Transcripts For CNN Lincoln Divided We Stand 20240711

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Very, very hard to build up his law practice. Lincoln was a great spinner of tales for juries. One time, he said, this reminds me of the little boy on the farm who comes running into his father and says, pa, pa, sisters in the barn, and shes got her pants down, and shes apeein in the hey lost, and her friend, joe, has got his pants down and hes squatting to do the other thing. And his father says, boy, youve got the facts straight, but youve come to the wrong conclusions. Then he would turn to the jurors and say, sometimes the facts dont give you the right conclusion. Lincoln was honest abe, but he often cut his answers to serve his cause. Theres a ten dency to say hes this moral paragon, or hes just a political animal. No. Hes a hybrid. If you want to understand him, youve got to understand both sides. By 1854, spain, france, and britain have abolished slavery, but its very much alive in the United States. In may, president Franklin Pierce signs the kansasnebraska act, Giving Slavery the opportunity to expand throughout 500,000 square miles of new territory. The kansasnebraska act repealed the missouri compromise, which had said there can be no slavery north of the 36th 30 line. But the kansasnebraska act said settlers can decide for themselves whether slavery can be north of the line. It wasnt just talking about the modern day states of kansas and nebraska. It was talking about this immense territory that stretched all the way up to the canadian border, westward towards oregon. And the north goes ballistic, and lincoln goes ballistic too. Lincoln says you cant have a democratic process to determine whether an undemocratic institution can exist. So lincoln recognizes that democracy can fail when the ideas of a society arent founded on human equality. But the democrats doubled down. They are now the party of slavery. The kansasnebraska act propels lincoln, an obscure prairie lawyer and a oneterm congressman who considers himself a failure, back into politics. In the wake of the kansasnebraska act, lincolns whig party begins to unravel over the issue of slavery. The whigs and democrats were not liberals and conservatives precisely as we divide parties today. The whigs were pretty progressive on slavery. The democrats were liberal in terms of voting opportunities, in terms of suspicion about immigration, but not liberal when it came to protecting southern slavery because the south then was the democratic base. But the whigs are unable to commit to a perspective on the question of the expansion of slavery, and so by the 1850s, the whigs essentially collapsed. But out of this collapse, a new antislavery party is born the republicans. Lincoln begins to speak out on behalf of had Republican Party. And the first example of it is the peoria speech that he delivers in october of 1854. This is the moment for his big comeback. Its a great speech. Of the largest general question of domestic slavery, i wish to make and to keep the distinction between the existing institution and the extension of it so broad and so clear that no honest man can misunderstand me and no dishonest one successfully misrepresent me. Lincoln puts forward very strong condemnations of slavery. He says its a Cancer Eating away the life of the nation. Let us turn slavery from its claims of moral right back upon its existing legal rights and its arguments of necessity. Let us return it to the position our fathers gave it, and there let it rest in peace. He says that there can be no moral right in slavery. But at the same time, he really believes that if we stop allowing slavery to expand, he feels like thats enough. Very rarely in his life and in his career did lincoln actually talk about the concrete injustices of enslavement, the idea that enslaved people were being exploited was not something that was important to him. It must have been profoundly frustrating to have someone say there can be no moral right in slavery, but you can keep it where you already have it. Its like this guy gets it, but he doesnt quite get it. But he is an absolute sensation. Republican papers go wild and praise him as the great orator of the day. Democratic papers are fearful of this rising man. In washington, massachusetts senator Charles Sumner, antislavery man, gives a speech in which he castigates a fellow legislator for his proslavery views, maybe makes fun of him a little bit. Mild considering what 21st legislative confrontations are like. The nephew of that aggrieved party was a congressman named Preston Brooks. And one day Preston Brooks walks in with a cane and begins beating Charles Sumner over the head. Sumner is caned into incensability on the floor of the United States senate. How did the south react . Brooks was flooded with gifts of new canes. 