Blog #69 – Politics in Lincoln
In the movie Lincoln, I had asked you to look for the different ways that Lincoln had exerted force, whether positive or negative, to get the 13th Amendment passed, a.k.a. politicking. Politicking is defined as “activities directed towards acquiring power and influence; achieving one’s own goals” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/politicking).
Normally, we, as citizens, don’t usually see how laws are made and are not able to see the process that went into the lawmaking – the give and take between individuals, parties, etc. Sometimes, this process can be messy and may make us nauseous or uncomfortable with what kinds of compromises that politicians are willing to make. Are they really willing to compromise their principles to make this law?
Your job is to do the following:
1. List 3 ways in which Lincoln or his representatives exerted influence on others (usually Mr. Lathan or Mr. Schell) in order to get them to vote for the 13th Amendment. Be specific.
Here is the cast list for Lincoln: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast
2. Do you think that this is an undue or excessive use of Presidential power? Why or why not?
In the movie, Lincoln uses his power in clever but also very dominant ways. He bribes people in order to get the amendment passed and runs very sly deals with fellow politicians in order to be sure he will win. Lincoln must use the two ways he knows best to get what he wants for his passionate cause which are corruption and deception. The first way Lincoln uses his ways in order for the amendment to succeed is when he promises a group of patronage peddlers’ jobs and appointments for Democrats if they vote for the amendment and many of them agree to it. Not to mention cash is added with these deals just to make that extra little push to ensure he has their word. Other than bribing people with money and jobs Lincoln also just plain out lied to many people. In the film Lincoln realizes that some of his negotiated supporters are ready to vote against the bill and the law is likely to fail so he takes matters into his own hands. He sends a letter saying he doesn’t know anything of the peace delegation to Richmond even though he does and many including him know it is a lie. The last thing Lincoln did in order to push the 13th amendment forward was he vetoed any bill that promoted slavery or that didn’t have to do with the abolition of slavery. This helped him focus on only that at the time and he felt this was the only way his plan would work. I do believe Lincoln used his power his devilish ways but it was necessary at this moment in history. Slavery couldn’t afford to continue on one more day at the rate of how many people were dying and being put through harsh conditions everyday. He knew he was the only person who had the power to stop it at that is what he did and I respect him greatly for that.
In the movie Lincoln, we get to see behind the scenes of what really went on to pass the 13th amendment. It wasn’t a miracle that made it happen, it was lying and hustling and lots of politicking so that Lincoln could get his way.
One instance of politicking I noticed, is during the House Debate, the Republicans quietly strategized which democrats would be easiest to target while they wait for their turn on the floor. They will stop at nothing to get the amendment passed. Furthermore, I noticed that Lincoln and his cabinet addressed specific politicians to try and convince them to pass the 13th amendment. Hutton was one man that Lincoln specifically tried to persuade. Lincoln visited Hutton’s house late at night and reminded him that Hutton’s brother had fought and died in the war trying to protect slave rights. Lincoln told Hutton not to let his brother die in vain and if Hutton voted for the 13th amendment, he could honor his brother’s death and give his death a purpose. Another instance of politicking was only a few days before the voting of the 13th amendment; Lincoln and his cabinet were adding the votes of whom they knew were voting for the amendment and who was voting against the amendment. When they realized they fell only a few votes short of passing the amendment, the whole cabinet is discouraged and ready to give up. Lincoln reminds them that this is what they have been working for and they will not give up. He tells them to do whatever they need to do to get the last votes, and if they don’t, he will replace the whole presidential cabinet. Lincoln definitely used his presidential power here to get what he wanted, but it did work and motivated the cabinet to get the job done.
In certain instances, like when Lincoln threatens to replace the cabinet, Lincoln does overuse his power. However, I think he abused it much less than other presidents have and still tried to be fair with his power. I think the nickname ‘Honest Abe’ might be a little bit of a stretch, but not many presidents can even come close to being completely honest. Out of all the presidents, I think Abraham Lincoln deserves this nickname because although he may have lied to get what he wanted, he did so with good intentions. He stood up for what he believed in and took advantage of his presidential power to make a positive influence on the country.
