Amendments to End Slavery: Prior to the Civil War, there were no amendments proposed to the Constitution that would have ended slavery. The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, was passed by Congress in January 1865 and ratified by t
This is disinformation. I think you're reading the wrong history books.
John Quincy Adams, for instance, introduced an amendment to the Constitution every time he went to Congress after he served as President to make it very clear that slavery would be abolished.
In fact, there was another amendment to abolish slavery in 1860, I think it was, whgich did not get support from Lincoln.
- Lincoln's Desire for War: It's a gross oversimplification to say that Lincoln "wanted to have a war." Lincoln's primary goal was to preserve the Union. While he personally opposed slavery and expressed his desire to see it end, he initially approached the issue cautiously to avoid alienating the border states that still practiced slavery but hadn't seceded. The outbreak of the Civil War was a result of deep-seated tensions between the North and South, particularly over the issue of slavery, but it's misleading to suggest that Lincoln desired or instigated the war.
What you're calling ''saving the union'' was, applicably speaking, overthrowing the original intent of the Framers. Again, Lincoln was a Hamiltonian.
So far as his views on slavery, he certainly wasn't against it.
The man himself said that ''If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.''
Lincoln's Relationship with Marx: While Karl Marx did write a letter to Lincoln congratulating him on his re-election in 1864, there's no evidence to suggest that the two had a "friendly, often agreeable relationship." They never met, and their correspondence was limited. Furthermore, Marx's views on the American Civil War were rooted in his belief that the conflict was a struggle against the slaveholding bourgeoisie, not necessarily an endorsement of Lincoln's policies.
Depends on what books you're reading, I suppose. I think you're reading the wrong books, presonally.
- Hamilton and the "Living Document": The idea of the Constitution as a "living document" is a modern interpretation suggesting that the Constitution's meaning can evolve and adapt over time. While Alexander Hamilton was an advocate for a strong federal government and a broad interpretation of the Constitution, it's anachronistic to attribute the "living document" philosophy directly to him. Moreover, the term "skulduggery" implies deceit or underhanded behavior, which is a subjective and contentious way to describe Hamilton's constitutional interpretation.
Yeah, no, Hamilton is the main culprit.
Today Washington is basically nothing but Hamiltonians.
And, yes, he was a scoundrel and functioned antitetically to the original intent in the Constitution, so skulduggery was, in my view, the correct language.
