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Abraham Lincoln

Born: February 12, 1809 Died: April 15, 1865

Political party: Whig/ Republican

First term: March 4, 1861- March 4, 1865 Vice President: Hannibal Hamlin

Second term: March 4, 1865- April 15, 1865 Vice President: Andrew Johnson

Abraham Lincoln was given the special task of dealing with the national crisis of the Civil War. He approached the challenge of keeping the Union together and also the unstable issue of slavery very cautiously, but in the end he paved the road for future generations. For his revolutionary acts, I give Lincoln a B.

After being elected in his first term by only receiving 40 percent of the popular vote, but with the majority of the electoral; Lincoln declared in his inaugural address that he didn’t want to interfere with the issue of slavery, but he did however want to keep the Union together. However this goal of unity was almost automatically impossible with the Confederacy Cession and the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Responding to these acts, Lincoln organizes a special session of Congress on July 4; marking the start to the Civil War.

Lincoln had a very good relationship with Congress; a lot of it had to do with the great majority of fellow republicans (in both houses), due to the abandoning of Southern Democrats to the Confederacy government. With Congressional support Lincoln was able to pass such laws as the Homestead Act (which gave any American the ability to obtain ownership of land that they had lived on for five years), the Emancipation Proclamation (which stated the giving of freedom to slaves in the United States), and the passing of the National Bank act (which established a national paper currency). However, when it came to the reconstruction phase of the post civil war period differences became more apparent with the different ways the government wanted to resolve it. Lincoln wanted a 10 percent reconstruction plan. Where a state could rejoin the Union if 10 percent of its voters took an oath of allegiance to the U.S. and pledged to follow the law of emancipation. However, other Republicans wanted a simpler plan, but in their case, it was 50 percent (Wade-Davis Bill). Lincoln eventually pocketed vetoed this bill.

The most positive action by President Lincoln was the passing of the 13th amendment. Even though Lincoln didn’t originally set out to put an end to slavery he certainly made a huge impact in the end. The 13th amendment put an end to slavery once and for all. The African Americans were no longer forced to do hard labor for no pay and were set free. This was a huge revolutionary step for the United States, even if they were ready for it or not. This is also the act that I believe impacted future generations the most. Without slavery holding together the Southern labor force, it made them turn to other sources of labor. This also paved the road for decades of social inequality for blacks and future civil rights movements that would shape the country all together. With African American no longer as slaves it influenced political issues for future elections, the decisions of the reconstruction process (black codes), and the bitter views of past slave owners. It put the country in a state of shock for years.

The worst action of the president’s administration was the 10 percent bill. Giving the radical states a ‘welcoming hand’ back into the Union seemed too passive for my liking. I don’t agree with Lincoln’s view of this because when I look at the civil war and how the South acted, I wouldn’t want them to get there freedom right back without having to pay for their actions that had costs thousands lives. It seemed like the bloodshed of the past few years were for nothing. Giving the states their governing rights right back to them was also a poor action, because they were basically giving the South an engraved invitation to continue on in the manner that they had previously acted upon. I don’t think Lincoln considered future outcomes by this action very thorough.

Lincoln’s second term was cut short when he was assassinated shortly after his inauguration, so nobody knows what else he has planned for his country. He left the government in a worse and unstable condition with the task of reconstructing an entire country that was embedded with bitterness and resentment of a lost tradition. However, his actions were the starting place of a new generation and new freedoms that were meant to make the country truly equal. For his revolutionary actions he receives a B. Smith, Carter. __Presidents, All You Need to Know__. Irvington: Hylas Publishing, 2005. Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. __The American Pageant__. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.