Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German revolutionary thinker. He is most famous as the author of The Communist Manifesto with Friedrich Engels, a text that lays out the philosophical and economic basis for communism. A seminal social theorist, Marx’s thought essentially argues that human societies develop out of and change due to struggle between the classes. Marx was vehemently interested in the power of the lower and middle class in industrial societies, a power they could hold over the upper class if willing to seize the means of production.

McPherson uses Marx as a reference for how revolutionary theorists around the world responded to the US Civil War. Marx was a supporter of emancipation, seeing Lincoln’s efforts as a “world-transforming […] revolutionary movement” (136). Marx believed that “‘out of the death of slavery’ would spring ‘a new and vigorous life’ for working-class people of all races […] for ‘labor with a white skin cannot emancipate itself where labor with a black skin is branded’” (6). In other words, the emancipation of workers from the oppression of aristocracy, of foremost importance to Marx, could not occur without the liberation of slaves from bondage first. In this view, both the slaves and destitute white workers of America were similarly entrenched in an economic model that did not allow them to reap the full fruits of their labors. Marx’s final thoughts on Lincoln’s legacy are not given in the text.

Stephen Douglas (1813-1861) was the Democratic nominee in 1860 who ran against Lincoln. He famously debated Lincoln in 1858. Douglas and Lincoln were opposed on the concept of slavery. While Lincoln believed that the Declaration of Independence, in its statement that all men are created equal, included black people, Douglas argued constitutional equality only extended to whites. Douglas insisted that “the government was made by white men, for the benefit of white men and their posterity forever, and should never be administered by any except white men,” and the those who signed the declaration “had no reference to the Negro whatever when they declared all men to be created equal” (53). At the time, Douglas’s opinion prevailed: “If a national referendum could have been held on these two definitions of liberty […] Douglas’s position would have won” (53). To Lincoln, Douglas’ statement that “he cared not whether slavery was voted off or down represented a despicable moral indifference” (126). As such, Douglas serves to highlight Lincoln’s morality as a leader and the incredible racism he contended with at the highest level of politics.

Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) led the Union army under Lincoln, becoming the commanding general of the US Army in 1864. He is widely considered Lincoln’s “most successful commander” (101), and his decisions at Petersburg, the Valley, and Georgia and the Carolinas are held as the three main battles that precipitated Confederate surrender.

Grant was put into command after General George B. McClennan was removed for seeming “reluctant to fight” (67). Throughout the war, Lincoln was plagued by allies who could not match his determination to defeat the Confederates. Lincoln appreciated that Grant was a man of such determination, and they also often agreed on strategy. Grant’s presence allowed Lincoln to play a less active role in the war effort. In turn, Lincoln protected Grant from political pressures so that Grant could better execute the work of war. Following the war and Lincoln’s assassination, Grant became the 18th president of the United States, serving between 1869 and 1877. He succeeded Andrew Johnson, who was vice president at the time of Lincoln’s assassination.

Horace Greeley (1811-1872) and William Seward (1801-1872) were both players in the political world of the Republican Party surrounding Lincoln. Greeley, editor of the New-York Tribune and one of the founders of the Republican Party, staunchly opposed slavery and supported Lincoln during his presidency. Seward was the secretary of state from 1861 to 1869, serving under Lincoln though originally an opponent for the Republican nomination.

Both these men are used as examples of over-complicated strategy and shifting vision in Chapter 6. They oppose Lincoln’s style of leadership and decision-making, which was steadfast and highly focused on its primary priorities. While Seward eventually became a trusted dilletante of Lincoln, Greeley was humiliated by Lincoln when Greeley advised for peace and Lincoln pressed him to secure such an offer from Confederate forces.