LAD/Blog #21: Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth

 

 Carnegie's ideas regarding the nature of wealth are expounded upon in his "gospel" He believed that people who inherited money could accomplish nothing more with it than merely living off of it, where people who nurtured and grew their fortunes were the ones who truly prospered. One of the smartest options with money, in Carnegie's opinion, was to try to grow it and always make more. He divided wealth into three categories, those being inheritance, for public purposes, and sums left to the jurisdiction of the one who possessed it. The most realistic option, he said, was the third. Carnegie also believed that the circulation of money was a vital part of social Darwinism, for it separated the rich from the poor and civilization needed to be ruled by the wealthy, in his opinion, for they made the foundations of society. But despite that, the wealthy had to be cautious and set a financial example by not being extravagent with their spending, but modest and smart, cautious investors. And in the end, a duty of the wealthy man was the duty to help his government and fellow man.

LAD/Blog #20: Emancipation Proclamation

 Lincoln's controversial Emancipation Proclamation was made possible because of the victory at Antietam and abolished slavery within the Union, establishing that "all persons held as slaves within any State ... shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." The government, he attested, would protect these peoples' rights and freedoms and those who tried to deny these rights and freedoms would have to face consequences. Therefore, any state who refused to obey the Proclamation would be deemed a rebel, and the people within it could claim that they themselves were not rebels against the Union, rather, their state was. As commander in chief, Lincoln had certain wartime powers such as sending the US Army and Navy to fight such rebels. He went on to list the areas in which slavery would be illegal, and stated and those areas had to recognize the freedmen's rights and freedoms, and that he wished to engage in violence only as self defense. He concluded by saying that freed slaves had to work faithfully and loyally as American citizens, and could now participate in the military. Lincoln's decision made with the Proclamation was serious, and he meant to enforce it, for it was an act that he "sincerely believed to be an act of justice."

LAD/Blog #19: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

 
Lincoln entered his second term with the Civil War still raging and the same challenges and struggles still fresh in his mind. The Union had to be rebuilt, and it was his duty to restore it. In his Second Inaugural Address, he stood before United States citizens and recounted the war thus far, detailing political parties and the nature of the slave population in the South, which the South believed would secure them an easy victory. Not so. Both sides, Lincoln said, prayed to the same God, and yet both sides believed that God was on their side, thus pitting God against Himself and leading people to wonder about God's will. Lincoln knew that people wondered how He could let so many citizens perish, and noted that God worked in mysterious and righteous ways. Lincoln's final, resounding message of the Address was one of peace. Peace was attainable, but American people had to help attain it. The people of America had to move on from the war someday, and after it was over help to care for each other and heal the country's wounds, "with malice toward none, with charity for all."