douglas had proposed. Yet when the bill passed, Lincoln
was disappointed in the Whig party and felt that it no longer represented his thoughts.
Fortunately, the Republican Party was formed at the time, and Lincoln immediately
joined in. He devoted himself to the party, and soon in 1858 he won the nomination
for the Senate. Unfortunately, his opponent, the nominee in the Democratic Party, was
his long-time rival, Stephen Douglas. In Lincoln’s speeches, he asserted that the
Democrats intended to nationalize slavery, an action he was strongly against. He later
challenged Douglas to seven debates, which had never occurred in the United States,
indirectly raising his fame, as his exposure was quite limited at the time. Lincoln and
Douglas attacked each other fiercely, yet even though Lincoln was as much an
eloquent speaker as Douglas was, he eventually lost the election.
In 1860, Lincoln was asked to make a speech in New York City on slavery, a
speech he didn’t expect would change the course of his life. His words were so
powerful people throughout the country began to take notice of him. The Republicans
were especially impressed and not long after, Lincoln was chosen to be the
presidential candidate to represent the Republican Party. His opponent was, once
again, the Democrat Stephen Douglas. The Democratic Party actually had two
nominees, Douglas from the North and Breckinridge from the South, while there was
also an independent named Bell competing against Lincoln. Due to the little disputes
within the Democratic Party and his own powerful speech, Abraham Lincoln had won
the most prominent position in the nation in 1860 – he became the 16th president of
the United States.
Abraham Lincoln was soon faced with a bloody crisis – the American Civil War.
By the time of his inauguration, the rivalry between the North and the South had
grown much more intense, which meant a war was inevitable. Southern states were
seceding from the Union, forming a Confederacy. Lincoln quickly had to appoint a
cabinet of advisers and do everything to protect the Union, for he felt it was his
responsibility to keep the country as a whole. Concerned about the South’s economy,
Lincoln was willing to end slavery gradually. Unfortunately, many of the advisers
Lincoln appointed had other political ambitions of which he did not know; therefore
he often had to replace them with other people. In addition, the Union had not been
successful in battles against the Confederates, including their first major
confrontation – the First Battle of Bull Run.
Though the battles hadn’t gone as smoothly as Lincoln had expected, he
always had strategies in his mind. In 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation,
officially freeing the slaves from the South. This proclamation consequently urged the
ratification of the Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment in 1865, which firmly stated
the abolishment of slavery. Yet, the Southern States did not comply, and the war went
on. In 1863 the Battle of Gettysburg took place; it was one of the most important
battles in the Civil War, for it turned the Union to a victorious standing.
Since the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union began to win battle after battle, and
meanwhile, in 1865, Lincoln inaugurated as a re-elected president. Though the war
still continued on, but the Confederate's morale was dying down. Finally, after four
long years of battling, the American Civil War ended.
2.2 Important Policies
2.2.1
Political Policies
Keeping national united was originally Lincoln's primary goal; Lincoln and his
Republican Party members did not consider abolishing slavery as a second goal until
they had fought more than two years of war. Slavery had become an important issue
wildly discussed; therefore Lincoln felt he was responsible of coming up with suitable
measures. He supported a gradual emancipation that compensated slave owners for
their loss of labor forces, as well as colonization for the people of African descent. He
had intended to weaken the southern morale but failed due to the series of defeats in
battles the Union faced at the beginning of the war. However, after the battle of
Antietam, Lincoln grasped the moment and turned to a more aggressive method - in
September of 1862, Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation,
stating that unless the rebellious states agreed to return back to the Union by the
beginning of 1863, the slaves would be set free forever. It could be seen that Lincoln
had not relinquished his primary goal, which was to divide the Confederacy and
preserve the Union. In the preliminary proclamation, he promised the southern states
that he would grant them full restoration of their rights, which implicitly included
slaveholding, as long as they would give up rebellion. He stated that the
proclamation's ultimate goal was not universal emancipation but the restoration of
"the constitutional relation between the United States, and each of the states, and the
people thereof." Another reason the president made his decision to emancipate slaves
was to use it as a foreign policy. He wanted foreign countries, especially Great Britain
and France, not to intervene but to remain their neutrality if not the support for the
Union. If he believed in the emancipation of slaves, no European country would
object.
