Don't all americans know Lincoln work?
In connection with Mr. Obama's using Lincoln Bible in his inauguration to President, VOA reported that President Lincoln is known for his mission to abolish slavery in the mid-19th century. I think mojority of Americans well know that Lincoln's work. Why does VOA bother to mention the fact all Americans know? I am Japanese.
History - 7 Answers
People's Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
Answer 1 :
You'd be surprised how ignorant and uneducated people can be. Most people do know, but I am sure there are some that do not.
Answer 2 :
Because VOA isn't broadcast in America. It is only broadcast for foreigners outside of America, many of whom might not know about Mr. Lincoln's legacy.
Answer 3 :
Voice of America is an international radio network aimed at an audience outside America, so it's aimed at people who might not know about Lincoln. In that role, VOA has a propaganda role to promote America's interests, and aligning Obama with a great historical anti-slavery figure is good psychology.
Answer 4 :
Actually, Lincoln was not really an abolitionist. He once said, and I'm paraphrasing, that if he could save the Union by freeing all the slaves, he would do it. If he could save it without freeing a single slave, he would do that. And if he could save the Union by freeing some slaves and leaving others as they were, he would also do that. On a personal level, Lincoln despised slavery, but he did not, in actuality, see blacks as equals. He explored the idea of sending black slaves to Africa--to Liberia, specifically. People like Frederick Douglass explained to him that most slaves had never been to Africa, that it was as foreign a land to them as to any other American. The Emancipation Proclamation was in large part politically motivated--Lincoln needed to keep England from joining the war on the Southern side, and England would not support slavery. Also, it did not free a single slave, since it only dealt with the slaves in the Confederacy, which were not under his control. He did not free them in the border states, which he could have done, for fear that those states would join the Confederacy. Lincoln is, without a doubt, our greatest President, but his stance on slavery and abolition is widely misunderstood. Edit: You gotta love someone who is giving thumbs-down to detailed, intelligent and fact-based responses.
Answer 5 :
Taro, The American government would dearly love for the world and all Americans to believe that Mr. Lincoln worked to end slavery and was a good and honorable man. Unfortunately, that isn't true and it worries me some that Mr. Obama is idolizing Lincoln so much. Abraham Lincoln was a man who came to power on a pro-northern/anti-Southern platform. His plan was to tax the Southern states heavily and use the money to prop up the northern industrialists and other such things which are illegal according to our Constitution. The Southern states knew this to be illegal and along with a few other reasons, decided it would be in their best interests to exercise their constitutional right to leave the united States and form their own country. That way they could control their own destiny. Many northerners were initially willing to let the South go and start their own country but Mr. Lincoln, when asked why he didn't let the South go. replied "But where would we get our tax money if we let the South go?" So Lincoln called on all the states to send him men for an army to invade the seceding states and force them back into the union at gunpoint. some of the states, like Virginia, Arkansas, and Tennessee, saw this as an illegal activity and decided they would have no part in it so they seceded, too. Then there were 11 states who joined the Confederacy and lincoln still had about 23. Lincoln then claimed that it was illegal for the states to secede and that it was treason, despite claiming that secession was a "sacred right we believe will change the world" about 20 years earlier while he was in Congress. After about 2 years of war, Lincolns side is not faring very well. He needs a moral 'crusade' to turn his illegal war into an acceptable one. He hits on abolition of slavery as the caused. Now, just two years earlier, he said in his inaugural address that he had no intention of interfering with slavery and had no right to do so. But when he was losing the war, he changed his mind. So he issued his "Emancipation Proclamation". The only problem was that it freed slaves where he had no power to do so and kept slaves in bondage where the northern government held power. Remember that the slave states of Maryland, Delaware, west Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri were still with the north. They never seceded. Lincoln didn't free their slaves, only the ones he couldn't get to. The slaves weren't actually freed until passage of the 14th amendment to the u.S. Constitution which didn't happen until after Lincolns death. All Lincoln did was start an illegal war and invade free, sovereign states and kill about half a million people in order to violate the constitution, centralize the government and please the northern industrialists.
Answer 6 :
I will not bother to be wordy in my explanation since others have done so already, but i will say this, Iam ashamed of our public school system in this regard.."most Americans" really do not know much about the real Lincoln. I have recently been reading "Harvard classics, great historical american documents" And the more one studies this subject the more one realizes that most of what they learned in school is 'mythos" and unless one specializes in a topic,,,iam afraid all that is giving for the most part in public school is a slanted outline at best and a crock of crap at worst
Answer 7 :
bookish has it absolutely correct. Shame on the negative rater. Lincoln "who abolished slavery" is good publicity (though for whom I'm not too sure) but it's just plain wrong. Lincoln was a great president for many reasons, but freeing the slaves wasn't one of them
In connection with Mr. Obama's using Lincoln Bible in his inauguration to President, VOA reported that President Lincoln is known for his mission to abolish slavery in the mid-19th century. I think mojority of Americans well know that Lincoln's work. Why does VOA bother to mention the fact all Americans know? I am Japanese.
