Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union speech and the 1863 New York Draft Riots

Lincoln and Draft Riots in Nyc --

Lincoln in NYC (1859) and Draft Riots in NYC (1863)

Lincoln in New York City (NYC) (1859)

Abraham Lincoln paid a visit to the city of New York in the year 1860, when campaigning for his Republican nomination. This is where he made his historic Cooper Union speech, which proved to be a unique combination of rhetorical opportunity, political culture, human genius, and technological innovation. It worked as his campaign speech, while simultaneously revealing Lincoln's personal beliefs to the nation (Holzer, 2005).

Holzer (2005) asserts that Lincoln contended that the U.S. federal government was capable of effectively regulating slavery within its territories, and that the moral revulsion towards slavery implied that the government ought to employ its power to ensure slavery is forbidden in the nation's territories and eventually eliminate this abhorrent institution from America.

Lessons Learnt

It has long been agreed by historians that this speech was somehow responsible for Abraham Lincoln's rise to American Presidency, from being an obscure figure outside of Illinois State. Holzer (2005) maintains that this was the first, and only, time in the nation's history that one speech catapulted a presidential candidate so dramatically to the President's post. A candidate would first have to rise from the position of an operative with some local party to that of a national presidential candidate.

Lessons Learnt

The American Civil War was chiefly catalyzed by these riots. Another interesting point to note is that the 1863 riots principally involved Irish and other immigrants. It was more of a well-led, organized insurrection, than an impromptu mob uprising. Clear strategy can be observed in the rioters' efforts to break communication lines, cut off any approach to NYC, capture forts, plunder the federal government's treasury vaults and banks, and seize munitions works and armories with their whole stock of ammunition and weapons (Vodrey, 2003).

Importance of Teaching the Draft Riots

The 1863 Drafts Riots constituted a key historical event for America. They must be taught, as they involve: a profound unsolved racial issue that plagued America for many decades after the riots; an economic problem created by the nation's economic situation, which affected immigrants as well as Americans; a national political issue; and the legislation's role in it. Furthermore, the American Civil War was chiefly catalyzed by these riots, thus adding to their importance.

Teaching of the Civil War

The U.S. Civil War forms a part of the nation's history. The teaching techniques described below will be helpful, and will help stimulate students' interest;

Small Group Discussions -- Students can learn historical facts from one another. The teacher may begin by dividing students into groups and asking them to briefly narrate, within the groups they are placed in, their knowledge concerning the American Civil War. This may be done by posing certain questions (e.g., what facts do they know regarding the war, which parties were involved, what was the result, etc.). This will stimulate students' creative, analytical, and practical thinking.

Role Playing -- In this activity, students play historical characters' roles, and express their motivations, backgrounds, and personalities. The activity attempts to merge the classroom setting with the outside world, granting learners a chance to examine their textbooks and other sources of information on the War, and re-enact what they have learned in the classroom. Students will more likely remember facts through this role playing activity than by merely reading text.

Class Lectures -- These will create a conversational atmosphere in the class, particularly if students did not possess any prior knowledge regarding the War. However, the lecturer must take care not to engage in monotonous lectures, involving long talks. Using presentations with helpful illustrations is also essential.