"I'd dance with Abe Lincoln himself tonight!"

[samgrant]

Those are Scarlett O'hara's words, but of course taken in context, one can detect the contempt that the South had for Lincoln before the war.

I've never understood the threat they perceived from Lincoln, not an abolitionist per se. In his 1st innaugural speech, he practically begged the South to reconsider their actions and offered no offensive threat.

Was it just because he was a "Republican", and that was enough?

 

[gary]

The perceived threat arose during the Lincoln-Stephan debates. If they had an internet system and he released his speech as an acceptance speech before assuming office, it may have assuaged southern anxiety.

 

[johan_steele]

I believe the CS had merely waited the "appropriate" time, Lincoln was just the excuse.

 

[larry_cockerham]

I suspect the Southern folks who had watched Lincoln discovered early on that he was a politician. They were looking for truth and leadership. (Lot's of Southerners today would even dance with Hillary Clinton, Heaven forbid.)

 

[unionblue]

Larry,

Amen.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

 

[samgrant]

On second thought, I realize that it was not "the people" of the South, but the fire eater sort which stirred up the thing and that that group would not tolerate any Republican, non-abolitonist or whatever.

 

[5fish]

larry!

I suspect the Southern folks who had watched Lincoln discovered early on that he was a politician. They were looking for truth and leadership. (Lot's of Southerners today would even dance with Hillary Clinton, Heaven forbid.)

This southern boy would dance with Hillary and vote as well.

 

[OpnDownfall]

dance with Abe Lincoln himself tonight

The result of the massive propaganda campaign by the Fire-Eaters and other secessionists (slave owners) convincing the majority of southern voters that their interests and the slave owners were one in the same.

 

[formerYank]

I suspect the Southern folks who had watched Lincoln discovered early on that he was a politician. They were looking for truth and leadership. (Lot's of Southerners today would even dance with Hillary Clinton, Heaven forbid.)

sorry, lt., no right minded southerner gent or no would dance with a carpetbagger. wouldn't be right.

 

[30th_il]

I heard Lincoln wanted to dance with Mary Todd "in the worse way" and he succeeded! So, owing to his poor performance "cuttin' the rug"...I wonder how he would've done on Dancing with the Stars! Ha!

 

[cash]

Those are Scarlett O'hara's words, but of course taken in context, one can detect the contempt that the South had for Lincoln before the war.

I've never understood the threat they perceived from Lincoln, not an abolitionist per se. In his 1st innaugural speech, he practically begged the South to reconsider their actions and offered no offensive threat.

Was it just because he was a "Republican", and that was enough?

Lincoln was antislavery, and that was enough. He was against the expansion of slavery into the territories, and that was unacceptable to the south. He was the head of an antislavery party that would have the patronage in its hands, allowing them to build an antislavery party in the south by appointing antislavery men to government positions in the south, and that was unacceptable to the slaveocracy.

Regards,
Cash

 

[cash]

I suspect the Southern folks who had watched Lincoln discovered early on that he was a politician. They were looking for truth and leadership.

Absolutely wrong. The exact opposite was true. They were afraid he would give them truth and leadership. They were afraid he would cut off expansion of slavery like he said he was going to do. They were afraid he'd provide leadership to antislavery men throughout the country, including the south. They were afraid that he was telling the truth about his moderation and that such an approach would gain converts in the south, creating an "enemy within" to slavery.

Regards,
Cash

 

[whitworth]

The Election of Lincoln

Clearly, Lincoln had been elected without the support of the southern states, and the South's support for candidates was too fragmented.

The South was losing power in the Congress and any threat to slavery was seen as absolute.
In fact, Lincoln never would have the power in his time in office to ever get an amendment to the Constitution, ending slavery.
Only secession and war would end slavery. A fact few southerners realized and appreciated in 1860.

Southerners overestimated the power and influence of Lincoln and paid dearly for such an error in the next five years.

The paranoia clearly exceeded fact. But in the South everything seemed to exceed fact, especially paranoia.

 

[samgrant]

Those are Scarlett O'hara's words, but of course taken in context, one can detect the contempt that the South had for Lincoln before the war.

I've never understood the threat they perceived from Lincoln, not an abolitionist per se. In his 1st innaugural speech, he practically begged the South to reconsider their actions and offered no offensive threat.

Was it just because he was a "Republican", and that was enough?

Now I will contrdict myself and expose the threat Lincoln made to the disunionists:


"The conclusion of all is, that we must restore the Missouri Compromise. We must highly resolve that Kansas must be free! We must reinstate the birthday promise of the Republic; we must reaffirm the Declaration of Independence; we must make good in essence as well as in form Madison's vowal that "the word slave ought not to appear in the Constitution;" and we must even go further, and decree that only
local law, and not that time-honoured instrument, shall shelter a slave-holder. We must make this a land of liberty in fact, as it is in name. But in seeking to attain these results--so indispensable if the liberty which is our pride and boast shall endure--we will be loyal to
the Constitution and to the "flag of our Union," and no matter what our grievance--even though Kansas shall come in as a slave State; and no matter what theirs--even if we shall restore the Compromise--WE WILL SAY
TO THE SOUTHERN DISUNIONISTS, WE WON'T GO OUT OF THE UNION, AND YOU SHAN'T!!!" -Widely accepted end to Lincoln's Lost Speech of May 29, 1856


-

 

[OpnDownfall]

Lincoln and the Republican Party were direct threat to the institution of slavery. The very existence of the Republican Party was due to it's opposition to the expansion of slavery and Lincoln's resurgence in politics was based on his articulation of that opposition.
Make no mistake, Lincoln and the Republican Party were direct threats to the very existence of slavery.
Sooner or later slavery was to be eradicated and if Lincoln and his party had their way, it would be much sooner rather than much later.



P.S. If slavery was the sum of your existence, the south was probably correct in their assumption that there was no safety for slavery under the Constitution any longer. Unfortunately they chose the one remedy for their problem that guaranteeed slavery ended even sooner than even Lincoln or the Republican Party had hoped.

 

[wilber6150]

I thought this would be a good thread to continue, I have yet to see any strong evidence to prove that he is deserving of the amount of blame for the war that he has received...

 

[brass napoleon]

The election of a Republican President was the beginning of the end for slavery. I don't believe any of the secessionist leaders thought Lincoln was a direct and immediate threat to slavery, despite their rhetoric, but preventing the expansion of slavery into the territories would eventually bring about its demise. The big Southern planters believed that slavery had to expand in order to survive. They also were concerned that as new free states came into the nation, they would eventually gain enough of a majority to pass a Constitutional Amendment banning slavery throughout the United States. So within a couple generations, slavery would be dead.

 

[larry_cockerham]

This southern boy would dance with Hillary and vote as well.

It's folks like yourself that keep these old arthritic bones getting up and driving on down to the polls.

 

[larry_cockerham]

Cousin in law Abe was a fair to middlin' lawyer who was balancing precariously on the log. The long debates over slavery and the rats of the states to make the determination for the future were something that he didn't start and couldn't really control. When he called for the 75,000 troops..... that's when he crapped in his nest.

 

[wilber6150]

Cousin in law Abe was a fair to middlin' lawyer who was balancing precariously on the log. The long debates over slavery and the rats of the states to make the determination for the future were something that he didn't start and couldn't really control. When he called for the 75,000 troops..... that's when he crapped in his nest.

Well, theres a visualization for you But, what choices did he really have after Sumter? He had to call up troops to at least match the forces the CSA were forming and to be ready to defend the Capitol.. Maryland, had shown inclanations that it would turn into hostile state to the Union, the time for military action had arrived...