Lincoln like everyone in politics used politicking to get votes and support. I think this was necessary because he was elected to do a job and he wan’t going to be stopped. This was shown in the process of getting the 13th amendment. He would persuade republicans to voting for the amendment. He also got men to convince “lame duck Democrats into voting for the amendment. This helped him achieve the 2/3 vote which was needed to pass the amendment. This was not easy and only happened because of his persistence. Lincoln once said, “what ever you are be a good one.” this quote shows his work ethic and how that played a role i his politicking. He was against slavery and he was sure to make key choices to get what he wanted. Lincoln also made sure that any talk of peace would stay quite because this would greatly alter the votes. Lincoln never wanted to twist the truth he simply wanted to do what ever he could in order to do what he thought was right.This kept the votes in his favor. He also used the spoil system to his advantage which kept democrats close to him. The spoil system almost blackmailed people into voting for the amendment. They were promised fluffy government jobs if they would just say yes to the amendment. Most men that took these offers were people that were against slavery but were not sold on the amendment the spoils system pushed them in Lincolns direction. Although this is technically an excessive use of Presidential power, it is justifiable considering the extreme tensions at this times.
Three ways Lincoln exerted influence, or used good politicking methods on others to get the 13th amendment passed was by hiring Schell and Lathan to bribe lame ducks to vote for passing the 13th amendment, putting of the negotiation treaties with the Confederacy to extend the war just a little longer, and bribing/taking advantage of Blair to get any remaining votes necessary for the amendment to pass, in exchange for going to one of the peace negotiations. What Lincoln and his men are practicing in this movie is called the spoils system, as he also bribed people with government roles as a reward for doing something, in this case so long as they voted for the amendment, trying to secure that he had the 2/3 vote. To expand on him delaying peace negotiations, I’m guessing he just wanted to be sure that he was going to win the 2/3 vote for the 13th amendment. I don’t think that he used his power as president excessively. If there was supposed to be more of a limit in terms of what you can do as president, then there would be one. I think Lincoln was inside his box of what he had the power to do as president, especially since in the end he was fighting for the right reasons. I think that Lincoln knew what he needed to do to fight the terrors of slavery and got it done. He felt strongly about it and worked his butt of to stop it. If it takes bribing a few people to free a bunch, I would do the same thing.
Lincoln used politicking to get what he wanted. He was on a mission to get the 13th amendment passed and to put an end to slavery. He needed a 2/3 vote and he would not be able to get this without little dirty work. Lincoln has a calm appearance but this movie is filled with secret political deals and slick insults. In the beginning Lincoln works closely with his cabinet members and some other men of congress that support his belief, to strategize for the 13th amendment. They plan out how to bring it up for vote. They use stories of the bloodiness of the war to gain democratic supporters. Lincoln’s team has personal confrontations with many of the congressmen persuading them to change their votes. These meeting were not always in a business setting or handled in a professional manor. Lincoln’s party bribed them with money and government jobs.
I think that Abraham Lincoln did stretch his presidential power maybe a little too far but I would not call what he did undue or excessive. If he did not use the tactics that he did he probably would not have seen the end of slavery (but he probably would have lived longer). I believe that working in an unmoral fashion is never the right thing to do but as I said before he speed up the results. Also in the end he was working for a good cause, slavery should have been ended (or never started) years before.
1) Politicking was very useful in Abe Lincoln’s campaign. He used methods like the spoils system (promising people jobs if they work on their campaign and promote them during election) to get peoples votes. He also warned congressmen that if they want the union to stay together this is the only way fro the country to stay together. Lincoln has also guilted men into voting yes, and using the idea of secession and war in the union to try to convince democrats to vote yes to the amendment. I think it was very clever of him to talk to these people directly and use whatever sort of “bribe”(as long as it was legal) it took to save our country from breaking up 2) I do not think that this is over usage of presidential power at all. The president is in charge for a reason. If you strongly believe in any issue, why wouldn’t you try to do everything in your power to make sure that issue is resolved. Terrible people were dehumanizing black people and treating them like animals, and Lincoln knew that something must be done, so he did everything he could to stop this bad thing from happening. Lincoln was only doing what was necessary to save our country from splitting, I don’t understand how that abusing power. We shouldn’t deface Lincoln’s presidency because he used clever tactics against people who wanted to break up America.
