Prateek+-+Lincoln+-+F08

=//Abraham Lincoln//=

====One could say that Abraham Lincoln was the poster boy for what a President should do while in office. To begin his term he was put in a major predicament, because seven states had already seceded from the Union. The way he tried (and eventually did) preserve the Union goes to show the strength and leadership of this man, and that is why he deserves an A for his decisions while in office.====

====The main goal during Lincoln's presidency for him was to preserve the Union. In his Inaugural Address he flat out tells the South that the issue of the Civil War is in their hands. He tells them they have no right to destroy the Government, which he (Lincoln) will try to preserve with all means. Another issue that became one of Lincoln's goals came during the Civil War; it was the issue of Slavery. The Civil War didn't start because of slavery, and Lincoln never wanted that to be the major issue of the war. All he was trying to do was preserve the Union, but as the war went on it did turn into a big deal. He met the main goal of preserving the Union by winning the Civil War, and then declared the Emancipation Proclamation, which abolished slavery in all regions of the United States.==== ====Lincoln relationship with Congress really was nonexistent, because when he cam into office Congress was not in session. Due to this fact he took many liberties in passing laws and legislatures that may have not passed if Congress had been in session. This is not saying that what he passed was bad, because eventually all of his decisions led to the Union of a divided country. In some ways it is good that Congress couldn't check his decisions because they may have thought of some of them to be unnecessary, while all of them were crucial and beneficial for our country at the time. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation while in office, and also ordered for a draft during the Civil War; these actions he deemed necessary for a troubled country.==== ====The greatest thing that Lincoln did while in office would obviously be his preservation of the Union. It may be the greatest feat a President has accomplished during his regime, because it was so crucial. Our whole country would be vastly different today if the Confederacy had won the war. Even with the lack of great army leaders, he somehow made all the right calls to win over the South. Added as a plus to his accomplishments, he also abolished slavery in all of the United States, another major change to the lifestyles of Americans. Lincoln had very few flaws, if any at all during his presidency, but maybe the worst thing he did during his time was the precedent he set for future Presidents with the wartime liberties he took during the Civil War. His actions were well necessary for the Union, but the precedent set showed that the President had power over all! Yet, thankfully to this day no President has overwhelmingly used his power for his own benefit.==== ====There is a definite case for Lincoln's Presidency in having the most affect on the country than any other President. He brought back a split (literally) country into one, while abolishing the huge issue of slavery. Our country would look greatly different if it hadn't been for his specific attitude towards what he wanted to do as President of the United States. As stated earlier, this was apparent after his Inaugural Address! All this being said, Lincoln had a drastic affect on our country; one we can still see to this day. That's why he deserves an A for his time in office, for no President will accomplish as much as he did while the 5 years he was in office.====