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The author's writing style is definitely scholarly and based on persuading the reader of his various points based on logic. This technique is effective for using historical evidence to support his observations. Many of Oakes' sources are primary and include editorials, speeches, and works of literature from these two men. The author takes great pains to provide the social, historical, political and even personal context that is necessary to understand Lincoln's and Douglass' evolving stances on politics and the issue of slavery. He relates some of the most salient incidents in U.S. history around this issue -- the rebellion and conviction of John Brown, the issues debated during the 1860 presidential campaign election, for example -- and shows how these affected the political directions of Douglass and Lincoln.
Other authors have assessed Oakes' book as a fairly credible piece of work which...
Still, there are some notable points of contention found in Oakes' views and those of other scholars. For instance, Oakes alludes to the fact that Lincoln was not the great emancipator which he is nearly universally accepted as in contemporary popular culture. There are other scholars and works of literature which contest this characterization of Lincoln and argue that he was anything but such an emancipator.
What I liked most about this book was Oakes' tendency to filter out the legend and popular perception of these two figures of American history and present their actions and opinions as reflections of the events in the time period in which they lived. I believe this book could have benefited from more quotes from Frederick Douglass. The most important thing I learned from this book is that Lincoln was not necessarily the great egalitarian that he is generally thought of as today.
The author's writing style is definitely scholarly and based on persuading the reader of his various points based on logic. This technique is effective for using historical evidence to support his observations. Many of Oakes' sources are primary and include editorials, speeches, and works of literature from these two men. The author takes great pains to provide the social, historical, political and even personal context that is necessary to understand Lincoln's and Douglass' evolving stances on politics and the issue of slavery. He relates some of the most salient incidents in U.S. history around this issue -- the rebellion and conviction of John Brown, the issues debated during the 1860 presidential campaign election, for example -- and shows how these affected the political directions of Douglass and Lincoln.
Other authors have assessed Oakes' book as a fairly credible piece of work which is well researched. Still, there are some notable points of contention found in Oakes' views and those of other scholars. For instance, Oakes alludes to the fact that Lincoln was not the great emancipator which he is nearly universally accepted as in contemporary popular culture. There are other scholars and works of literature which contest this characterization of Lincoln and argue that he was anything but such an emancipator.
What I liked most about this book was Oakes' tendency to filter out the legend and popular perception of these two figures of American history and present their actions and opinions as reflections of the events in the time period in which they lived. I believe this book could have benefited from more quotes from Frederick Douglass. The most important thing I learned from this book is that Lincoln was not necessarily the great egalitarian that he is generally thought of as today.
So far, I have tried to made a short historical review of the first years of the existence of the Republican party, identifying a few ideological main trends that defined the activity and the platform of the party. Namely, I have talked about the anti-slavery position (proved, among others, by the importance given to the Northern branches), somehow moderate in order to keep the votes of the nativist Americans, who
Second Reconstructions One of the most dramatic consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction was that the South was effectively driven from national power for roughly six decades. Southerners no longer claimed the presidency, wielded much power on the Supreme Court, or made their influence strongly felt in Congress But beginning in the 1930s, the South was able to flex more and more political muscle, and by the 1970s some
174). McPherson also points out that following the Union victory at Laurel Hill, McClellan was given the responsibility of training the newly-named Army of the Potomac at Washington, D.C. Upon arriving in the city, McClellan "found no army to command, only a mere collection of regiments, perfectly raw and dispirited... " He then "took hold with a firm hand to reorganize and train these troops" which demonstrates his excellent skills
American History Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson is probably the most successful symbol of historiography's advancement. There are two concepts that are reflected in the book: that the main cause of war was the slavery of black people and it was not a pleasant experience. Looking at the title, it is evident that McPherson understands that black people's status was the core of the war in regard
Lincoln's Reconstructions Plans Lincoln's Reconstruction Plans In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was in a very difficult position. What was happening is the Union was not able to secure total victory against the South. Instead, everything hinged on: a series of miscalculations or the inability of the generals to effectively lead their forces into battle. This caused the war to drag on and the opposition to increase surrounding the policies that Lincoln had enacted
Board of Education of Topeka. This case represented a watershed for Civil Rights and helped to signal an end to segregation because it determined that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" (Warren, 1954). It is essential to note that federal support on this particular issue was only earned after African-Americans decided to use the legislative system to their advantage by taking the segregationist school system of Topeka, Kansas to