1830 to 1860, there are over 70 acts of violence between members of Congress North and south. These are canings, duels, stabbings. Folks in the south lashing out, and theyre trying to keep a stasis. Bif more states come in that are free, the legislators will be free, the congressmen, the senators. They fear even if its 50 years in the future, theyll vote to eradicate slavery, and their investment is all bound around the idea of human enslavement. Announcer this cnn original series, lincoln divided we stand, is brought to you by Consumer Cellular where low rates and awardwinning service are just the beginning. Stay restless with the icon that does the same. The rx crafted by lexus. Lease the 2021 rx 350 for 429 a month for thirty six months. Experience amazing at yfor 175 years,er. New york life forhas been helpinghs. People act on their love. So they can look back and say, we did good. Sfx [sounds of everyday life events, seen and heard in reverse] sfx [sounds of fedex planes and vehicles engines] sfx [sounds of children laughing and running, i am robert strickler. Life moving forward] ive been involved in communications in the media sfx [sounds of children laughing and running, for 45 years. Ive been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. For me, the greatest benefit over the years has been that prevagen seems to help me recall things and also think more clearly. And i enthusiastically recommend prevagen. It has helped me an awful lot. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Three dermingredients in one cream . Dont settle for less. Revitalift triple power. With proretinol, plus Hyaluronic Acid, and vitamin c. It visibly reduces wrinkles, firms, and brightens. Revitalift triple Power Moisturizer from loreal. Now the 1 serum brand in america. heartbeat Revitalift Triple Power moisturizer from loreal. Were all born with 2. 5 billion heartbeats. That makes you a billionaire. drum beat to heartbeat so lets not waste the fortune within us. Invest it. Invest in each other and the moments we share. Cos youre rich in life when youre a heartbeat billionaire. Invest your heartbeats in the life artois. From 1854 through 1857, though no longer an elected official, lincoln becomes a vocal activist for the Republican Party. He makes speeches throughout illinois railing against the expansion of slavery. And as partisan lines across the country deepen, more controversial legislation ignites more political unrest. Dred scott is a black man, enslaved. He had been taken into free territory, and abolitionists sued for his freedom and for the freedom of his family. It goes to the Supreme Court. In an infamous ruling, the court says that slaves are slaves wherever they are, that slavery is in a sense national. And black men have no rights that white men are bound to accept. And black people are not citizens of the United States. And by the way, if you are a slaveholder, you can take your property anywhere you darn well please. And that really sets off lincoln. Usually a Supreme Court ruling settles matters. This one didnt. It caused the biggest uproar generated by any Supreme Court decision in history. Lincoln argues publicly that the ruling should be ignored. A brazen stance for a man who preaches fervently on the sanctity of the constitution. To say you dont have to respect a Supreme Court decision is almost as outrageous as saying you dont have to respect a persons humanity based on color. And so lincoln is absolutely focused during this period. Hes inexhaustible. He is able to lurch from town to town, making long speeches, so hes constantly on the road. He was gone many weeks of the year, and this was hard for a young wife. But lincoln and mary both had a political vision. She knew that he was building his Political Network and how important that was. Mary saw an opportunity in that moment as she saw lincoln rising even greater as a leader, a spokesperson. She knew her husband perhaps finally could get the senate seat he deserved. In 1855, lincoln runs unsuccessfully for the u. S. Senate. Three years later, hes determined to try again. So in 1858, the republicans have a convention and choose him as the nominee, and lincoln gets to address the convention. Lincoln reads the speech to his advisers before he gives it, and they say, dont give the speech. It is too radical. What youve said in the opening lines is going to end your political career. But lincoln ignores the advice of Senior Party Members and delivers the speech as it is written. A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. Words taken from the gospel. I do not expect the union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall. But i do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. He wows this convention, and he begins his campaign for the senate. Think of illinois in 1858 as a microcosm of america. The northern part of illinois were antislavery and prorepublican. The southern part of the state was proslavery. Abraham lincoln was running against the leader of the democratic party. It was the most famous man in america, stephen a. Douglas. Douglas was like this tremendously institutionalized figure. And douglas was the author of the kansasnebraska act. Everybody thought that lincoln was a sacrificial lamb in that race. Douglas spent a fortune in this campaign in rallies and bands and travel arrangements. Stephen douglas has his own campaign train. The back of the train has got a cannon on it. So every time the train gets into a town, they set off the cannon as if to announce the great man has arrived. Douglas is drawing big crowds wherever he campaigns. So lincoln begins to show up at douglas speeches and rallies. Hes getting bigger crowds than ever by campaigning in Stephen Douglas wake. The democratic press Marks Lincoln for Appropriating Douglas crowds. So his advisers come up with an alternative. Lincoln writes a letter that will change his career and really change politics. He challenges douglas to debates. Here was a onetime congressman, Abraham Lincoln. He was going to take on stephen a. Douglas . Oh, my goodness, you could hear the laughter. Whether youre curling or crunching, running or riding, lifting or lunging. Balance it all out with some icecold serving and enjoying. Shampoos that care for your color as well as your hair . Everpure by loreal. Expert sulfatefree formulas. Validated by colorists. Nonstripping to keep any colored hair beautiful for weeks. Everpure from loreal paris. