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Abraham Lincoln

February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky– April 15, 1865 in Washington, D.C

Political Party: Republican

Terms March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865

Vice President: First term - Hannibal Hamlin in 1861-1865; Second term - Andrew Johnson in 1865

Thematic Context The American Identity was in grave peril during the time before and after Lincoln took office. The North and the South were bitterly divided in their ideas of what the American Identity was. In this way, they were practically two separate nations. The South was an aristocratic, feudal society. The economy of the South depended almost entirely on the production of cotton, and to produce the cotton, the southerners needed slaves. The bulk of the power in the South was in the hands of the slave-owning elite. They represented an aristocracy in America that was formerly unknown and would disappear forever in a few short years. They embraced this “lord and manor” type of society, and were looking for ways to expand their territory to get bigger farms and more slaves. These southerners were backwards-looking and old fashioned. They wanted their luxurious, domineering, and powerful lifestyles to remain untouched by the world outside their community. In contrast, the North was practically the opposite. Instead of a one-crop agrarian society, it was becoming more and more industrialized by the minute. The development of new technology caused an influx in factories and manufacturing. Immigrants were pouring into the North, working in factories or moving out west to buy land. Rather than backward-looking, the northerners were forward-looking; many were interested in social reform rather than social monopoly. The American lifestyle and American Identity were divided regionally before Lincoln was in office. The conflict between agriculture and industry had been festering for years, and it would soon be Lincoln’s job to re-establish one American Identity shared by all the people.

Thesis Abraham Lincoln and his administration deserve an A+ for their time in office. The moment Lincoln was elected, the United States fell into pieces through little fault of his own. The union of the states at this time was threatened as southern states seceded and formed their own government. Abraham Lincoln was faced with the impossible task of rebuilding a country that didn’t want to be rebuilt. He went about this task with determination and careful thought. He was patient and had a very keen sense for understanding and manipulating the desires of the public. Though he was patient and contemplative, he was as decisive as the time called for. He made executive decisions that were influential in keeping the country together yet put aside all personal ambition or greed in the name of the preservation of the Union. Lincoln was an extraordinary man whose logic, patience and leadership skills helped to ensure that the United States of America is the united nation it is today. For accomplishing an impossible task with profound decision-making, strength of character, and logic, Abraham Lincoln deserves an A+ for his presidency.

Goals Lincoln’s inaugural address, made at an exceptionally turbulent time, was astoundingly conciliatory. His speech was directed mainly at the South. He made his intentions clear by stating that he wasn’t going to attack the South and that if there was to be a war, it wouldn’t be at his command. However, he also made it poignantly clear that he was not at all in favor of secession. He regarded it as impossible and illegal, he said that the constitution and the idea of a republic demanded compromise instead of obstinance. He also said that the idea of the southern states seceding was impractical simply from a geographical standpoint. No matter what the politics were, the fact was that the North and the South shared a continent, and there was no topical divide between the two regions; they were linked irrevocably by proximity. He announced that he was going to uphold federal and public property, and that he would use necessary force if prompted by the south. He graciously declared that he would not inhibit the protection of slavery or resist the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. Lincoln made it very clear in his inaugural address that he would rather get the Union back together than make arbitrary political gains, yet he was not going to stand by and watch the South commit atrocities against its former nation.

Relationship with Congress As is the case in most times of crisis, the relationship between President Lincoln and his Congress was one in which Lincoln had the definite upper hand. When the war first broke out, Congress was not even in session, so Lincoln had to take action at such a crucial time. He made executive decisions that normally would have been regarded as tyrannical over-extensions of power, but in a time of such dire need of leadership this was overlooked; Congress went along with almost all of Lincoln’s decisions. Though Lincoln was decisive, he was not suppressive. He genuinely listened to the opinions of others and took them into careful consideration before making a decision. He studied the congressmen carefully and eventually discovered how to work with them to get what he wanted. Overall, Lincoln’s relationship with his congress was one in which he was dominant yet amenable.

Positive Event The single event that Abraham Lincoln is most recognized for is the Civil War, and rightly so. His leadership is a great deal of the reason that the North won and a Union still exists today. When Lincoln stepped into office, he was immediately greeted with an issue of the sort that no other President had ever faced before: seceding states. He met this issue with strength and patience. Instead of trying to arise violence in South as he stepped into office, he gave a very conciliatory speech. He decided that the North would not start the war. This had numerous advantages in that if the South fired the first shot it would be held accountable for the war’s damage, and the fact that the South as an aggressor would gain more support for the northern cause. When faced with the problem of depleting supplies at Fort Sumter, he decided to send provisions instead of reinforcement. This was a middle-of-the-road choice which placed the North as either aggressive nor weak-kneed. When Sumter was fired upon and the war began, Lincoln wasted no time in getting advantages for the North. He used his own executive power to suspend habeas corpus, send military troops to the Border States, and dispense war funds. These acts helped insure that the North was ready to fight, and that the all-important Border States would join them when it did. Lincoln was also smart in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, two years after the war had started. Had he announced the war as an “abolition war” rather than purely one to retain the union from the start, he probably would have lost the Border S tates. His perfect timing of his Proclamation helped to strengthen the moral cause of the war and boost the number of black enlistments greatly. Lincoln was also correct in trusting the controversial Ulysses S. Grant, who proved his worth when he won the war for the North. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Lincoln struck the perfect balance of force to use against the South to insure that the Union would hold yet the North would not be abused by its “wayward sisters.” He was right not to accept the desperate Crittenden Compromise, which would have granted the South too much power for there to be a fair balance. He was also correct in refusing the Confederate delegates that desperately tried to negotiate for independence near the end of the war. Lincoln handled the precarious situation of a country convulsing in war logically yet firmly, and in the end he was successful in repairing the broken Union.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Negative Event <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Ironically, the most singular negative event that could be attributed to Lincoln’s presidency is also the Civil War. Critics of Lincoln say that the war could have been avoided altogether. Looking at it from another point of view, the war was a self-harming act of the country that left 620,000 of its own countrymen dead, sharing their grave with the extinguished culture of the South. By calling for troops, Lincoln started a war that may have possibly been avoided. It has been suggested that the North and South could have co-existed for a period of time and then peacefully reunited. If this theory is true, than an unnecessary war that was so damaging to the country would be a terrible atrocity.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Influential Decision <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Undoubtedly, Lincoln’s most influential decision was the decision to end slavery. If Lincoln had not made his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the Civil War may have been fought with slavery still emerging on the other side. The Union may have been better off if they had continued to ignore the slavery issue throughout the war because of the dissent that ensued, especially in the Old Northwest, but Lincoln thought of slavery as an evil act and took the opportunity to legally put an end to it. Though Lincoln himself did not free the slaves, his proclamation eventually ended slavery in the country. It is because of Lincoln that slavery ended sooner rather than later.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Conclusion <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">All in all, Lincoln did more during his presidency for the country than any other president had ever done before him. He was faced with the exhausting task of trying to control the secession disease in the South, and later the impossibility of fighting a war against his own countrymen. Lincoln had the unique difficulty of trying to crush the ‘enemy’ without crushing them altogether. He handled this turning point in American history tactfully and wisely. His logic, patience, and determination pieced back together a divided country and ended a hateful institution contemporaneously. In a large part, U.S citizens should thank Lincoln for the fifty states on the American flag. Because of his legendary presidency in an extraordinarily difficult time, Abraham Lincoln deserves an A+

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Bibliography

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">"Abraham Lincoln: First Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <[]

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