Nevertheless, none of the Confederate States responded to this order; therefore in
1863, Lincoln issued the official Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation
Proclamation only targeted slavery in rebellious states, and exempted all border states
and also Confederate regions that the Union had mostly gained control over. In this
proclamation, following the First Confiscation Act in 1861 and the Second
Confiscation Act in 1862, Lincoln allowed "contrabands" of war, allowing slaves to
enroll in the military, joining the Union Army. This gave the Union additional power
to win battle after battle in the last years of war. On the other hand, the Confederates
did not allow slaves in its army until a few months before its surrender.The
Emancipation Proclamation didn't immediately free any slave; however it still
indicated the Civil War as a war for slave abolition and black freedom. It wasn't until
the end of 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which Lincoln
strongly supported, was passed that freedom for slavery was officially legalized.As
influential as the Emancipation Proclamation was, it caused controversy during the
times, and Lincoln was constantly questioned about his policies and decrees.
2.2.2
Economic Policies
Another policy that Lincoln supported was protective tariffs. In February of 1861,
three weeks before his inauguration, Lincoln guaranteed his country that his first
priority as president would be higher tariffs. However, raising protective tariffs
clashed with what the South had wanted. It was even stated by Charles Dickens that
the high tariffs may be regarded as a fundamental cause of the American Civil War.2
In 1857, the Democrats in the Congress reduced tariff rates to the lowest since
1816. This action irritated the Northern industrialists and factory workers. The Whigs
and Republicans then decided that a high tariff would stimulate the industrial growth
within the Union, therefore the Republicans called for a tax increase in the 1860
election. Though a Democrat himself, President James Buchanan signed the Morrill
Tariff into law, passing it in 1861, two days before Lincoln's inauguration. After
taking office, Lincoln and the Republicans endorsed the bill, which replaced the low
rates in 1857 and raised rates to protect industry and the high wages of workers. The
Morrill Tariff increased tariffs from 15% to approximately 37%. Two additional tariffs
by Lincoln followed, each higher than the previous. These increased the federal
revenue that Lincoln was in need of and helped pay for the immense armies and fleets
during the Civil War. The 44 percent tariff Lincoln carried out helped to pay for the
building of the Union-Pacific Railroad, which was an act Lincoln approved of, the
Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. As the increase of tariffs may have caused discontent of
the South, this strategy had a good outcome on the Northern industry. During
Lincoln's term, the northern manufacturing states had ten times the GDP of the South.
Due to this economic advantage, it was much easier for the North to battle the South.
2
Jim Sinclair's mindset
http://jsmineset.com/2009/01/21/the-true-history-of-lincolns-economic-and-other-policies/
Chapter Three: Discussion on Lincoln's Assassination
3.1 Assassination
There had been many attempts to assassinate Abraham Lincoln since his election,
the Baltimore Plot3 being one of the most well-known; fortunately, Lincoln escaped
from them, except the one which occurred in the Ford's Theater on April 14, 1865.
The assassin was John Wilkes Booth, an American stage actor in Maryland who,
unlike the rest of his family, was a Confederate sympathizer. He supported the
secession of Southern States at the beginning of the Civil War, and as he attended
Lincoln's speeches, his strong hatred for Lincoln and the Republican Party grew. Even
though he did not enlist in the Confederate Army, Booth's full support of the
Confederates and his opposition to Lincoln and to the abolishment of slavery were
outspoken. At first he planned on kidnapping the president in order to demand the
release of Confederates that were kept in prison, but he did not realize the approach of
the end of the war. Therefore when he heard of General Lee's surrender and also
Lincoln's proposal that the emancipated slaves would gain their voting rights, he
decided that the only way to destroy the Union government was to kill the President.
His conspiracy was to kill Lincoln as well as two other key members of the
government - vice president Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.
He believed that once these three officials died, the Union government would surely
be left leaderless, and therefore the control would be in the Confederate government's
hand. Two other conspirators George Atzerodt and Lewis Powell (also known as
Lewis Paine) were to kill Johnson and Seward, while he took the assignment of
killing Lincoln.
On April 14, When Lincoln and his wife went to Ford's Theater to watch a drama
play, accompanied by couple Major Henry Rathbone and Miss Clara Harris, the
Southern patriot slipped in the Presidential Box while it was left unguarded. Lincoln's
3
Sloate, Susan, 謝幸如譯 (民國 84 年 8 月) 林肯:自由的鬥士 p. 2-19
bodyguard, John Parker, who was often irresponsible and took his duties lightly, left
his post during an intermission, which was when tragedy struck. Booth held a
derringer in his hand and waited for the right moment. He knew the play well, and he
chose the moment when the audience would laugh to shoot him, hoping to muffle the
sound of the gunshot. When the moment came, Booth raced forward, raising his
derringer, and put a bullet in the back of Lincoln's head. Instantly, Lincoln slumped
forward, without a word. Booth then held out a knife and slashed at Henry Rathbone,
who leaped up and tried to make a grab for him.