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln challenges illinois senator stephen a. Douglas, the most powerful politician in america, to a series of public debates. Douglas had everything to lose by accepting lincolns invitation, creating lincoln as a person of equal political stature. But he cant say no because to say no would be to look cowardly. They arranged for seven debates, one in each Congressional District where they had not yet spoken. Lincoln douglas debates were one of the highlights of the period. People didnt have tv. Watching politicians make speeches was entertainment. The super tall Abraham Lincoln versus the little giant as hes called, short, squat, stephen a. Douglas is off to the races with 16 minutes of vitriol, attacking lincoln personally and attacking him politically. Their orator cal styles could not be more difficult, as different as their physical appearance. Lincoln was laid back. He stood in one spot. He rarely moved. Stephen douglas pranced along the stage like a caged lion. He gestured wildly. He rips his shirt. He spits. He shouts. He tears at his hear. In the very first debate, lincoln starts off somewhat technical on certain aspects of legislation, and douglas immediately challenges lincoln, saying, youre a radical republican, and you were part of an abolitionist party. You know, a lot of times in our contemporary discourse and in the past, radical ideas are demonized. I mean the idea of abolition is demonized because abolishing slavery was a radical idea. He basically has to defend himself against being an abolitionist. And lincoln did not succeed. Douglas is a master of twisting facts, of lying so quickly that people have forgotten that its a lie when the second one comes. Lincoln comes out of the first debate feeling defeated, much to marys dismay. Mary is always lincolns biggest booster. She sat up in the gallery with her notebook and took down who in the crowd was happy or unhappy and who was for and against lincoln. After the first debate, she was a little skeptical about the chances for victory and not entirely happy. She doesnt come back. After the first debate, lincolns supporters said to him, for gods sake, lincoln, charge. He needed to do much better. So lincoln does charge, and he often used jokes. He kept this brilliant wit. Something i appreciate about him is some of his responses. The next debate when stephen a. Douglas said he was hypocritical, a woman shouts out, youre twofaced. Lincoln said, if i was twofaced, you think id use this one . This is a comeback. Hes like a club comic. He had a great comic sense and knew how to use it to get the crowd on his side. Once lincoln begins to win over the crowds, he turns the conversation back towards policy. Douglas had said, we can resolve this problem of conflicts over slavery in the territories by just saying, when settlers move in there, they can decide whether to have slavery. They called this popular sovereignty. To douglas, it seemed like the essence of democracy. Let the voters decide. To lincoln, it was immoral, and so lincoln backed him into a really brilliantly constructed corner. He says to douglas, if a Southern Community decided to ban slavery by vote, would you accept that . And douglas said yes, im going to stand by popular sovereignty. He was saying that individual southern communities could reject slavery. Southern democrats would never support douglas for president after that. Though its just an Illinois Senate race, douglas celebrity and lincolns sharp Rhetoric Garner national attention. Their debates fire up the nation. Heres this Country Lawyer using humor and logic to condemn the man whos the architect of the kansasnebraska act, the policy that has divided the nation. And newspapers fed the beast. Newspapers were not only covering the debates, they were riling up converts to their causes. They were strictly, openly partisan the way some people believe broadcast and Cable Television is today. After the second debate, according to the republican newspapers, when the debate was over, Abraham Lincoln was carried off in triumph on the shoulders of his supporters. According to the democratic newspapers, when the debate was over, an exhausted Abraham Lincoln had to be carried off by his supporters. With the media fueling partisan fires, Regional Tribalism only escalates. But as the republican antislavery agenda Gains Traction in the north, threats of secession begin to permeate the south. Announcer this cnn original series, lincoln divided we stand, is brought to you by fidelity investments. What youll need, and help you build a flexible plan for cash flow that lasts, even when youre not working, so you can go from saving. To living. Lets go the lexus es, now available with allwheel drive. This rain is bananas. 