Michelle+F.+-+AL+-+FA11

Abraham Lincoln Republican Feb 2 1809 - April 15 1865 1861-1865 Hannibal Hamlin (first term), Andrew Johnson (March-April 1865)

Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest presidents to ever have governed the United States, guiding the nation through the Civil War and preserving the unity of a country divided over slavery and violent sectionalism. Lincoln effectively ended slavery as an institution in the South, and for these accomplishments he deserves and A+.  The environment played a role in Lincoln’s presidency in that Lincoln set the precedent of setting aside land for the sole purpose of enjoyment. He established the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove in California as public trust, laying the foundation for the National Parks System. Lincoln also established the Department of Agriculture in his Executive Cabinet. Wars also have an enormous impact on the environment, so the country had to produce enough food, weapons, clothing and other items to support the soldiers on both sides. In Sherman’s march, where he burned down vast swaths of the South, the environment had to bounce back.  In his first inaugural address Lincoln says he wants to deal with the issue of secession, but states that he doesn’t want to eliminate slavery in the South, only to keep it from spreading to the territories. This conflicts with Lincoln’s personal beliefs (Lincoln was in fact an ardent abolitionist) but was an excellent political move because it appealed to the moderates. In his second administration he voices a hope that the war should come to a swift conclusion, and the desire to completely wipe out slavery was solidified, as well as a wish to punish rebel leaders. The Republicans also wanted to create a homestead law.  Lincoln got along relatively well with his Congress, but this is not surprising considering both the House and the Senate had a large Republican majority. During the wartime, Lincoln bypassed normal presidential protocol in favor of acting quickly. He did what he thought was in the country’s best interests at the time, which involved some questionable policies. However, this is excusable because in wartime, tough decisions have to be made, and any abridgement of rights was released after the war was over. During the war, he suspended the writ of habeus corpus and attempted to snuff out anti-war sentiment. Congress later expressed approval of his actions.  Other acts passed in the Lincoln administration included the Homestead and Morrill Acts. The Homestead Act later allowed for the rapid expansion of the Great Plains and the West. It said that citizens or near citizens who had inhabited a plot of land for five years were entitled to 160 acres of the land. The Morrill Act gave each state a certain amount of land to be used for agricultural and mechanical arts colleges.  The largest positive outcome of Lincoln’s administration is most certainly the abolition of slavery from the South and the reuniting of the North and South. However, the South fell into disrepair after the war, in part due to the destruction caused by Sherman’s march and in part by the fact that the South had relied so heavily on slavery as an economic crutch and was forced to adapt. The largest negative outcome was likely the destruction of the South as an economic power, leaving it in chaos and resentment. The coming Reformation would fail and subsequently leave the South in a state of perpetual decay, a state which continues to this day. The resentment over the emancipation of the slaves meant that blacks would be treated as second class citizens for nearly a century after the end of the Civil War. The Civil war, while it ended slavery permanently, left thousands dead and many more wounded, families broken, and the country in economic turmoil as it tried to piece itself back together. Lincoln’s impact is most readily seen in that he ended slavery in the United States forever, and in his Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln made clear that any future attempts at secession or nullification would not be tolerated, and that the Union would not tolerate such rebellion. Lincoln established a precedent of federal government stepping in and overruling state government-sponsored rebellion. Lincoln affirmed and asserted the federal government’s power over the states. Lincoln’s skillful handling of the nullification crisis as well as the Civil war, beginning with Fort Sumter and ending with his moving Gettysburg Address, makes him deserve an A+. Lincoln dealt with the splitting of a nation admirably and made very few mistakes in his attempts to pave the way for a Reconstruction of the South. Lincoln was a brilliant statesman and speaker, which made him popular with the people and his expert control of the country during wartime allowed the nation to come back together. The country was better off at the end of his presidency in that it was no longer in danger of falling apart, but was in worse condition in that it was recovering from the aftermath of a bloody war and that the South had to be assimilated into the country again. Lincoln was a brilliant statesman and speaker, which made him popular with the people and his expert control of the country during wartime allowed the nation to come back together. Only a president as good as Lincoln could have pulled off what he did.
 * Theme **
 * Goals **
 * Lincoln and Congress **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Positive and Negative Outcomes **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Precedents and Impact **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conclusion **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Works Cited:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">DeGregorio, William A., and Sandra Lee. Stuart. "Abraham Lincoln." //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents//. 7th ed. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade, 2009. 225-44. Print.