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16.6: Critical Thinking Exercises

  • Page ID
    9807
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    • What was there about Abraham Lincoln’s personality that made him an effective leader? Did Jefferson Davis have these same qualities? Why or why not?
    • In the years following the Civil War, the United States underwent massive industrialization and economic growth. What policies enacted during the war, do you think, helped to contribute to that growth?
    • Abraham Lincoln was convinced that freeing the southern slaves would bring a speedy end to the war. Why did he think this? Did the Emancipation Proclamation accomplish this end?
    • Why do you think the Irish of New York City were so opposed to the Enrollment Act of 1863?
    • What could the governments, local, state and Confederate, have done to prevent the Bread Riots?
    • Why was there opposition to drafting African Americans to fight in the War by both Northerners and Southerners?
    • What do you think made Lincoln release the following memo prior to the election of 1864? Does he intend to say that he was against continuing the war?
      • To Whom it may concern: Any proposition which embraces the restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the abandonment of slavery, and which comes by and with an authority that can control the armies now at war against the United States will be received and considered by the Executive government of the United States, and will be met by liberal terms on other substantial and collateral points.

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