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So help heal your skin from within, and talk to your Eczema Specialist about dupixent. If your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. For 175 years, new york life if your financial situation has changed, has been helping people act on their love. So they can look back and say, we did good. As regional tensions around the issue of slavery escalate across the country, lincoln and Douglas Personify the mounting conflict on stages across illinois. Then lincoln goes to charleston. Here is the place where hes got to shine because this is central illinois. This is the swing area where the election will be decided. Douglas was a vicious racist who kept saying the republicans want black men to marry your daughter. You end slavery, blacks will flood into the state and take over. Douglas said the Declaration Of Independence was not designed to apply to anybody other than white people. And he uses the nword a lot. There was a tendency by the democratic papers to sanitize it, but he used it a lot. And he asked lincoln, are you really in favor of equality between black people and white people . People laugh as if its absurd to think that a mainstream candidate for statewide office would ever really harbor such radical thoughts. And lincoln begins with the most extraordinary statement in the entire debates. I am not, nor have i ever been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races. He said, im not in favor of blacks voting. Im not in favor of blacks holding office. Lincoln says that not only does he not want a black woman for a slave, but he doesnt want a black woman for a wife. Hes staying stuff that is just shockingly bad. Theres no way to polish it up. Its just bad. You think of him as a great emancipator, but he had horribly antiblack, racist views. Theres a physical difference between the white and black races. There must be a position of superior and inferior. I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the Superior Position assigned to the white race. Lincoln believed that he belonged to the superior race. He believed that slavery was wrong and that no man should own another, but whether or not freedom would mean equality was something very different. One of the things that people say is that lincoln was a man of his time, but Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Delaware Ison were men of this time. Lincoln was born into a nation with laws designed to uphold slavery, but we know he envisioned a world in which slavery did not exist. So if we know that lincoln can imagine a different future for slavery, we shouldnt let him off the hook for failing to imagine a different future for Race Relations in the country. By the final debate, douglas has lost his voice. Hes barely croaking his way through, and Abraham Lincoln gets the final word. He says the perpetuation of slavery was a compromise necessary for the creation of the union, but the founders did not intend for slavery to expand or for the institution to be perpetuated forever. Lincoln reminds the crowd that only 82 years before, the Founding Fathers liberated the United States from the tyranny of kings. He says, whether it comes from the mouth of a king who seeks to detry the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle. Saying that slave owners are like tyrants and therefore slaveowners are fundamentally unamerican. Nothing about that antislavery approach is predicated on concern with black people. Its fundamentally about lincolns ideals for the nation, and i think thats one of the major appeals of antislavery to a lot of white northerners. Lincolns nuanced stance allows northern republicans to stand proudly against slavery while remaining firmly committed to white supremacy. His measured rhetoric has the country abuzz with news of the Dazzling Orator from illinois. But illinois was a deeply racist state. Plus the state was gerrymandered and tilted toward the democrats who had created the district lines. He loses. You would think thats it for his political career, but he says, the fight must go on. And these debates provide a platform for what is going to be his launch into the presidency. We are the thrivers. Women with metastatic breast cancer. Our time. For more time. Has come. Living longer is possible and proven in postmenopausal women taking Kisqali Plus Fulvestrant. In a clinical trial, Kisqali Plus Fulvestrant helped women live longer with hr , her2 metastatic breast cancer. And it significantly delayed disease progression. Kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. 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For younger looking skin. Powerful results validated by dermatologists. And effective for all skin tones. Bounce back. Revitalift Hyaluronic Acid serum from loreal paris. Were worth it. As the country prepares for the 1860 president ial election, new york senator William Seward is the controversial frontrunner for the republican nomination. Theyre opposed to seward. They dont like his methods. He is corrupt. He is too much the new yorker. The editor of the New York Tribune and his friends invite a series of republicans to come and give speeches in new york. They want to hear from a variety of speakers who might be alternatives to seward. And of course the man who engaged Stephen Douglas so brilliantly was invited. And its really a screen test for a president ial nomination. On the very day of the speech, lincoln walks all the way up broadway to Matthew Bradys photo gallery, the most famous gallery in the