Panic filled the theater. Lincoln was moved to a house across from the Ford's
Theater, while a young doctor from the audience named Leale took charge. Yet all the
while, he knew the mighty president was dying. At 7:22 am on April 15, 1865, the
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton said quietly, "Now he belongs to ages." The sixteenth
president of the United States, the president who had fought so hard to protect the
Union from splitting apart, died.
Before Lincoln’s assassination, the South had long been resentful of Lincoln.
The North had swiftly grown to become an industrial community, which believed in a
government that adopted the federal system, strengthening the Union as a whole.
However, the South advocated confederacy, believing that the undefined powers
should be given to individual states; it also remained an agricultural community,
relying on their only export - cotton. They relied on the British economic system, for
Great Britain was the South's major trade partner at the time. To maintain their cotton
industry, the South needed cheap and a large number of laborers, for which slaves
were the best choice. They intended to extend slavery towards the states in the west,
which, undoubtedly the North was opposed to. Nonetheless, Lincoln, a less radical
Northerner, only hoped to limit the expansion of slavery and would not abolish it in
states that slavery originally existed in. Yet the South saw Lincoln as a Unionist,
which they disliked, therefore when the news of Lincoln's election spread around,
many Southern states declared secession.
3.2 Controversies Caused by the Policies and Voices Against Lincoln
In the previous section, it was mentioned that the assassin of Lincoln was John
Wilkes Booth, an actor. He was not a professional killer of any sort; nor was this
assassination based on any personal grudges, therefore this assassination stood for
some other meaning. The presidency of Lincoln is in a turbulent period of time, where
huge controversies often occurred. With so many disputes happening at the time, the
assassination of Lincoln implied a consequence of drastic conflicts.
3.2.1
Political Aspects
It was nearly impossible for Lincoln to satisfy both the North and the South at
the time. His policies undoubtedly brought forth fierce opposition. One of them was
the Emancipation Proclamation.
Once slaves were freed, the Southern owners would immediately lose the labor
forces they needed for their cotton industry. Thus, they were angered by the fact that
this act would deprive them of their economic benefits.
More than twenty percent of the freed slaves suffered from the "frustration" of
the emancipation. Lincoln granted them freedom, but only freedom. Many of the
freed slaves had to seek help from their owners, and they valued that much more than
they valued the gift from Lincoln. A former slave in North Carolina named Thomas
Hall, said, "He [Lincoln] gave us freedom, but we still had to depend on the southern
white man for work, food, and clothing...Lincoln done but little for the negro race and
from the living standpoint nothing." In 1937 former slaves were asked questions about
Lincoln, and most of them mentioned Lincoln's promise of "forty acres and a mule."
Lincoln had promised every slave forty acres and a mule; however, he never kept his
promise.4
The day Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, it was
ridiculed by the Democrats. They stated that this proclamation was Lincoln's
underhand initiative to "save the Union by overriding the Constitution." They
believed that military emancipation undermined the Constitution, saying that the
emancipation of slaves was unworthy of shedding Northern blood. The Peace
Democrats, known as the Copperheads, even thought that this proclamation was an
abuse of presidential power. This was true in a way, for Lincoln did not really have
the power, which is why the emancipation proclamation was not brought before the
Congress and was issued by Lincoln as the war commander in chief.
It can be seen from the disputes over the Emancipation Proclamation that
perhaps Lincoln's policy wasn't the most complete. The Democrats simply objected to
his decisions because they were of different parties, advocating different ideas. From
the perspective of the freed slaves, they did not believe they were granted a better life
after emancipation, for they were not raised to the equal social and political level as
the whites were in, nor were they granted the lawful rights of a citizen. However,
Lincoln never believed in racial equality. He mentioned in his debate with Stephen
Douglas in 1858, "I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of
bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black
races..." Throughout his presidency, Lincoln had only one goal, that is to preserve the
4
Schwartz, Barry, (2000) Abraham Lincoln and the Forge of National Memory p. 84-86
Union, and he would do anything to achieve that goal. It is also said that many
Republicans favored emancipation only because it would weaken the Confederates'
powers, and not because they had any sympathy for the slaves. From this we can infer
that Lincoln had only issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which eventually caused
many controversies, to accomplish his goal of preserving the Union. He did, but there
is no doubt that these controversies had planted seeds of his assassination in the
future.
