Abraham Lincoln Policy - Essay Example

Abraham Lincoln The political principles that guided President Lincoln were based on the American Founding, a text he read from his early years; the principles he discovered therein combined with his reverence for the declaration of independence and the constitution were largely responsible creating his character. He understood slavery as anti-ethical and in contradiction with the doctrines in which he believed, he opposed it throughout his life using both the law and his personal conviction. Lincoln emerged as a leader of a war torn nation in the mid-19th century, he was politics as a way through which people could be helped to attain their rights and freedom; conversely slavery was the antithesis foundation of freedom on which the constitution is founded. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not see America, as an organism gradually developed from the heritage of Anglo Saxon ancestors of the British forbearers, to him America was the product of a new nation founded in a specific period within which the declaration was written and enforced. Lincoln viewed the declaration of independence as the founding document of the United States as we know it; his biggest achievement was to reconfigure the perception of American people across racial and ethical divides. He made it clear through his speeches and leadership that they all share the same moral principles described as the blood of the blood and flesh of the flesh. He affected a paradigm shift in the spirit of American people that lead them to revisits the truth according to Jefferson in which he had declared that all men are born free. Lincoln was and remains one of the foremost champions of democracy, freedom and equality in the United States, although his career as a president was cut short by an assassin’s bullet, his influence on the constitution and beliefs that guide the American people persist even today. Among his major achievements, none is greater than the fact that he stood firmly against the scourge of racial discrimination that was embodied in slavery which had flourished in America for over a century. Lincoln was strongly opposed to this practice, he believed that all men are born free and in one of his speeches he mentions that whenever he hears somebody advocating slavery he feels tempted to have it tried out on him (the advocator). Lincoln believed that the union could and would not stand divided, slavery would either take over the country or it would be restricted to the South and gradually allowed to die out; he believed that slavery was fundamentally immoral. He however did not come out to oppose it in his campaigns because he knew given that may of his supporters were negrophobes he would never get a chance to fight it as president if he expressed his real sentiments. As soon as the civil war commenced, he was determined that the union had been preserved and although he had been opposed to the war, his chief concern was to bring the South back to the union. Although he was not sure if the country as ready for integration, Lincoln inherently held that all men were created equal; irrespective of the color of their skin or their creed. Lincoln is quoted saying “let us revere the declaration of independence”, he used those as the watch-words throughout his political life urging the people of America to unite under the practices and policies that it represented for the sake of harmony. According to Harry Jaffa who is counted as one of the most important of Lincoln’s scholars, he interpreted the phrase all men are created equal as transformation of the pre-political negative minimal and a revolutionally norm. Jaffa postulates that Lincoln did not just appeal to the declaration by virtue of the fact that it was the foremost founding document, on the contrary his championing its re-adoption was based on its role as the emblem of the humanity of man; the originator of moral principle under which moral and political standards were considered non arbitrary. The equality of man and man were seen as a necessary inference and radially removed the relationship between man and beast, or even man and God; Lincoln felt that no one that possessed a civilized conscience would have failed to feel understand the moral distinctions. In his 1863 Gettysburg address, Lincoln urged Americans to embrace the declaration and recognize it as the foundation of their republic, a foundation which he commented had been severally eroded by apologists for slavery. Jaffa emphasis on the addresses’ importance postulating that it had become almost as powerful and authoritative to the American people as had been the declaration itself. In many ways, he is right since Lincoln provided the people with an open minded yet original understanding and interpretation of the document. For the majority of the Americans even today, the declaration means exactly what he said it did, it allowed the people to change the constitution without needing to overthrow it and many have come to argue that the true meaning of what the founders of the republic said was only truly expressed in the Gettysburg address. His interpretation gave new life to the both the declaration and the constitution, Lincoln was passionate about his faith in these two documents. While to most people they are nothing but historical relics, he deemed them to be the ideas that formed the basis for his political thinking which were presented over a period of 11 year and finally culminating in his second and last inaugural address. President Lincoln steeped himself in the history of the founding fathers by virtue of the fact that he understood both the politics and purposes of the declarations, he was however concerned that the majority of Americans, the meaning was misplaced. He feared that the liberty of the people was only celebrated in ceremonies filled with gayety and fireworks among other displays but the people were had forgotten the real significance of it all. He famously pleaded with a crowd in Illinois in 1852 telling them that anything they have been taught that is in contravention with the declaration of independence including the suggestion that not all men are equal is misplaced and should be forever banished from their minds. He was fervent in imploring them to consider not he the man or any other leader or individual, but they should concern themselves singularly with the fate of the sacred principles that were embedded in the constitution and declaration of impendence. Lincoln held that the cure for the numerous problems facing the nation was for people to respect the laws of the land, he claims that every American who loves liberty and who respects the blood of those who fought in the revolution should never deign to disrepute it. In the same way the writers of the declaration pledged to preserve the liberty of the union, all Americans needs must foreswear themselves to respect the constitution. Everyone who breaks the law is not only undermining the law itself but also trampling on the blood his ancestors shed for the freedom as well as tearing apart the charter that of the liberty of his own children. He argues that the constitution and the declarations should be engraved in the minds of all Americans, it should be written in the children’s spelling books preached from pulpits and generally every American should be made aware of their sacred duty to protect and safeguard the constitution. However, it is worth noting that despite his veneration of the law of democracy, Lincoln as cognizant of the fact that public opinion cannot always be considered a valid point of reasoning. The will of the public according to the Lincoln was seen as the universal vehicle in which rational ideas and public opinion were expressed. Nevertheless, he understood that when it came to issues like slavery, public opinion could not be used as a yardstick for morality since both sides claimed public opinion. The fact that a significant majority of Americans in the south expressed support for slavery and yet he was opposed to it is evidence that in his eyes, moral principles transcend the views of the people. Lincoln political and moral background was founded on a strong sense of humanistic ethics, he was prepared to go to was as he did to ensure that the union was preserved and the slaves were freed. If he had conceded to the wishes of the secessionist, which would actually have been in line with his principles to respect the freedom of others, he would have condemned the black population in the south to indefinite slavery. Evidently Lincoln held his duties to the freedom of mankind and the provision in the declaration that all men are born free above the wished of those who wished to keep them in shackles. As a result of his outstanding work and unshakeable beliefs in the; constitution, the declaration of independence and the principles of human morality and ethics, Lincoln remains to date one of the most influential and respected figure in US and world history. Read More