United States, to make a photographic record of this important visit to new york city. Its so important to realize that photography is a new phenomenon in american culture. You have this visual culture that comes up in the 1850s and 1860s that visit iifys and really makes politics real. And lincoln knows how to present himself. And thats part of what lincolns genius was as a politician. Thats a remarkable shot. Perhaps the most important photograph of lincoln ever taken. The union is in trouble. This is going to be the most important election that the country has ever seen. Who do you want to lead you through that . Heres this tall, elegant figure in a tuxedo, looking us right in the eye. His left hand is on a book. It brings home that theme of education, of learning. But look at that right hand. The sleeve comes out from underneath the coat. This was strength. This was someone who worked on the frontier. Carl samberg, the great biographer of lincoln, once said that lincoln was equal parts velvet and iron. The left hand is velvet. The right hand is iron. Thats not accidental stuff. Thats Lincoln Composing himself as a public figure. Hours later, lincoln makes his way to the Cooper Union Great hall. Its got 2,000 seats for an audiences that described as the pik and flower of the new york. The young mens republican club, which was really not a club for young men. It was really the organization of east coast republican leadership. And theyre charging 25 cents a ticket. These people came to be entertained. Lincolns the last in this series. He knows so well that this is the do or die experience of his lifetime. The editor of the New York Evening Post introduces him as the warrior of the west, and lincoln is brought to the stage. The first part was meant to mock Stephen Douglas. Lots of laughter and shouts of hit him again. And then he abruptly switches and gets more serious. And he says, now, if people in the south would listen, we do not mean to threaten your property. All we want to do is control the spread of an institution that you know is wrong. He goes through every single argument that has been thrown against the republicans and logically deconstructs it. And then he ends with let us have faith that right makes might. And in that faith, there to do our duty as we understand it. It was a magical performance. And at the end, people are saying, this is the greatest speech weve heard in new york ever. The audience leapt to its feet. People threw hats in the air. Then he goes off to a banquet in his honor. By the time he gets on the trolley, his feet hurt so much, hes limping. But did he go back to the hotel . No. He cut across to the offices of the New York Tribune and he read proof of the speech before it was set in type and edited it. He wanted this to be perfect because lincoln cared about getting it into the press. Thats where campaigns were won and lost. And before long, copies of the brady photo spring up in illustrated weeklies alongside stories of lincolns rise. Lincoln is coming of age in the world of mass journalism, and hes a master of communication. He was illustrating a speech, delivering it, promoting it all in the same 24 hours. The post cooper Union Momentum built spontaneously. Lincoln begins touring new england, performing variations on the Cooper Union Speech for eager audiences. In connecticut, rhode island, new hampshire, twohour speeches everywhere, always ending with right makes might. Lincoln schedules a stop in exeter, new hampshire, where his oldest son, robert, is in boarding school. Robert thinks this is really embarrassing. I have to sit with my blueblooded friends and here my western father give a speech. One of the boys said, too bad bob has such an ugly father. Robert is sinking in his chair in shame. And then according to the exeter press, lincoln stands up, and the dazzling begins. And then when its over, the boys all come and slap bob on the back and say, wow, your father is something else. In may of 1860, the Republican National convention is held in chicago. Going into the convention, senator william h. Seward of new york remains the frontrunner. Lincoln sneaks in as a freshfaced, moderate candidate from the west. Lincoln was a dark horse candidate. The balloting begins. On the first ballot, seward is out in front. No surprise there. But lincoln is second. They go to a second ballot. Seward stays more or less the same. Lincoln begins to catch up. The crowd is getting excited for lincoln. The third ballot comes along. Lincoln draws even with seward. And the head of the ohio delegation announces that ohio is going to change four of its votes for lincoln. The entire hall erupts. Lincoln emerged as the republican nominee. The cincinnati newspaper said that an entire tribe of Shrieking Comanches and an acre of hotel gongs could have been lost in the hall. You wouldnt have heard them at all with the woof that went up for lincoln. Where was lincoln when all these ballots were being cast . He was sitting in the office of the republican newspaper in springfield, illinois, in his favorite chair, waiting for the telegram he accepts the handshakes of all of his friends, and he says, thank you, thank you, gentlemen. But ive really got to go home. There is a little woman who is going to be more interested in this than you are, and makes his way home to tell mary that her dream has come true. Through all of the defeats, disappointments, setbacks, he