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//Abraham Lincoln Born - February 12, 1809 Died - April 14, 1865 Political Party - Republican Terms in Office - March 4, 1861 - April 15, 1865 Vice Presidents - Hannibal Hamlin (1861 - 1865), Andrew Johnson (March - April 1865...became president after assassination)//

President Lincoln was the most imposing figure ever to become president. Standing 6 feet and 4 inches, he towered over all of his colleagues and dominated his office. These are just some physical traits of Lincoln, but they are what make him stand out along with his presidency. Lincoln had one of the most difficult presidencies due mainly to the Civil War that took place while he was in office. He had a difficult task of restoring the Union before him, but he undertook it with a zealous demeanor. He believed that seccesion should be illegal and that he would fight to preserve the Union. In the end he prevailed against high odds and offered a very lenient reconstruction policy to the south. For all this, I believe that President Lincoln deserves and A.

The one main goal that presided over all others throughout his entire presidency was the want to preserve the Union and keep it from collapsing. President Lincoln did not achieve this goal because in 1861, 11 southern states seceded from America to create the Confederate States of America. The president of these states was Jefferson Davis. Fortunately, Lincoln had the added advantage of being on the North which had twice as many people and the bulk of the Nation's Industries. The South had the advantage of excellent leaders, foreign aid, and the advantage of fighting on their home ground. Lincoln believed that seccesion should be illegal and argued that he would do anything to keep the U.S. together, including go to war. When the south fired upon Fort Sumpter in April of 1861, Lincoln called out for 75,000 volunteers from the states to form a militia in which ot atack the South. This was the beginning of the bloodiest war in the history of the United States. The war ended in 1865 when General Lee of the south surrendered at Appomattox. Lincoln was then left with the extraordinary task of cleaning up the mess left behind by the Civil War. He proposed a very lenient reconstruction policy that would not harm the south anymore than had already been done. Unfortunately, he was killed by a radical southerner before the reconstruction could be started. This left the South to the mercy of the northern congress which wasn't as lenient as Lincoln was. The congress thought that the south should pay for their atrocities. Lincoln did not accomplish his goal of preserving the Union, but he did manage to reinstate the south into the Union. In a sense, Lincoln failed his goal, but he more than made up for it by stitching the North and the South back together. While fighting the war, Lincoln achieved another goal that he had. His desire to rid the country of slavery was fulfilled by the Emancipation Proclomation. Lincoln did not run this document through congress until the Union had scored a significant victory, other wise, the proclomation would have been completely ingnored. The Emancipation Proclomation declared all slaves that resided in Confederate states still opposed to the Union. This proclomation was the start to the complete abolition of slavery which was later achieved at the end of the Civil War. All in all, Lincoln was fairly succesful in his ventures of keeping the Union together and of abolishing slavery.

Lincoln's relationship with congress was very good. At the beginning of the Civil War, Lincoln passed some very controversial laws that would other wise not have gonw through. Among these laws were the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus and the permission of military arrest and court-martial of civilian antiwar activists. He also spent war funds prior to appropriation from congress. All these measures were taken so that in the event of Southern supporters in the north rising up, there would be no delay to supress them. Lincolns measures were subsequently approved by congress which showed that they supported Lincoln greatly. I think that congress supported him because they saw that Lincoln would do what ever it took to keep the Union from going down, and that his actions were necesary. The main body of congress was made up of northern delegates who of course favored Lincoln.

While Lincoln was president, he made some good and bad moments. His best moment while president was his victory over the south and keeping the Union together. This action had the most posotive outcome because it preserved the Union and kept it from falling apart. In one of his speeches, he quoted from the Bible, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." This shows that what he wanted was to remain together as a whole country. Other wise both countries would be weak and eventually collapse. Another of his greatest actions was the Emancipation Proclomation. The Emancipation Proclomation declared free all the slaves that still resided within any states that wre opposed to the Union. This was an important action because it ultimately led to the demise of slavery in the United States. Lincoln waited until the North had won a decisive battle to announce the Proclomation and run it through congress. He waited until the victory so that it wouldn't look like it was an act of desperation.

Of Lincoln's negative actions, the most notable was his almost complete disregard of congress at the beginnin of the war. Lincoln passed many laws that suspended the rights of the citizens and can be considered unconstitutional. First and foremost, he created a complete naval blockade of the south. He also suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus and permitted military arrest and court-martial. All of these actions happened without the consent of congress, but he did them anyway. Due to the circumstances of his position, much of his unlawful behaivor was forgiven because he acted in the best interests of preserving the Union.

Of all he great and not so great things that Lincoln achieved in his presidency, the most memorable and influential to future presidents was probably the Emancipation Proclomation. As mentioned before, it granted freedom to all slaves that resided within confederate states hostile to the Union cause. This was a great milestone in the history of slavery because it sparked the nations thougts to a completely free america. The Emanciptation Proclomation started the path that would end witht the complete abolition of slavery and ultimately equality for black men. After Lincoln was president, Slavery was never again an issue.

When President Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theater on April 14, 1856, he left the Country in a much better state than it had been before. The country was once again whole, though there were still ill feelings on both sides, and he died at the pinnacle of his popularity. He had just won the wat for the North so he was admired for that. He was also admired in the south because a great many people respected him for his very generous and lenient measures to reunite the country. President Lincoln changed the way the country is today by his complete devotion to preserving the Union and also for the Emancipation Proclomation. Both of these actions shaped our country for the better and for that i award President Lincoln with an A.

Sources:
 * Degregorio, William A.. //Complete Book of the U.S Presidents//. Fourth Edition ed. New York: Value Proprietary, 1993. Print.
 * "American President: Abraham Lincoln: A Life in Brief." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. [].
 * "Abraham Lincoln | The White House." //The White House//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. [].
 * 17, the time he was. "Abraham Lincoln." //Garden of Praise//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. [].
 * " Abraham Lincoln ." //Supercomputing '94//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. [].