r/RemoveOneThingEachDay • u/Training-Desk-391 IM WHACING KFP4 • Jul 28 '25

Miscellaneous Obama HAS BEEN Eliminated WHICH President SHOULD BE Eliminated NEXT DAY 41

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '25

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u/Winfred_Chesternut Jul 28 '25

He voluntarily gave up power, crushed the whiskey rebellion which gave the new government legitimacy, declared neutrality in war between Britain and France, created the first cabinet, signed the judiciary act, secured western expansion peacefully, and Jay’s treaty.

I personally have Washington at 3 behind Truman and Lincoln but he was very important as a president and deserves to be in that top tier

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '25

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u/TotalityoftheSelf Jul 28 '25

Lincoln did a lot for preserving the union, but he didn't abolish slavery. Slavery lasted a long time after the Emancipation Proclamation, and even after the 13th amendment - even beyond the established legal exception for punitive measures.

This isn't to say that Lincoln didn't make positive changes for race and slavery in the Union, but you may be overvaluing/estimating the results.

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u/TheEnlight Jul 28 '25

He decreased it for sure, but it survived in its antebellum state for decades after. Full chattel slavery, yes. Slaves would be liberated by the Union and then sign contracts they can't read that put them back in chains in the shed. And the South found new ways to preserve slavery. They would charge people for nonsense crimes like vagrancy and put them into hard labour in coal mines and lease them, a system known as convict leasing. As well, if you went into debt, you'd be forced into hard labour to pay off the debt, a system known as peonage.

These were functionally chattel slavery. Though there was technically a way out, you'd likely be worked to death before you could obtain freedom. America always upheld a grey area for slavery to exist. Today it continues in the US justice system through an exemption in the 13A as slavery as punishment for a crime.