The War Worth Fighting: Abraham Lincoln's Presidency and Civil War America

277 Pages·2015·1.41 MB·English

by  Stephen D. Engle

The War Worth Fighting
The Alan B. Larkin Series on the American Presidency
university press of florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola
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The War
Worth Fighting
Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency
and Civil War America
Edited by Stephen D. Engle
University Press of Florida
Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton
Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota
Copyright 2015 by Stephen D. Engle
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
20 19 18 17 16 15 6 5 4 3 2 1
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
The war worth fighting : Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and Civil War America /
edited by Stephen D. Engle.
pages cm
isbn 978-0-8130-6064-4
1. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809–1865. 2. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865.
3. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809–1865—Military leadership. 4. African Americans—
United States—History. I. Engle, Stephen D., editor.
e456.w37 2015
973.7092—dc23
2014040583
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State
University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic
University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida
State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of
Florida, University of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of
West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
In Memory of Alan B. Larkin (1922–2002)
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Contents
Introduction 1
stephend. engle
Part I. Lincoln’s War and the People’s Contest
1. The Passage of Lincoln’s Republic: Providence in Progress 13
orville vernon burton
2. The President as Pedagogue: Teaching Citizenship in Time of War 37
j. matthewgallman
3. Lincoln as Commander in Chief: Forays into Generalship 62
mark grimsley
Part II. The War beyond the White House
4. The Political Culture of the North: Party Politics of Nation
and State 91
jenniferl. weber
5. Legalities in Wartime: The Myth of the Writ of Habeas Corpus 110
mark e. neely jr.
6. Emancipation in Washington, D.C.: Battleground for Freedom and
Reconstruction 127
kate masur
Part III. The Visible Hand of Leadership at Home and Abroad
7. Lincoln as Leader: The Visible Hand of the Presidency 153
richard j. carwardine
8. Lincoln as Chief Diplomat in War: Perception and Reality 173
howard jones
9. Wartime Reconstruction: Constructing the Union’s New
Cornerstone 202
brooks d. simpson
Epilogue. Lincoln’s Presidential Legacy: The Last Best Hope 223
michael burlingame
List of Contributors 243
Index 249
Introduction
stephend. engle
As the United States celebrates the sesquicentennial anniversary of the
Civil War, it is fitting that scholars organize forums dedicated to reminding
Americans that we live in a nation, according to Abraham Lincoln, “worth
fighting for.” Preservation of our political system and the guarantee of its
national existence were born in four long years of war that cost more than
750,000 American lives. As such, Lincoln’s presidency occupies a central
place in our history, and rightfully so. His characterization that America’s
democratic republic represented “the last best hope of earth” reminds us
that our reward is as great as the sacrifice of those who went before—lest
we forget.
This volume represents the multifaceted nature of Lincoln’s presidency
and offers a glimpse of Civil War America in the North. Taken together,
these essays are intended for a general audience and offer diverse perspec-
tives on politics, war, and society. Lincoln and Northerners grappled to
vindicate democracy by reuniting a nation and accepting the changes that
came with reunification. Since the conflict ended, scholars have written
the Civil War into our national narrative to explain how and why it was
(and still is) central to American history’s foundation. In the case of these
essays, scholars explore the context of Lincoln’s presidency, his role as both
pedagogue and commander in chief. They examine the war beyond the
White House and the battlefield. Finally, these scholars examine Lincoln as
leader, diplomat, and visionary, who used his ability, his influence, and the
power of his office to shape the contours of the new republic born out of
the conflict. In short, these reflections explore the broad nature of how the
president touched the Civil War era, and in particular, Northern society.
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