In the movie, Lincoln, it was shown how President Abraham Lincoln used his political power to pass the thirteenth amendment and abolish slavery. In the beginning of the movie you saw him talking to his Secretary of State, William Seward, about passing the thirteenth amendment. Seward informs him that they do not have enough votes and it will be nearly impossible to earn those votes. Seward and Lincoln debate whether or not to use the spoils system to get votes, but in the end they decide to use it and earn a few votes from it. Another way he politicked was by going on a more personal level with Representative Hutton, by asking him to vote yes so that Hutton’s brother’s death would not be for nothing. Another great example of politicking throughout the movie was when, Rep. Thaddeus Stevens basically told a democrat representative that if he did not vote yes on the amendment that he would lose his job to a republican representative because that was the way that the government was moving. Although all three of these examples show a not so honest side of Abe, these events must have occurred to pass the thirteenth amendment and abolish slavery. Therefore I believe that Lincoln did not abuse his presidential powers, but instead bent the rules and found loop holes to end a problem that could have haunted our country for many more years if we had signed a treaty to end the war before slavery was no longer legal in any of the states or territories.
In the movie Lincoln he pushes to get the 13th amendment passed before the South surrenders because when the war ends their no pressing need to band slavery. Lincoln personally goes to a Democratic member of the House of Representative to persuade him to vote for the amendment to be passed while he the congressman like many others doesn’t believe in equality for among blacks but preservation of the Union. Another way Lincoln tries politicking but in a rather messy way is through the peace allegation when Blair tries to get Jefferson Davis and southerners to come in the Union for peace but instead Lincoln tries to get advocates for the amendment. “It’s either peace or the amendment!” says Blair. Lincoln lobbyist like WN Bilbo, Richard Schell, and Robert Latham went to Democrats of the House and persuaded them into voting for the amendment. At the same time politicians present day try to gain political influence to get some laws passed or to vote out someone that’s unfit for office but they’re usually not President and go to door to door. When Andrew Jackson vetoed many bills like the bank bill it was seen of excessive use of presidential power but I believe Lincoln was just using his resources and the game of politics was never meant to be a clean game. Although, there were times Lincoln used his power in an unjust way by letting Blair bring in people from the South to negotiate peace when in reality he wasn’t. Lincoln knew what he was doing by using his power and his advocates for he knew he couldn’t let the peculiar institution go on and he knew Southern Democrats wanted the torn Union to be preserved.
During his time as the President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln defiantly did his share of “politicking.” Daniel Day Lewis did a great job of showing how Lincoln acted and felt during the process of passing the 13th amendment, which was the abolishment of slavery. One of the ways Lincoln politicked was by bribing some of the democrats to vote for the amendment. He did so by taking advantage of the spoil system, in which he promised jobs to democrats that would join his side. Richard Schell, Robert Latham, and W.N. Bilbo were the ones who helped Lincoln get the 2/3 votes he needed to pass in amendment in congress. Another way Abraham Lincoln influenced the outcome of the abolishment of slavery was be delaying the peace delegation. If he had not done so, the entire outcome would have been completely different. His plan was to make not only the congressmen but the country believe that the only way to avoid the war was to pass the amendment. The peace delegation would have shown the other options. Do I think that Lincoln used an extensive and almost undue amount of presidential power during the passing of the 13th amendment? Yes. But do I think his actions were justified? Yes! I think that in the long run, the abolishment of slavery was going to happen eventually, even if the amendment hadn’t passed or if the south had permanently split from the union. The movie, especially actor Daniel Day Lewis, did a stupendous job in portraying the last four months of Lincolns literal fight to the death for the passing of the 13th amendment and end of slavery.
