“Lincoln was a modernizer, so to speak. He believed in economic development. As a Whig before the war he favored what we would call infrastructure spending, government appropriation for canals, railroads, river and harbor improvements, and a tariff to protect industry. He believed in this market revolution that was sweeping across Northern society. He himself benefited from it in his own life.” WarGovernmentSpeakEconomicRevolutionDevelopmentIndustryProtectRiversSpendingImprovementInfrastructureHarborsSweepingRailroadsEconomic DevelopmentCanalsAppropriationTariffs Author:Eric Foner
“There are those who view the abolitionists as just maniacs, apolitical fanatics who helped to cause the war, and Lincoln is the model of responsible statesmanship. I think that is a misconception, the idea that Lincoln knows what's possible and the abolitionists don't.” ThinkingKnowsIdeasWarCausesViewsModelsResponsibleFanaticsMisconceptionManiacsStatesmanshipAbolitionistApolitical Author:Eric Foner
“If you are going to abolish slavery, that opens up all these other questions: what system of labor is going to replace slave labor? What system of race relations is going to replace the race relations of slavery? Who is going to have power in the post-war South? The Emancipation Proclamation doesn't answer that question, but it throws [it] open.” IfsWarAnswersRaceLaborRelationSlaverySlaveSouthPostsRace RelationsEmancipationAbolishProclamationPost WarEmancipation ProclamationSlave Labor Author:Eric Foner
