The Civil War Opinions: Discuss & Debate

Opinion:

“Abraham Lincoln was not our greatest president ever. He should not have started the Civil War or attempted to force the Confederacy to rejoin the Union. His reconstruction plan was good, but he should have let the states seceede peacefully. It is their constitutional right to do so (and it isn't a "perceived" right as shmoop says).”

Opinion:

“I pretty much agree with Ellen. Lincoln came into office and immediately inherited pretty much the worst crisis a president could confront -- the disintegration of the nation. Despite facing a whole series of setbacks, he led the Union to victory and laid the foundation for the emergence of modern America. And he never lost his core sense of justice, through it all; it would be interesting to know how our country would have turned out if he had lived past 1865 and been able to lead the country through Reconstruction. Would we have avoided some of the darkest moments (Jim Crow etc) that followed his death?”

Opinion:

“He was a great president at a time of crisis for the country and he ended slavery. Realistically, he ended slavery less out of conviction that it was bad than that he needed to solidify his support for the War. He viewed the War as a battle of federal vs. states' rights. If, the ends do evaluate his presidency, though one has to consider him one of the greatest because he got rid of a vile institution, regardless of his intentions.”

posted by jasonwiener - 14 days ago

Citations/Sources:

http://www.shmoop.com/intro/literature/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-great-gatsby.html
http://www.shmoop.com/literary-devices/literature/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-great-gatsby.html
http://www.shmoop.com/character-roles/literature/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-great-gatsby.html