Lincoln and his administration definitely exerted influence on others to get them to vote for the 13th Amendment. The spoils system, bribing, and lies all were common practices used to obtain the needed votes. Example 1 of how Lincoln exerted executive influence was when he lied about having knowledge of a peace commissioner meeting in Washington. He had to lie about this so that the 13th amendment could pass. I recall in the movie that once he received the question from his lobbiests on the hill, they mentioned to him that if he says he had no knowledge, that it could lead to the people impeaching him. Lincoln understood, but still went through with lying to the people. This shows how much he cares, and even though what he’s doing is greatly frowned upon, he’s willing to risk his presidency to better America. Example 2 is when the two lobbyists, Mr. Lathan and Mr. Schell accidentally “bump” into the congressman, and their money goes flying everywhere in the bank. They promptly bend down, hand the congressman the amendment, and start stuffing all of the fallen money into the folder. The congressman smiles, since he is aware of what is going on (and now probably willing to go along with it). The third example is when Lincoln and his reps. hire the three lobbyists to get votes from those lame duck democratic re-election losers. He actually ended up visiting these men for their support for the amendment. In return for their support, Lincoln said he’d give them government jobs (use of spoils system). I don’t believe that any of these example are and excessive use of presidential power. We elect a president knowing that they’re doing their best to make the country a better place for the majority. There’s obviously going to be conflicts and hurdles, since not everyone’s going to agree. That’s why we give our president the executive power to do these things. They shouldn’t go insane with their power, but they should mainly be doing it for the American looulation, not just to flaunt their power.
Some politicians are willing to make compromises that may seem messy or not right. These politicians are thinking what the best solution will be for future. In the case of President Lincoln, when he was trying to get the 13th amendment passed, he used methods that did not take the moral high ground. He did, however, need the last few votes to pass the 13th Amendment. President Lincoln and his representatives used the spoils system and manipulation to get some of the votes. Lincoln, himself, spoke to several congressmen in order to persuade them. The spoils system is when a political party gives government jobs to supporters and friends for helping win the election, but it was also effectively used to gain even more supporters. Another way Lincoln and his representatives gained voters/supporters was by telling lies and manipulating them. An example would be when he lies and says he knew nothing of the peace allegations. Lastly, he had the anti-slavery debate held in the House of Representatives. This caused some of the voters to change their view and support the 13th amendment. I do think this is excessive use of presidential power, but at certain times it could be used for the future benefit of the country. In today’s standards, this would probably be against the law and unethical. However in President Lincoln’s case, these different methods of manipulation and persuasion caused the end of slavery in America. So, all in all, I believe that while possibly not the most morally correct, Lincoln and his representatives did the best that they could.
In the movie Lincoln, Lincoln does quite a bit of politicking to get what he wants. The passing of the thirteenth amendment (Abolishing slavery) is considered one of Abraham Lincoln’s greatest accomplishments.
(1) Lincoln used many cheat like tactics to get what he wanted. The first thing that Lincoln put into thought was that most of the people benefit from slavery and are only for the thirteenth amendment because they believe it will end the war. So, Lincoln had to be strategic with his timing because if a peace treaty were to be signed or even seriously discussed before the bill was past it would lose an abundance of support. How he gained this support leads me to my second point. Lincoln and his team (three Lobbyists: Robert Latham, Richard Schell and W.N. Bilbo) seek out the most easily persuaded or “lame duck” democrats. All he needed was the 2/3 majority. Lincoln counted on the republicans and only needed all of the democrats he could get. He used his men to find the people he (and them) could easily convince to vote for the amendment. A third form of politicking is that Lincoln would send his men out to slide money into people’s arms of pockets. He used bribery with money, jobs, and various wants of politicians to get them to vote for the amendment. He offered the best of the best jobs for support. He was willing to do everything he could.
(2) I think that this was a major over use of presidential power(excessive). The whole point of voting in a president and representatives is to elect the person who the people believe will make the decisions they want. Not, the politician who will vote one way for a couple extra bucks. This is illegal action being performed by the law. It doesn’t make sense that the ones who make, write, and are supposed to enforce the laws are the ones breaking them. Lincoln is known as “Honest Abe,” however we’ve learned that this is far from true. Although, his intentions were good he made them possible through this method, it was in no way right. I do believe that Lincoln’s methods were excessive, however I strongly believe that they were necessary. Without them who knows what would have happened to out nation, the possibilities are endless.