3.2.2
Economic Aspects
Another policy of Lincoln that brought fierce opposition, in addition to the
Emancipation Proclamation, was the Protective Tariff.5 The Protective Tariff has
actually come in a long line of history with fluctuation of rates since 1812, when war
ended. The North, which had grown to an industrial economy, wanted high protective
tariffs in order to protect them from competition of the European import products,
while the South, highly reliant on trade especially with Great Britain, was an exporter
of raw cotton and an importer of cotton goods. In Lincoln's election in 1860, the two
other presidential candidates Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrat) and John
Breckinbridge (Southern Democrat) both opposed the tariff while Lincoln supported it.
The South's hostility toward protectionism was provoked. They did not oppose tariffs
in general, but they were opposed to tariffs that did not protect their interests. They
claimed that the high tariffs would injure their interests by increasing the cost of
living and also by inviting British retaliation against their agricultural exports. Plus,
they complained that they were paying as much as 80 percent of the tariff, while most
of it was being applied to the needs of the North. The Morrill Tariff outraged the
people in the South and also businessmen in Great Britian who traded with the
Southern states, for it would affect the economy focus of the South. On the other hand,
the North would benefit from this variation. The increase of tariffs meant that the
South would have to pay higher prices for imports or find northern replacements,
which would help the North pay for their industrial developments.
There is no doubt that the Protective Tariff caused just as many arguments as the
issue of slavery did, for the North and the South were polar opposites. However, it
was not the Morrill Tariff that caused the South to secede in 1860, on account of
Southern states declared secession when the news of Lincoln's election spread out,
which was even before the Morrill Tariff went through the passage of legislation. As a
matter of fact, it was the secession that made possible the passage of the act.
5
Adrianus, Leo, Tariffs, Wars, and the Economics of Protection: Lessons from the History of
American Textile
Despite the fact that it was not the passage of legislation that caused secession
which resulted in the Civil War and that the South had seceded before the Morrill
Tariff had any relatively big influence on them, it cannot be neglected that the South
had long resented the increase of tariffs. Lincoln's support of the protective tariff did
trigger disturbances in the nineteenth century, which, over a period of time, have
accumulated the South's animosity towards the North and the Republican Party,
directed at Lincoln.
Lincoln indeed made several other policies during his presidency, however due
to many constraints, only two is mentioned in the thesis. Emancipating slaves would
gain the slaves' support of Lincoln, which would weaken the South, speeding up the
unification of the Union. However, through the disagreements the Emancipation
Proclamation caused, we can infer something else. During this chaotic period, Lincoln
was suffering from voices of different groups of people, all disagreeing with him for
their own particular reason. The South and the Democrats obviously disliked him
because of his policies and decisions, however some of the Republicans felt he was
indecisive in fighting in the Civil War, unable to ban slavery or end the war faster.
Therefore, perhaps we can think of Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation
Proclamation to be another move to end these minor disputes and gather support, for
this action implied Lincoln's change of methods.
Lincoln's decision of increasing the protective tariffs indicated that he and the
other Northerners were conscious of British industrial products being more
competitive than those of the USA. This increase shows an action of protecting the
USA's industry, which had just begun to expand.
Perhaps it was simply Lincoln's misfortune that he took office at a period of time
when conflicts and arguments reached a culmination. However, there is no denying
that Lincoln's policies had made significant the hostility people had towards him. In
the next chapter this study will be concluded and it will also be discussed what we can
learn from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, for it was a calamity that
represented a great integration of conflicts and controversies.
Chapter Four:
Conclusion and Introspection
Indeed, this study consists of more depiction compared to inferences due to the
limited amount of information in Taiwan. It is also my hope that more information can
be acquired in the future, whether from other books or from libraries in the United
States. Yet, in this study, it is discussed how Lincoln's policies brought about disputes.
This study observes the conflicts provoked in the 1960s. Conflicts were provoked
from different aspects and oppositions came from different groups of people. This
then helps make clear that it was not only the radicals who disagreed with Lincoln and
that oppositions were targeted towards many of Lincoln's policies. When Lincoln is
mentioned, whether criticized or praised, he is often simply associated with his
decision of emancipation. However, people often neglect his actual purpose of this
action. From this study, it can be seen that Lincoln’s policies, whether political or
economic, had all been made in order to preserve the Union and protect his country.
