The Fate of Liberty Characters & Character Analysis

The Fate of Liberty Important People

Abraham Lincoln

The President of the United States during the Civil War, Lincoln is often in historical literature called a dictator and likened to Bismarck, but he lacks the Kaiser's blood and iron rhetoric. He comes to office in 1861 after a congressional career that leaves him antagonistic to making every political question a constitutional issue and is ill prepared by his legal background to deal with executive decisions. Andrew Jackson is his hero, although he does not care for his politics. In the early days of the Civil War, Lincoln agonizes over arrests, but has no problem delegating authority to the aggressive and efficient Secretary of State William H. Seward. Over time, Lincoln convinces himself he has the constitutional authority to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and impose martial law (never distinct in his thinking), and he expands the geographic application nationwide, even to loyal areas not involved in fighting.