Although Abraham Lincoln was a great man in accordance to US history, he was also a politician. Being a politician, he was prone to using persuasive methods that were not the entirety of the truth. It is quite weird that he was forever immortalized as “Honest Abe” when he skirted around the lines of the truth. A direct example of this is when he moved peace delegation out of the state so he could address the house stating “I have no knowledge of a peace negotiation in the capitol.” He used this as a way to trick people into believing that if they voted to abolish slavery, it would be possible that the ramifications of the abolishment would include the possible end to the civil war. In addition to this trickery, he used a version of the spoils system. He promised jobs to many representatives that could potentially be swayed into the direction of the thirteenth amendment. Although some did not take well to this bribery, in the movie one of his messengers had almost been shot, and required further persuasion. At one point, the two assistants encounter a possible voter in a bank and quite literally proceed to stuff money into a pamphlet that they used to convince representatives to vote for them. The examples above are easily qualified as an over use of executive power. Although it was use in accordance of a great deed, abolishing slavery, you should definitely not buy the fate of an entire country no matter how badly that you believe they need it. Fortunately Abe Lincoln was absolutely right in this venture, but this happens even today with representatives getting “Campaign Donations” from anonymous sources in quite sizable amounts. Although we are on the road to fixing this as three states have already outlawed money from external sources in politics.
Lincoln had to do a lot of “dirty” politics to get the 13th amendment passed. He had to twist arms to get 2/3 of the vote on the 13th amendment. One example is when Lincoln’s lobbyists Robert Latham, Richard Schell and W.N. Bilbo. These lobbyists would bribe democratic congressmen to vote yes for slavery. They didn’t just pick anyone they would pick people who needed jobs, money, or other things that congressmen need. This bribing is a very good example of politicking because Lincoln is using power to get his goal of getting the 13th amendment passed. Another example of politicking was when Lincoln told the people voting that he did not know about any peace talks that were ongoing. This was a lie that let the vote on the 13th amendment continue. This let Lincoln continue and speed up getting what he wants by using his power. The last example of politicking in Lincoln was when he told Rep. Hutton to yes and make sure his son’s death was not in vain. This is playing a mental game on other reps. which is very “dirty”. I think that this power was a little bit excessive because he played tricks and games with people. When he told some people that they could lose their job or power in politics was abusing his power. The president cannot dismiss people or fire them for no apparent reason. This makes him become more of a tyrant and more like a monarch or dictatorship that picks his workers. While bribing isn’t using his presidential power it is still a dirty or unfair play in politics. Lastly he used basic power as if he had all the power he wanted and no one could fire him.
Abraham Lincoln needed 20 democratic votes to pass his extremely risky but critical 13th Amendment. In order to obtain and later on sustain these votes, he used methods some would see as desperate and possibly unconstitutional. First, he had Mr. Lathan and Mr. Schell get as many votes as they could, in any way they could. They would offer jobs that their target ha always wanted, bribe them, and in one instance threaten to not reelect if the Democrat did not vote yes. This plan didn’t work completely, some votes were still missing, so Lincoln had Mr. Blair use his influence to gain democratic votes in the South. This got them the needed votes, but another problem arose, a peace delegation from Richmond was supposedly in Washington. This made the democrats want to postpone the voting on the amendment, even though Lincoln needed it to be passed before he talked about peace. He twisted the truth, saying there was no Confederate peace delegation in Washington so the voting could continue. Lincoln had kept the peace delegation out of Washington, because he knew that peace couldn’t last without the 13th amendment. I believe these to be actions of excessive presidential power. Some of his actions, especially concerning the peace delegation, could’ve easily been proven as unconstitutional.
In the film Lincoln, President Lincoln used his political power in a very useful way. He wasn’t a tyrant about passing the 13th amendment but he refused to be soft on slavery which pushed him to use different ways to make people side with his cause. Lincoln put good use to the spoils system and having people work for him to follow democrats to have “peace talks” about ending the war. Even though he had to lie about the abolishing slavery being the only way to fully piece together the union, the lie didn’t put America in a crisis that would stop its progression. There are several examples of Lincoln’s determination to pass the 13th amendment by using the people that worked for him. Francis Preston Blair, a prominent private citizen, who went to Richmond to talk to traitors, to smile at and plead with traitors. Another example is that he offers patronage jobs to Democratic congressmen who support slavery. He courts but also tamps down the influence of Thaddeus Stevens, the abolitionist who’s so possessed by the cause that he might alienate any congressman on the fence. Another final example of Lincoln exercising his power to the highest degree is political power are his peace talks and going to meet up with vice president of the confederacy and convincing him that abolishing slavery was the only solution to their problem and getting basically the whole north on his side. He wasn’t a dictator about passing the 13th amendment at all, it was about persuasion which is the basis of politics.
