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**February 12, 1809 Hardin County, Kentucky- April 14, 1865 Washington, DC ** **Political Party: Republican ** **Terms: Two terms, 1861-1865 and March-April of 1865 (ended by assassination) ** **Vice President: First Term, Hannibal Hamlin; Second Term, Andrew Johnson **
 * Abraham Lincoln **

Mainly because of the Civil War, Lincoln’s presidency was rich in cultural changes. For a long period of American history, the white man dominated the country and its culture. However, during the war and shortly after, blacks and women became much more prominent people in the country. Black Americans became a very important force for the Union while fighting the Civil War. At the beginning of the war, black enlistees were not accepted in most branches of the military though there were many volunteers. There were, of course, some exceptions to this; many blacks held positions such as stewards and cooks in the Union navy. However, as the war went on, and the Union was running low on men, black enlistees were accepted in more branches of the military, and became a very strong force for the North. African Americans in the military were very connected to the moral cause of the war. Around 180,000 blacks from the slave and free states served in Union armies by the end of the war, making up about ten percent of enlistments. These enlistments helped ensure a Union victory, but they were also a major change in the role of blacks in America. African Americans were able to fill a role that was thought to be mainly for white men.
 * Thematic Context **

Women also became more important parts of the country during the Civil War, even though they could not legally enlist to fight in battles. Many took most of their support out of the feminist cause and put their efforts into abolition, hoping for more equality for all people in the United States. Also, as men left to fight a war, the women left behind took the jobs they left. Many women became more involved in industry with stronger military demands for products like clothing and shoes, making up about a third of the workforce during the war. Union women were not the only ones that were involved in the war. Women on both sides became involved as nurses. They created hospitals and were able to assist the militaries and save countless lives. Other women were involved with raising money, and many even posed as male soldiers to serve in the army. The Civil War gave women a chance to become more involved in the country as workers and with moral issues, and gave women much of the force they needed for future women’s rights movements.

President Abraham Lincoln was one of the best presidents America has ever seen. Lincoln faced one of the most stressful times of American history during his presidency with the Civil War, and he truly tackled the real issues of sectionalism that those before him allowed to escalate to such a point. He was able to hold what was left of the country together for reunion with the South. Lincoln demonstrated excellent leadership through difficult times, worked with strong moral purposes and was able to be very successful in almost all of his goals. Lincoln deserves and A+ for his presidency as he did an amazing job in negative circumstances and was perhaps the greatest president in American history.
 * Thesis **

Lincoln’s main goal as he entered his presidency was to restore the Union of the United States. Though he supported the abolition of slavery by the end of his presidency, he initially claimed he had no goals of ending slavery. As stated in his first inaugural address, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slaver in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so…” At the time he began his first term as president, he probably had no intentions of ending slavery, but his promise to leave slavery alone was more likely a way to gain popularity in states like the Border States and keep all the states in the Union. As his presidency went on, Lincoln’s true feelings about slavery came to light with the Emancipation Proclamation, though this was not a true end to slavery in the states. Lincoln was very successful in achieving his goals. Through the Civil War, the Union was restored before the end of Lincoln’s presidency. Slavery was outlawed with the Thirteenth Amendment, and even though this measure was not completed until after Lincoln’s assassination, it was still a way Lincoln and his party was able to accomplish their goals with slavery.
 * Goals **

Lincoln had a very strong relationship with Congress during his presidency. Republicans and Unionists had the majority in both houses; both parties that supported Lincoln and his goals to restore the Union. This was partially because of the secession of the Confederate states just before he took office removed most of what would be his opposition. A supportive Congress allowed Lincoln to take many quick actions for the protection of the country that would have otherwise been seen as unconstitutional and enabled him to achieve his goals.
 * Relationship with Congress **