still, through words and a bit through images, he had made himself the leader of the Republican Party. Announcer this cnn original series, lincoln divided we stand, is brought to you by in 1860, after a meteoric rise from obscurity, Abraham Lincoln, wins the republican nomination for president. For a long time, once you get the nomination, you go back home. Youre not going around, shaking hands, and kissing babies. Thats the 20thcentury invention. Its really up to the party bosses, how to best present the candidates. Lincoln is sitting at home, saying nothing. The great orator is silenced. But in a little parlor in springfield, mary lincoln was finally able to come into her own. Even though her husband cant campaign, that wont stop her. The press is invited into their home. She entertains. She demands that there be lots of beer on hand. She was very comfortable speaking about her husband. She took to that role, quite well. Marital Harmony Returns to the lincoln household. Their partnership had always been founded in mutual ambition, and flourishes when they work to towards the same goal. The Republican Party does not want lincolns antislavery views to be the major focus of the campaign. Theyre much happier focusing on his personal story. Even the stories that show lincoln being the sort of humble railsplitter, being the country bumpkin. The plain truth was lincoln was a lawyer and politician, and had been a railspliler a very long time before. So, these images of him as the boy who rises from obscurity, are very much part of his appeal. Lincoln receives mail from prospective voters and those wishing him well. One letter from grace, a young girl from new york, makes a particularly interesting suggestion. Ive got four brothers, and part of them will vote for you, anyway. And if you let your whiskers grow, i will try to get the rest of them to vote for you. You would look a greatdeal better for your face is all the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you. And then, you would be president. My father is going to vote for you. And if i was a man, i would vote for you, too. Lincoln writes back to her. As to the whiskers, having never worn any, do you not think people would call it a piece of silly affectation if i were to begin it now . But at some point, he must have reflected on that, and he decides to grow the beard. Reporter but as the republicans continue to curate lincolns public image, the democrats scramble to organize their candidates. Steven douglas is the overwhelming favorite to be the democratic nominee. But Southern Democrats never forgave douglas for trying to temperize during his debates with lincoln. Ultimately, the decmocrats from the south walk out of their own convention. They will assemble, and nominate the Vice President of the United States. John c. Breckenridge. A kentuckian. And defiantly, nominate Stephen Douglas. So now, you have a southern candidate and a northern candidate on the electoral ticket. And to make it worse, you have a middle group, who both their houses. Creates whats called the constitutionalunion party and nominates john bell of tennessee. So now, southern votes are split, not two ways but, three ways. And it becomes obvious, just from doing the numbers, that lincoln was going to win this election. On november 6th, 1860, a record, 81 of voters turn out for what would become the most significant president ial election in american history. Lincoln spends most of the day in the springfield telegraph office. Every time the keys clatter, he knows that returns are coming in from another city. Its tense. But in the middle of all this, lincoln gets up and has ice cream with mary. And then, he goes back to the telegraph office. By about midnight, he understands that he will win the presidency. As suspected, hell win it not so much because he will win a clear majority. But because the others will fall so far behind him, in their division. When lincoln got the news that he would be the next president of the United States, he went rushing home. And he said, we are elected, mary. This was their triumph. But lincoln wins in the most sectional vote in the history of the presidency. Thats a recipe for disaster. Lincoln only wins 39 of the popular vote. He realizes that the political triumph has occurred, but the burdens of whats awaiting him is, suddenly, apparent. Its the worst situation anybodys ever been handed, as president. Literally, tag, youre it. The whole country starts to come apart. As soon as hes elected, start to bolt. They recognize the threat of lincoln being president. The threat of this new party, united, in opposition to the expansion of slavery coming to power is enough to have the south say this is what weve been warning against. We will secede. Lincolns next moves will determine whether the american experiment survives. Will he be remembered as the greatest president of the United States . Or the last . Live, from cnn center, this is cnn newsroom with robyn curnow. Hi. Welcome to all of our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Thanks so much for joining me this hour. Im robyn curnow and i do want to get straight to our lead story. The Engine Failure of the United Airlines flight from denver is having some very serious consequences. Boeing wants all 777s that use the same engine as that flight grounded. United st

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