Lincoln’s Personal History

Instructions: Using George McGovern’s Abraham Lincoln, write an essay (six-page minimum) that answers all 6 of the following questions.1. Lincoln’s personal history. What professional and political experience did Abraham Lincoln accumulate before becoming President? (Ch.1—Humble Beginnings, pp.15-29; Ch.2—Making of a Statesman, pp.30-35)2. The main conflict between North and South that led to war. a. What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)? b. What was the Dred Scott decision (1857)? c. Why did each one bring Lincoln out of private life and “rekindle” his political career? (Ch. 2—Making of a Statesman, pp.35-41)3. Why saving the Union was important. a. What arguments did Lincoln make against southern secession? b. In what ways did he repress civil liberties during the war and otherwise “stretch the limits of presidential authority”? (Ch.3—Lincoln and the Union, pp.48-63)4. Freeing the slaves. McGovern states that the Emancipation Proclamation “transformed the meaning of the war and redefined…the notion of freedom in America.” a. What was Lincoln’s early attitude toward slavery? b. What were his attitudes toward racial equality? c. On what grounds did he justify emancipation? (Ch.4—Lincoln and Emancipation, pp.64-72)5. How the North won the war. McGovern states that Lincoln began the Civil War advocating “limited war” but later replaced it with “total war.” a. What does he mean by these?  b. How did Generals Ulysses S Grant and William Sherman implement the policy of total warfare? (Ch.5—Lincoln and Total War, pp.80-87, 92-96) 6. Republican reform. What major domestic reforms were passed during Lincoln’s 1st and 2nd terms?  (Ch. 7—Rising Above the Fray, pp.119-122) Format Instructions 1. Your essay must be typed and double-spaced. 2. Use Question-Answer format a. Write out the question, then write a short essay answering it.  b. Do that for each question. c. Otherwise, I will not accept the essay. 3. Use quotes and page citations for each question (at least one quote per numbered question). a. Essays that don’t use quotes/page citations will be graded down. b. Place the page citation in parentheses at the end of the quote. c. If you’re using a digital version of the book, use their page or location numbers. 4. Your essay must be a minimum of six pages. a. One page = roughly 24 lines of essay; one 6-page essay = in the neighborhood of 1,500 words. b. There is no maximum limit on how much you can write.  c. A-range essays are longer. Sometimes a lot longer.