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Abraham Lincoln




 * Born**: February 12, 1809
 * Died**: April 15, 1865
 * Political Party**: Republican, Whig
 * First Term of Office**: March 4, 1861 - March 4, 1865
 * Vice President**: Hannibal Hamlin
 * Second Term of Office**: March 4, 1865 - April 15, 1865
 * Vice President**: Andrew Johnson


 * Presidential Evaluation**

On a grade scale of A-F, Abraham Lincoln deserves a B+. Lincoln came into his term as President of the North, considering the fact that he wasn't even on the ballot in nine states in the South. He came into the presidency at a critical time when the balance of power and loyalty of parties were being questioned. That being said, Lincoln handled the situation fairly well.

Lincoln's main goal as president can be summed up by saying, "preserve the union". Everything that he did somehow dwindled back to that objective. Whether or not he managed to achieve this goal and if his methods were appropriate are something that can still be debated over today. Of course, the Confederacy did fall under his reign as President, and this was a result of his knowledgeable actions, but he was making smart decisions earlier than the war. When Lincoln first took office he was presented with the Crittenden Compromise, which would reestablish the Missouri Compromise. He rejected this and was right in doing so. Even though agreeing to the Compromise would have overjoyed the South, it (popular sovereignty) would have diminished everything that was fought over up until that point. That Compromise meant the expansion of slavery and that is the last thing that Lincoln wanted. He was willing to meet somewhere in the middle with the South though, supporting ideas like the Corwin Amendment. This amendment protected slavery in the states where it already existed. It took away Congress' power to ban slavery in those states. Again, Lincoln was more against expansion on slavery than slavery itself. He refused to accept succession unlike the previous President James Buchanan. During the war, Lincoln maintained the priorities of defending the capital and trying to end the war quickly. He kept his main goal of unity in mind when dealing with General McClellan, he always asserted his points. After his first term, threatened by his opponent, his enthusiasm for preserving the Union did not cease to exist. Lincoln stated that even if he was not reelected, he would continue on and aid the new president-elect throughout the war. The Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address, and 10 percent Act all reflected his deep passion for his country during his second term. It is difficult to say if he actually achieved his goal, but he definitely remained persistent.

Lincoln had an interesting relationship with Congress. He truly believed in the Whig theory of the presidency: Congress would create all of the laws and if they were okay and didn't threaten his war powers, then he would sign them. There wasn't too many problems, considering that the Republican party was the majority in both houses. This was a result of the Democratic South "boycotting" the government at the time. Congress respected Lincoln and his desire for unity, but they didn't let that be their only focus throughout his presidency. While he was in office, Congress came up with multiple bills with topics ranging from banking to agriculture. The Homestead Act was passed in 1862, which gave any American citizen the ability to take ownership of land on which they had lived for five years. The 1863, 1864, and 1865 National Banking Acts were passed and together with Lincoln's issuance of greenbacks helped to persuade banks to buy federal bonds as oppose to state bonds, raising money for the war. The Department of Agriculture was created in 1862, which Lincoln referred to as the "people's department", it represented small farmers and agriculturists throughout the nation. There were times when Congress and Lincoln didn't see eye-to-eye. During the war, there were situations where Lincoln spent money before Congress gave him the green light. He increased the size of the Federal Army, something that, according to the Constitution, only Congress is allowed to do. Congress didn't agree with Lincoln's Ten Percent Reconstruction Plan either. He proposed that a state could reintegrate into the Union if 10% of voters agreed to abide by emancipation and pledge an oath to the United States. Congress came back with the Wade-Davis Bill which was less lenient than Lincoln's proposal and stated that the majority of voters would have to pledge allegiance to the United States.

The Thirteenth Amendment had the most positive impact on the country during Lincoln's presidency. This was the first of the Reconstruction Amendments. It officially abolished slavery from the United States. Lincoln along with many other people felt that the Emancipation Proclamation would be looked upon as a war measure. The Emancipation Proclamation only declared to things. The first (declared on September 22, 1862) was that all slaves that were located in territories of the Confederate States of America that were now under the control of the Union should be set free. The second named the states where it applied a few months later on January 1, 1863. This amendment made things permanent. At the beginning of Lincoln's presidency he hadn't set out to completely abolish slavery, he just wanted to stop expansion, but the Thirteenth Amendment was necessary at the time. The amendment helped to set the foundation for more civil rights movements, certainly laying the groundwork for the Fifteenth Amendment which banned racial restrictions on voting. It pushed the nation in the right direction.

Lincoln's Ten Percent Reconstruction Plan had the most negative "impact" on the country. The policy was intended to shorten the war and get the Union back together as quickly as possible. It was also supposed to reinforce emancipation by forcing the newly created state governments to abolish slavery. Unfortunately, the majority of Congress (and the nation) disagreed. They didn't think that the Confederate states should be so easily let back into the nation. They didn't see preserving the Union as more important than punishing the South for what they did. A few Radical Republicans then proposed the Wade-Davis Bill which Lincoln pocket vetoed. This could be considered a bad decision. It is possible that Lincoln focused to much on the far away bright light of unity and less on the war that had just ended. His end goal could have impacted his decisions a little too much.

Lincoln did many things that impacted the nation and any preceding presidents. The Thirteenth Amendment certainly had a large impact. The attitudes of the American people had changed and people were starting too see things inj a new light, but he did much more than that. Lincoln completely redefined the Republican Party. He really made his fellow politicians look at republicans not just from the legal aspect of things, but the moral aspect as well. Not everything is about the puzzle that is the Constitution, remember the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln made people open their minds too old ideas like "all men are created equal", things that the country had just had a war over, yet failed to use the reasons that had been presented to them almost 100 years' prior.

When Lincoln's life ended and his presidency was cut short the nation was much better off, but in a critical time period (just like when he first became president). A new way of life had just been introduced to the citizens of the United States and they were now left to decide how to handle it. Lucky for them, Lincoln started the whole thing off with a bang. Lincoln was faced with changing parties, a broken nation, a Civil War, and the aftermath of a war, yet he managed to handle everything beautifully. There were times when he made a few unsettling decisions, overstepping his power and presenting ideas that weren't good for the nation, but none of them scarred the nation. For all of his efforts, Lincoln deserves a B+.


 * Bibliography**

"Abraham Lincoln." __Wikipedia__. 22 Mar 2009. 24 Mar 2009 <[]>. "An Overview of Abraham Lincoln's Life." __Abraham Lincoln Research Site__. 29 Dec 1996. 24 Mar 2009 <[|http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln77.html]>. Kennedy, David, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. __The American Pageant__. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company: 2002.