Therefore, people should not see him as the Emancipator, for he was not, but instead
view him as the one who kept the Union from falling apart. Contrary to the common
belief, Lincoln did not make his decisions with the purpose of resolving any conflicts
between the North and the South but to solve the nation’s problem as a whole.
Nevertheless, the policies and decisions Lincoln made to accomplish his goal
caused him to be encountered by enemies. This study is concluded by inferring from
political and economic aspects that Lincoln had indeed provoked conflicts by
enumerating or supporting certain policies. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation,
with the intention of preserving the Union. However, his action of granting the slaves
freedom unfortunately angered many Southerners and people of the opposition party.
In fact, many of the slaves did not appreciate the result of the proclamation because
they were unable to become independent of their owners and live normal and equal
lives as others did, which was not what they had anticipated. Viewed from an
economic aspect, Lincoln supported the Northerners’ proposal of raising the
protective tariffs. Even though this increase did not affect the South as much as it
would have if they hadn’t seceded, this decision of Lincoln, like the Emancipation
Proclamation, outraged many people. Perhaps simpler conflicts would not have led to
such a tragedy, but these conflicts that were provoked had deprived some people of
their benefits. These disadvantages drastically affected the lives of Southern people,
which was enough to either directly or indirectly lead the accumulated resent to the
motives behind Lincoln’s assassination. These assassination motives can clearly be
shown by the fact that there have long been many attempts to assassinate Lincoln,
which, in the end, the Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth succeeded by ending
the president’s life and achieving many others’ “goal”.
However, it is worth mentioning that since the presidency of Lincoln was within
a time when the society was in turmoil and antagonism had formed against each other,
perhaps the conflicts and controversies provoked by Lincoln’s policies were inevitable.
If he had been a Southerner or a Democrat, he may not have been such a Unionist as
he was. Therefore, his policies may have been targeted towards the benefits of
Southerners, thus causing hostility from Northerners; this would, perhaps still have
led to the same outcome. To judge a historical figure from an assumed position is
difficult and dangerous, we can never suppose the intentions of an individual. Had
other people inaugurated as president during the time, they may have been faced with
the same crisis as Lincoln had been; however, whattheir attitude towards the issues
were are just as important as their approaches. Lincoln believed in what he thought
was right and was willing to do anything to accomplish the goal. If he were willing to
make some concessions, perhaps these conflicts may have led to a less tragic
outcome.
Following Lincoln’s assassination, many other presidents of the United States
have been assassinated. Many escaped, but three others, Garfield, McKinley, and
Kennedy unfortunately died. This issue is worth discussing: why have many of the
conflicts in the United States been solved by such radical approaches? Another issue
worth discussing is that not long after Lincoln’s assassination, in 1881, President
James A. Garfield was assassinated. Due to the limited amount of information,
Garfield’s assassination is not popularly mentioned nor discussed; however this
indicates intensive cases of assassinations. Therefore, whether conflicts in the latter
half of the nineteenth century were especially violent is worth further researching.
References
Juang, Richard M. (2008) Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History : A
Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia. Book News, Inc.
Monaghan, Jay. (August 1962) Diplomat in Carpet Slippers: Abraham Lincoln Deals
with Foreign Affairs. USA. Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc.
Neely, Mark E. (March 21, 1984) The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia. Da Capo
Press.
Schwartz, Barry. (2000) Abraham Lincoln and the Forge of National Memory. United
States of America. University of Chicago Press.
Taussig, Frank W. (1931) The Tariff History of the United States. Johnson Reprint
Corp.
Vorenberg, Michael (2001) Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery,
and the Thirteenth Amendment. United States of America. Press syndicate of the
University of Cambridge.
Williams, Thomas Harry (1952) Lincoln and His Generals. New York. Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc.
Sloate, Susan, 謝幸如譯 (民國 84 年 8 月) 林肯:自由的鬥士 (Abraham Lincoln:
The Freedom President). 台北市書林出版有限公司
世界歷史編委會 (2010 年 2 月) 一生一定要探索的美國 63 個秘密. 台北縣溪北
國際文化有限公司
宮崎正勝, 黃秋鳳譯 (2007 年 6 月 26 日) 世界近現代史. 台北市易博士文化、城
邦文化事業股份有限公司
Crossroads: http://cwcrossroads.wordpress.com/
Oracle Think Quest: http://thinkquest.org/pls/html/think.library
PBS Public Broadcasting Service: http://www.pbs.org
The Lincoln Institute:
http://www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org/inside.asp?ID=1&subjectID=1