Abraham Lincoln Portrayed in the Collections of the Indiana Historical Society ed. by Harold Holzer (review)

Abstract

According to Carnahan, the president had but two models to guide his thinking: George Washington' s mobilization against the Whiskey Rebellion and Andrew Jackson' s threats against nullification. lhe time for threats had clearly passed. Since Lincoln repeatedly maintained that the South could not legally secede and establish its own government,his inclination was to follow in Washington's steps and treat Confederates as rebellious citizens. But that approach foreclosed the Union's ability to seize insurgent ships,munitions, and slaves. Though unsure how far to press the enemy,military leaders applied the laws of war even as Lincoln hesitated. By 1864, Sherman pressed against traditional notions of property as he redefined the laws ofwan Many scholars, Allen Guelzo most recently,have raised the question, " If the