James McPherson, in his book, Abraham Lincoln and the Second Revolution, argues that the Civil War brought about a much more radical change in government than the first American Revolution in 1776. When considered closely, three key Civil War documents û namely the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln's second inaugural address, and the 13th Amendment û each support the notion of a major political and social revolution having occurred in the form of the Civil War.
Having defined "revolution" in a number of ways, McPherson makes clear that dramatic and often sudden political change is indeed one form of revolution. Therefore, the election of Abraham Lincoln himself is the first way in which the Civil War era can be considered as such. Southern Democrats had dominated the national government for two generations. With sectional differences at an all time high, Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, put a halt to the Democrats' election streak. Before Lincoln was even elected, seven southern states had seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy (McPherson 28). This major political power shift indicated an air of revolution and it was noted as such by the southern states that, as McPherson earlier points out, realized the impending social and economic structure changes that would occur when he freed the slaves. To echo modern day strategists, the South acted "preemptively" by seceding even before Lincoln took office, to avoid a revolution, when the reality is that their action precipitated it (McPherson 27).
Despite a fully formed Confederacy and being deeply engaged in war, Lincoln continued to hope that the Union could be saved with limited bloodshed (McPherson 30). Lincoln believed personally that slavery was wrong, however, southern states had a Constitutional right to slavery. He also believed that, because secession was illegal, the southern states were still legally part of the Union and therefore, permitted to exerci...