In the movie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln used his authoritive power to get the two thirds vote on the 13th amendment. Abraham Lincoln used is persuasive knowledge to persuade all the others that the 13th amendment, when passed would abolish slavery therefore bringing an end to the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was guaranteeing certainty in an uncertain world. Abraham Lincoln bribed people so he could get the amendment passed. He also guarantee people jobs and this was a lie. I believe Abraham Lincoln was abusing his presidential power for his own beliefs not for the good of the nation but for his well-being. He used this politicking way of persuading people to get what he wanted and for the nation it was a very uncertain amendment to pass while it did help slaves but it did not do what Abraham Lincoln said ot would which was end the Civil War. What is ironic about this situation is the fact that Abraham Lincoln’s nickname was honest Abe but really he got his way by lying and twisting the truth. Everyone is hiding your true self but when you are elected president you have a responsibility to the people not for yourself. I believe Abraham Lincoln truly was not a good president although he helped people he knew that when he was in office he would care more about himself that the people around him. He definitely abused his presidential power in this phase of his life and I believe that in modern time the president needs to have a good Congress to vote what is right for the nation.
Politicians are good at what they do. They have a way with people they not be the nicest people or the most ethical, but they know how to get what they want. Lincoln was a great politician getting elected as the 16th president of the United States of America. He was a very good politician, but the way he used his power could be portrayed as excessive. He used his power to pass one of the most thought about amendments in U.S. Getting this passed was a very hard task to complete having to get 2/3 of the votes on an amendment that has to do with slavery is a hard task. People thought that this amendment would stop the war. Lincoln had to use this in his favor. He would get “lame duck” Democrats. Who were easily persuaded by the fact that this could stop a war that most didn’t want to start. He had a lot of power and a lot people willing to help him get this amendment passed. He would use another form of politicking that is very unethical but very affective back then. He would use bribery. This came in the form of money and jobs and also various other important things. He would offer jobs that payed very well and would last them which is very tempting. Lincoln used his power effectively at some times it can come off as un ethical and maybe abusive to this great power he had of the colonies. Politics is a game of power and money and whatever you have to do to win you would do and faults were on both sides when it comes to over using powers. It can be excessive to a point but you do what you must to win.
Politicking was our former President Abraham Lincoln’s method to getting the 13th amendment passed. Politicking had been used for years and years to achieve progress in government, whether it’s a positive thing or a negative thing. Politicking is seldom exposed to the general public. Lincoln influenced politicians and delayed the Richmond delegation. Lincoln used this to his advantage by giving job incentives to people who had lost their position in the government in the year’s election. These people could still vote on the 13th amendment even thought they were not currently in congress. Because of the job incentives, Lincoln caused these people to vote yes on the 13th, even though it might’ve been unfair. Another way he used politicking was telling people untruthful things about the amendment. He claimed that the amendment would bring peace, when in reality it was the cause of a huge war. A final way Lincoln used politicking was when he made a deal with Mr. Blair, a very influential man. Blair wanted really badly to travel to Richmond Virginia. Lincoln would arrange this if Blair would support the 13 amendment and implant beliefs into people nationwide. In my opinion, Lincoln displayed excessive use of power during his presidency. Lincoln influenced others to agree and vote yes on the 13th amendment by politicking in ways that were somewhat sketchy. He was influencing these people to vote yes on his amendment by giving things such as job incentives to those out of work and lying about the Richmond delegation. Even though excessive, in the end it was probably the right thing to do for the future of our country.