History - 7 Answers
People's Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
Answer 1 :
You'd be surprised how ignorant and uneducated people can be. Most people do know, but I am sure there are some that do not.
Answer 2 :
Because VOA isn't broadcast in America. It is only broadcast for foreigners outside of America, many of whom might not know about Mr. Lincoln's legacy.
Answer 3 :
Voice of America is an international radio network aimed at an audience outside America, so it's aimed at people who might not know about Lincoln. In that role, VOA has a propaganda role to promote America's interests, and aligning Obama with a great historical anti-slavery figure is good psychology.
Answer 4 :
Actually, Lincoln was not really an abolitionist. He once said, and I'm paraphrasing, that if he could save the Union by freeing all the slaves, he would do it. If he could save it without freeing a single slave, he would do that. And if he could save the Union by freeing some slaves and leaving others as they were, he would also do that. On a personal level, Lincoln despised slavery, but he did not, in actuality, see blacks as equals. He explored the idea of sending black slaves to Africa--to Liberia, specifically. People like Frederick Douglass explained to him that most slaves had never been to Africa, that it was as foreign a land to them as to any other American. The Emancipation Proclamation was in large part politically motivated--Lincoln needed to keep England from joining the war on the Southern side, and England would not support slavery. Also, it did not free a single slave, since it only dealt with the slaves in the Confederacy, which were not under his control. He did not free them in the border states, which he could have done, for fear that those states would join the Confederacy. Lincoln is, without a doubt, our greatest President, but his stance on slavery and abolition is widely misunderstood. Edit: You gotta love someone who is giving thumbs-down to detailed, intelligent and fact-based responses.
Answer 5 :
Taro, The American government would dearly love for the world and all Americans to believe that Mr. Lincoln worked to end slavery and was a good and honorable man. Unfortunately, that isn't true and it worries me some that Mr. Obama is idolizing Lincoln so much. Abraham Lincoln was a man who came to power on a pro-northern/anti-Southern platform. His plan was to tax the Southern states heavily and use the money to prop up the northern industrialists and other such things which are illegal according to our Constitution. The Southern states knew this to be illegal and along with a few other reasons, decided it would be in their best interests to exercise their constitutional right to leave the united States and form their own country. That way they could control their own destiny. Many northerners were initially willing to let the South go and start their own country but Mr. Lincoln, when asked why he didn't let the South go. replied "But where would we get our tax money if we let the South go?" So Lincoln called on all the states to send him men for an army to invade the seceding states and force them back into the union at gunpoint. some of the states, like Virginia, Arkansas, and Tennessee, saw this as an illegal activity and decided they would have no part in it so they seceded, too. Then there were 11 states who joined the Confederacy and lincoln still had about 23. Lincoln then claimed that it was illegal for the states to secede and that it was treason, despite claiming that secession was a "sacred right we believe will change the world" about 20 years earlier while he was in Congress. After about 2 years of war, Lincolns side is not faring very well. He needs a moral 'crusade' to turn his illegal war into an acceptable one. He hits on abolition of slavery as the caused. Now, just two years earlier, he said in his inaugural address that he had no intention of interfering with slavery and had no right to do so. But when he was losing the war, he changed his mind. So he issued his "Emancipation Proclamation". The only problem was that it freed slaves where he had no power to do so and kept slaves in bondage where the northern government held power. Remember that the slave states of Maryland, Delaware, west Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri were still with the north. They never seceded. Lincoln didn't free their slaves, only the ones he couldn't get to. The slaves weren't actually freed until passage of the 14th amendment to the u.S. Constitution which didn't happen until after Lincolns death. All Lincoln did was start an illegal war and invade free, sovereign states and kill about half a million people in order to violate the constitution, centralize the government and please the northern industrialists.
Answer 6 :
I will not bother to be wordy in my explanation since others have done so already, but i will say this, Iam ashamed of our public school system in this regard.."most Americans" really do not know much about the real Lincoln. I have recently been reading "Harvard classics, great historical american documents" And the more one studies this subject the more one realizes that most of what they learned in school is 'mythos" and unless one specializes in a topic,,,iam afraid all that is giving for the most part in public school is a slanted outline at best and a crock of crap at worst
Answer 7 :
bookish has it absolutely correct. Shame on the negative rater. Lincoln "who abolished slavery" is good publicity (though for whom I'm not too sure) but it's just plain wrong. Lincoln was a great president for many reasons, but freeing the slaves wasn't one of them
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