For better or worse, the most important action of Lincoln was the inevitable Civil War. In many ways, the Civil War was a very positive thing for the nation. The Civil War finally solved long festering issues with sectionalism and slavery. These issues had been left to grow under previous administrations, and Lincoln was left to deal with them. Lincoln’s recognition of the need for war was very important. The war was able to solve these problems and differences with finality, and demonstrate America’s power to hold itself together. Lincoln’s war not only reunited the United States, but it both directly and indirectly began a moral change with the issue of slavery and the treatment of black Americans. The Civil War legally put an end to slavery in the United States, and even though racism remained for a long time to come, this was the first step to removing it. The Civil War was Lincoln’s most positive action for the United States because it solved issues that had previously been ignored, brought the Union back together, and freed the slaves.
 * Outcomes **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Even though the war was unavoidable and had many positive effects, it was also probably Lincoln’s action that had the most negative effects on the nation. Besides the loss of many lives on both sides, the war put the country deep in debt and caused many problems of its own. The country was able to manage money and organize manpower for the war fairly well, but it must be pointed out that over 618,000 lives were lost and around 4.2 billion dollars were spent on fighting within a country. These losses were not entirely Lincoln’s fault. As stated before, previous administrations ignored the issues of sectionalism and slavery, leaving war as the only solution. Also, the Confederacy was a main force in starting the Civil War. Even with all of that, the cost of the Civil War needs to be at least partially attributed to President Abraham Lincoln, even if it was a necessary cost. The Civil War caused even more issues within the United States, especially with racism. Easily pointed out in the South could be the issues with “sharecropping,” which was practically reenslavement for blacks, the Black Codes, and radical white supremacy groups like the KKK. There might not have been many other options, but the way the Civil War ended slavery may have been too sudden for the South, which resulted in more racism, terrible treatment of blacks, and racism. This was mainly due to the South’s economic reliance on slavery up until this point. Lincoln is not entirely responsible for these issues, but him and his administration are still partially to blame for the many negative effects of the Civil War.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Lincoln had one of the most influential presidencies in American history, but perhaps one of his most influential actions would be the Emancipation Proclamation. At the time, the Proclamation only freed slaves in the Confederate “states in rebellion.” With the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln freed the slaves where he was not actually able to, and he left out the freedom of the slaves in states that he could have freed them, almost completely to retain support. Though the Proclamation did not truly end slavery in America, it still freed many slaves; plenty who soon served the Union in the war. It also added a moral cause to the Union’s fight in the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation was perhaps one of the first true movements towards freedom for blacks in America. It called for the Thirteenth Amendment which guaranteed freedom for blacks on a federal level, and also helped to father many other laws and acts for black rights. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation influenced the future administrations and generations of America by starting moral ideas of equality between the races.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Future Influence **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Conclusion **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Though suffering from the aftermath of a war economically, socially, and culturally, America was much better off after Lincoln’s presidency than before. Lincoln was able to finally resolve the sectional issues, political, economic, and others, between the North and the South with the Civil War. He also managed to reunite the “Divided States of America.” The Civil War was almost entirely inevitable, but Lincoln managed to lead the country to a great victory, even if there was a price to pay. Lincoln was a great president. He was able to handle his role as president excellently in the difficult and trying time of the Civil War. Lincoln was exactly what the country needed, and even if some things were worse, America was either better off or on the road towards being so by the time of Lincoln’s tragic assassination.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Bibliography **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Bailey, Thomas A., David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">"Blacks in the Civil War." Blacks in the Civil War. Ed. Erin Beaver, Melissa Reily, and Nell Snyder. Colorado College, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. <http://www2.coloradocollege.edu/Dept/HY/Hy243Ruiz/Research/civilwar.html>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">"Casualties In The Civil War." Casualties In The Civil War. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. <http://www.civilwarhome.com/casualties.htm>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">DeGregorio, William A. The complete book of U.S. presidents. 6th ed. New York: Gramercy Books, 2005. Print.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">"Featured Document: The Emancipation Proclamation." Featured Document: The Emancipation Proclamation. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">"Party Division." U.S. Senate. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <[]>.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Stodola, Sarah. "Civil War at 150: Debt Lessons from Lincoln." The Fiscal Times. The Fiscal Times, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. <http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/04/12/Civil-War-at-150-Debt-Lessons-from-Lincoln.aspx>.