Lincoln and the Civil War This essay is an account of Lincoln's venerable actions during the Civil War with citations to sources.

The Civil War remains one of the most tragic national crises in America's history. The destructive warfare killed twice as many Americans as died in World War II (Owens). Lincoln, in deciding to free the slaves, made the war into the unequivocal fight for slavery. He was able to justify the deaths of so many, as retribution for the sin of slavery. Lincoln went to great lengths to preserve the Union, even at the cost …

…crisis. According to John Locke, one of those powers is the prerogative, or "the power [of the executive] to act according to discretion for the public good, without the prescription of the law and sometimes even against it."(Owens). 1.John M. Ashbrook. Lincoln and Civil War. http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/oped/02/lincoln.html. 2.Mackubin T. Owens. Editorial August 2002. Lincoln and Civil Liberties: War, Prudence, and Republican Government. http://pbs.org/now/politics/timeline.html