Abraham Lincoln and the Triumph of an Anti-Slavery Nationalism

Saint Xavier University Associate Professor of History Graham Peck will explain how Abraham Lincoln's use of nationalism helped to mobilize the North against slavery. Lincoln's portrayal of the antislavery movement marked a significant cultural and political shift in the antebellum North. Although abolitionism had long been criticized as a radical and disorganizing crusade, Lincoln successfully portrayed antislavery politics as a conservative defense of the nation's heritage of freedom and economic opportunity. His political appeals and leadership were instrumental in the triumph of the Republican Party by 1860.