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Abraham Lincoln Born: February 12, 1809 Died: April 15, 1865 Term 1: 1861-1865 Term 2: 1865-assassination Vice President Term 1: Hannibal Hamlin Vice President Term 2: Andrew Johnson

Abraham Lincoln is not only one of the most well known names in presidential history, he is also one of the best known names in all of history. Faced with the fiery furnace of the Civil War, Lincoln had to bring a separated nation through the bloodiest war in our nation's history. Based on the fact that the odds were certainly against his favor, Lincoln did a remarkable job pulling our country through those trying times and for that I believe Lincoln should earn an "A" for his efforts.

Upon entering his presidency, Lincoln's primary goal was to preserve the Union and keep it from falling apart. Contrary to many people's beliefs, one of Lincoln's goals was not to free the slaves. He actually believed that it was not his place to interefere with the institution of slavery. He merely wanted to keep the country in tact and work around the issues that it was faced with. Lincoln, being the candidate for the Republican party was also representing the common goals of nonextension of slavery, issuing protective tariffs, having no abridgment of rights for immigrants, a Pacific railroad, internal improvements (paid for by the government) and free homesteads. Free homesteads were provided by the signing of the Homestead Act and the Morrill Land Grant Act and other internal improvements in the railroad industry were made by the signing of the Pacific Railroad Act. Later on, other goals included swinging the Border States in favor of the Union which he did with success and stopping foreign intervention from getting to the South with his sea blockade. Although Lincoln cannot technically claim that he achieved many of the goals that were set by the Republican party, he achieved his biggest goal of preserving what was left of the Union and other internal improvements and land grants. Due to the crumblin status of the country, Lincoln was drove to use an almost tyrannical iron hand to keep order and control in the country but claimed that he would cease to use such severe measures after the Union was preserved. Perhaps one of the biggest steps that Lincoln took to preserve the Union was the issuance for a blockade, to cut off imports and exports from to South. He also increased the size of the Federal army, which is only allowed with the permission of Congress as spelled out by the Constitution. An advancement of $2 million dollars was also awarded to three private citizens for military purposes by the orders of Lincoln. Perhaps one of the most memorable acts performed by Lincoln in this sense was the suspension of the right to habeas corpus. This way, anti-Unionists could promptly be arrested. All actions by Lincoln went to support the cause of the North, which in turn went to preserve the Union. Although Lincoln succeeded eventually in achieving his biggest goal of preserving the Union, many of his other goals were overshadowed and were not achieved because of the looming burden of the war.

By the end of Lincoln's presidency, he had a developed a less than favorable relationship with Congress. The Senate had the majority in the Northern states which was apparent since the Southern states were in rebellion and many seceded. Congress held a Republican majority but Lincoln still ended up clashing with his fellow party members. When he first entered the presidency in the beginning of the war, he did not have many problems with Congress. In fact, they were pretty lenient with him because he put in place so many things, such as the suspension of habeus corpus and the blockade, without permission from Congress. But as time wore on, Lincoln began to wear on Congress. Lincoln did pass the Pacific Railroads Act, the Morrill Land Grant Act and the Homestead Act which held the Republican ideals of internal improvements. However, Lincoln did veto the Wade-Davis Act which was voted against by only one Republican which clearly showed the cracks in the relationship that Lincoln had with Congress. Over time, Lincoln disagreed with Congress and committed so many acts against Congress that their relationship was less than favorable at the time of his death. There was even talk of impeaching him.

As president, Abraham Lincoln had the responsibility of keeping a feuding country together. He had many memorable acts that contributed to the success of the Union, which directly contributed to the success of the country as a whole. Perhaps the most worthwhile move by Lincoln was the Emancipation Proclamation. This proclamation declared that all slaves that resided in the Confederate states that were still in rebellion were free. This document was one of the true turning points in the war following Antietam, because it made it a war or freedom and morals. It totally changed the dynamics of the war and gave the North a more morally based reason to fight. This however did not go over well with some who fought for the Union because they claimed that they had signed up to preserve the Union and not to free the slaves. Although there were conflicting feelings in terms of the Proclamation, it set the ball rolling for civil rights movements that would come in later years to help liberate the blacks.

Even though Lincoln has gone down in history as mostly positive, every hero has their weakness. Even though the country was in dire need of a strong leader, Lincoln took many measures that were undeniably unconstitutional. Lincoln did several things without the approval of Congress and that can normally only be done with the permission of Congress. First and foremost, he formed a complete sea blockade after casting aside many legal objections. Later on, he increased the size of the Federal army which is a right that is reserved solely for Congress according to the Constitution. Perhaps the most glaring thing he did was suspend the right of habeus corpus which is safeguarded by the Constitution unless Congress decides to revoke it. Lincoln also held "supervised" voting in the border states which put pressure on the voters because of the presense of military forces. Although these actions may have helped Lincoln's cause at the time, he took advantage of executive privelage and pushed his power too far.

The Emancipation Proclamation was one of the most monumental milestones in American history. From the time it was set in place, it has impacted Americans ever since. By freeing the slaves, they were now counted among everyone else as "people" for the first time in their lives. In the years that followed the Civil War, they became an active part of the government, economy and even everyday life (as much as they could). The limitations that were still impressed on them were now fightable and they could take action for themselves to earn the amount of respect that they wished to have. The Emancipation Proclamation set the idea of civil rights for blacks into motion and kept the idea alive for more than a century until blacks had the same status in society that whites had. It created a revolution in the United States for the liberation of black rights.

In conclusion, I believe that Lincoln should earn an "A-" for his time in office because he was able to sucessfully hold together a nation that was falling apart. He undoubtedly left the country not only put back together again, but more at peace and in a better overall state. Although he did not get to accomplish all of the goals that he wished before he stepped into office, he did accomplish some and he suceeded in achieving his biggest goal of preserving the Union. He is a man that is known by all and rightfully so as the man who saved the United States.

Bibliography []. Featured Document: The Emancipation Proclamation. National Archives and Records Administration. 25 Mar 2010.

[]. Abraham Lincoln: 1862-1864 - Part 2. SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. 25 Mar 2010. []. Abraham Lincoln. Spartacus Educational - Home Page. 25 Mar 2010.

The American Pageant. Kennedy, David M., Cohen, Lizabeth, Bailey, Thomas A. Boston. 2002. Houghton Mifflin.