Abraham Lincoln was widely respected for his presidency. He accomplished what was almost impossible at the time, passing the 13th amendment to end slavery and it was no easy task. As we watched in the movie, Lincoln, the president used many means of politicking including sending persuasive letters and harsher methods such as bribery and threats. Lincoln offered many politicians jobs in office including some we saw in the movie such as Congressman Wells A. Hutchins. In exchange for the job as a postmaster, the delegates would vote for Lincoln’s 13th amendment to pass. Also, Lincoln gave people jobs who weren’t necessarily supposed to have them of the most qualified. He did this to because they could vote on the amendment and they agreed to pass it. Although it may have been an excessive use of power, Lincoln was very passionate about his cause and would stop at nothing to get it passed, just as anyone else probably would. Also, it made our country a better place for everyone, even if some in the south didn’t agree at first.
In order to get the 13th amendment passed Lincoln and his representatives had to resort to some morally questionable political moves and manipulation. One example is Lincoln and his Secretary of State, Seward, would offer government jobs to Democrats who’ve already their lost re-elections in exchange for them voting for the amendment. Another example is that Lincoln purposely delayed a Confederate mission for peace because it would derail the amendment being passed. One last example is that Lincoln (through a representative) threatened to have a Congressman voted out during the next election if he didn’t vote for the amendment. I believe that the use of presidential power was justified but only in such a dire situation. During the movie Lincoln described many ways in which he did some things and held some powers that he normally wouldn’t have access to. This is because it was during wartime and the President is the commander and chief of the military therefore he needs more power to properly command an army. All of Lincoln’s questionable actions to pass the 13th amendment were done to fight a war. However Lincoln was fighting two wars: one against the confederacy to keep our nation together and the other was against slavery to save the lives of all the black people living in America. In this case the ends justify the means, Lincoln was fighting a war to have all men considered equal for the first time in America and had to go to great lengths to make that happen. His actions were the only things that could end slavery. Lincoln may have used excessive power however there is no alternative that would have stopped slavery.
In the Movie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln and his advisors used politicking techniques by writing letters to Democrats in congress. By writing the leaders Lincoln convinced some Democrats to switch the side of their ideas and vote to pass the 13th amendment which would abolish slavery in the near future. In the border states between the north and south, Lincoln granted them higher spots in government if they would vote to pass the 13th amendment. This idea of granting people higher positions is called the spoil system. The final example is, Lincoln denied a piss agreement with the Confederates because that would allow the confederates to come back into the states and nothing would have been solved in this bloody war. If a peace argument had been made, the whole entire idea of the war would have been changed. Throughout Lincoln’s presidency, I don’t believe that he used his presidential power to much. Saying that Lincoln was serving during one of the worst parts of American history, he accomplished something that was never thought to be possible. America has declined peace agreements in the past and Lincoln only did what he had to in order to get the 13th passed.
The movie Lincoln was a sort of peek behind the scenes as to what really had went on when President Abraham Lincoln and his team were trying to pass the 13th amendment to end the war and abolish slavery. While Lincoln has been made out to be a great and honest man, this movie proved that “Honest Abe” didn’t fully live up to his given nickname. One way that the movie showed this was with Lincoln and his team, consisting of W.N. Bilbo, Robert Latham, as well as Richard Schell, targeted certain politicians to persuade them to help pass the 13th amendment. He had his men seek out the most easily persuaded democrats because he knew he could already count on the republican vote. Lincoln was also no stranger to bribery. As portrayed in the movie, Lincoln would have his men slip a couple of dollar bills into the jacket sleeves or pockets of those who needed a little more convincing. Speaking of convincing, good old Honest Abe wasn’t limited to persuasion by means of payment. No, Lincoln also used his words to trick people. What he had done was he began trying to convince people that with every vote for the abolishment of slavery, we were another step closer to ending the horrible Civil War that was still at the time an ongoing battle between the North and South. He led the American people to believe that slavery was the cause of the war and the only way for it to be stopped was by voting for his cause.
While Lincoln probably thought he was doing only what was best for his people and his country, this truly was a major over use of his executive power. While, yes, the abolishment of slavery was something that many believe was needed during this time, the way Lincoln achieved it was wrong. However, I do believe that this overuse of power was justified. Our country could not afford to be involved in slavery any longer and with the extremely delicate circumstances and high rising tensions, Lincoln did what he felt he had to do, even if it wasn’t the honest thing to do.