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Abraham Lincoln

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

Party- Republican

Terms- March 4, 1861- April 15, 1865

Vice President: 1st term- Hannibal Hamlin(1861-1865). 2nd term- Andrew Johnson(1865)

Thematic Context: The idea of globalization helped Lincoln’s presidency and helped the Union win the war. During his presidency, which mainly involved the Civil War, Lincoln had to make decisions that would help the Union win the war. Some of these ideas also had effects on foreign countries. One of the major plans was the blockade of southern ports. These ships kept all imports and exports out of the Confederate states. Europe countries, mainly Britain, were dependent on the south’s cotton. The blockade, although crippling the southern economy, caused tense relations with foreigners. Britain and other Europe countries were threatening to intervene in the Civil War, but never followed through with their plan. Relations with Britain got worse with the Trent Affair. The Union illegally captured a British vessel, the Trent, and seized two Confederate men. The British argued and protested enthusiastically, war growing closer. Lincoln acted quickly and resolved the issue by releasing the two men. Many northerners agreed with the thought process of Lincoln. They felt as if the South had no reason to secede. There were, however, some who were sympathetic towards the Southern cause. The thought process of the South differed greatly from that of the North. They believed that Lincoln had not right to say that they could not secede. They wanted to be left alone by the North but realized that that would never happen. The blockade especially ticked them off because all of their cotton exports to Britain would be suspended. Their economy would eventually be crippled.

Thesis: During his time in presidency, Abraham Lincoln deserves an A. The southerners seceded from the Union after the election of Lincoln. Lincoln deserves no blame for the secession of these states. He was put in a difficult position due to Buchanan. Due to the circumstances, Lincoln handled it very well. He wanted to end this “war” quickly and resubmit the Confederates states back into the Union. Lincoln was smart and made the necessary decisions. Some may argue that he crossed his jurisdiction as President, but he did what was needed to win the war. He realized the importance of the border states, so had to keep them from supporting the Confederates while keeping this war from turning into an international one. President Lincoln had much to deal with, handling it nicely. The decisions made by Lincoln were passed in an attempt to rebuild the already broken country. In the end, Lincoln and his decisiveness earns him a solid A.

Goals: In his inaugural speech, Lincoln mainly addressed the South. He said that he had no intention to abolish slavery. He wanted to be friends with the southerners, not enemies. He did not accomplish this goal at all. The states still ended up seceding from the Union, leading to the Civil War. During the War, Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation, making the war over the abolishing slavery. The result of the war was the end of slavery. Lincoln promised the South that he would not end forced labor, yet he ended up doing so. He was also against the idea of secession. He believed it was against the Constitution for any state to secede. He felt as if it was pointless since the North and South are right next to each other, so intercourse would have to happen, either friendly or hostile. He also promised that there would be no force against the South unless absolutely necessary. He did not want to start this upcoming war. If there was going to be a fight, he wanted the South to fire first in which to gain some sympathy towards the northern cause.

Relationship with Congress: During much of his time in presidency, Congress did not have much say in Lincoln’s decisions. In the beginning stages of the war, Congress was not in session at all. Many of the acts passed by Lincoln were thought of to be tyrannical and an abuse of his power as president. Even though he made many decisions without the consent of Congress, he was not alone. Many consulters or generals helped guide him to make the right choice. Lincoln acted quickly and decisively. He did what needed to be done, with or without the approval of Congress. He realized that some of his acts would have to be unconstitutional in order to restore the Union.

Positive Event: The single and most recognizable event for Abraham Lincoln is the Civil War. The President was able to effectively lead the Union and eventually restored the nation. The country as a whole was becoming less and less of a union. The South wanted to secede and got the reason to after Lincoln was elected for President. Lincoln realized that secession was going to be inevitable. Even though he did not want it, war was drawing close. Lincoln openly stated that the North would not start the war. If war was to happen, he wanted the South to shoot first, which they did. It all happened when President Lincoln announced that he was sending provisions to Fort Sumter. The South thought that the provisions were reinforcements, so they fired on Sumter. This plan of attack developed more sympathy towards the northern cause, mainly from border states. Once the Civil War broke out, Lincoln successfully managed to unite most of the northern states. Lincoln wanted to end the war quickly and swiftly because he believed that the South never really seceded, that they were still part of the Union. Another smart move from Lincoln was the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. He issued it at the perfect time. If Lincoln would have past the Proclamation in the beginning of the war, he most likely would have lost many border states. Because of this perfect timing, it increased the black enlistees in the Union army and increased the moral cause of the war. The South had many amazing generals who helped them win several battles. The North, on the other hand, were not so lucky in this category. It took Lincoln dozens of generals to finally find Ulysses Grant. President Lincoln put his trust into Grant, who ended up winning the war for the Union. In the end, Lincoln won the war and restored the nation by letting the Confederate States back into the Union.

Negative Event: His most positive event is also is most negative event. The Civil War, even though it restored the Union, crushed and killed many American citizens. The Union during the War destroyed the South’s economy. Transportation was gone, lands were ruined for farming, and now they had to compete with freed blacks over jobs. Although the War brought the South back into the Union, it caused incredibly tense relations between the two sides. The South seceded and just wanted to be left alone. The North forced the war onto them and then forced them into rejoining the Union. The war went out of control, especially with Sherman’s March. The North wanted to cripple the South, so they tore up their railroads and burnt innocent people’s houses. Because of the war, it took years for the South to rebuild their economy.

Influential Decision: Lincoln’s most influential decision is definitely the decision to end slavery. Because of the war and the Emancipation Proclamation, stating the war was being fought over slavery, forced labor was abolished from the United States. Lives of people in the future are influenced by this because now everyone, no matter their race or color, can achieve their goals and get a job with as equal rights as their white coworkers. It is no longer legal to force someone to work for you. Granted, slavery most likely would have ended later, but because of Lincoln and the Civil War, it ended sooner rather than later. Who knows how the world would have changed if slavery continued past the Civil War.

Conclusion: In the end, Lincoln is one of the best presidents so far for the United States. He was patient, logical, and intelligent. Lincoln knew what need to be done and did what was necessary to ensure it got done. Some may argue his actions were unconstitutional, but what he did was to further improve the nation. Because of Lincoln, slavery was abolished and the South were brought back into the Union. After his term in office, the country was better off. Lincoln was, however, assassinated early in his second term so did not have much say in the reconstruction of America but was able to restore the nation. That earns him an A for drastically improving America. .

Bibliography:

"Abraham Lincoln - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2013. .

"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. 30 Mar. 2013. .

"American President: Abraham Lincoln: Foreign Affairs." //Miller Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2013. .