Lincoln's last card: the Emancipation Proclamation as a case of command
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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Beteilige Person: Ellis, Richard J. 1960- (VerfasserIn)
Format: Buch
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Lawrence, Kansas University Press of Kansas 2025
Schriftenreihe:Landmark presidential decisions
Schlagwörter:
Abstract:"The Emancipation Proclamation is often viewed as one of Abraham Lincoln's crowning achievements, a pivotal moment in American history and a turning point in the Civil War. But it remains a highly contested document. Scholars have put forward competing interpretations of the proclamation, some noting its distinct lack of rhetorical eloquence, others questioning how much credit we should really give to Lincoln. While Richard Hofstadter said it possessed "all the moral grandeur of a bill of lading," others have pointed out that it was intended to withstand legal challenge, rather than persuade or inspire"--
"A fresh reassessment of the Emancipation Proclamation that looks beyond the Lincoln mythos and sees the decision as Lincoln's last resort after his failure to persuade a divided country.There is a certain comfort in being able to see Lincoln-or any president-simply as either a hero or a villain. The truth, however, is more complicated. Lincoln's Last Card helps us look beyond the myths to see Lincoln as the flawed and consequential leader that he was.Few presidential edicts are more famous or misunderstood than the Emancipation Proclamation. The traditional myth about the proclamation is that President Lincoln freed the slaves with a bold stroke of his pen. This popular understanding deifies Lincoln as the sagacious Great Emancipator and constructs a narrative of American history centered around the heroic deeds of our "great" presidents.
A more cynical view, bolstered by recent historical examinations of Lincoln's own racial biases, says the proclamation was much ado about nothing; a largely hollow gesture that freed no slaves at all and lacked even a moral indictment of slavery. Both views, however, see presidential power as largely unrestricted and unilateral, so that Lincoln's decisions occur in a virtual vacuum-a timeless display of his moral virtue, or lack thereof.Richard Ellis, a veteran scholar of the American presidency, suggests that we look at Lincoln's proclamation through the lens of presidential weakness rather than greatness. To do so, Ellis draws on the work of renowned political scientist Richard Neustadt, who explored "three cases of command" from the twentieth century in his 1960 work, Presidential Power. Where the public saw presidential success, Neustadt saw presidents engaged in "a painful last resort," suggesting not political mastery but rather the failure to achieve goals through other means.
Umfang:136 Seiten
ISBN:9780700638123
9780700638130