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Member of the Republican Party Presidential Terms: March 4, 1861–April 15, 1865 Term 1 Vice President: Hannibal Hamlin (1861-1865) Term 2 Vice President: Andrew Johnson (1865)**
 * Abraham Lincoln**
 * February 12, 1809-April 15, 1865

Abraham Lincoln was a leader in the troublesome time of war, he made some decisions that did not seem admirable, but according to the struggles of the time he saw them as right. Although he did violate the Constitution and belatedly passed the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln’s decisions produced good outcomes. Lincoln did have successful decisions that assisted the Union in their victory in the Civil War. I believe Lincoln’s presidency deserves a B.

In Lincoln’s inaugural address after his first election he made it clear that he did not want to interfere with slavery and he followed through with this until he passed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. He also desired to keep the Union united, but in reality his administration being voted into the White House was what drove the South to secede. Lincoln did try to keep the border states loyal to the Union. His end goal after the war was won was not to punish the South, but to reunite the nation. When the Civil War began Congress was not in session, so Lincoln decided to make decisions by his own judgment. Many of his decisions did violate the Constitution; such as adding more troops to the federal army, taking money out of the Treasury, and suspending habeas corpus; but he saw them as just in this time of war. Congress later gave approval to his determinations and the Supreme Court backed Lincoln up, as well. The Republicans had a great majority in both of the Houses of Congress and definitely had the power in the country during Lincoln’s administration.

I would have to say that the most positive aspect of Lincoln’s presidency was his successful abolition of slavery. Lincoln came into the presidency denying that he wanted to “interfere with the institution of slavery,” but luckily before the end of the war he had other attentions. By passing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, he declared this war as true attack on slavery. Although this law had a lot of holes in it and did grant freedom to all slaves in the United States (only those in the Confederate states in rebellion gained their freedom), it was still a strong step toward abolition. Lincoln was strongly in favor of The Thirteenth Amendment, which prohibited slavery in America, but sadly it was not passed until after his death. Without Lincoln taking the first step and bringing about the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil War may have ended without the resolution of a country without humans in chains. Despite Lincoln’s faults, his involvement in this historical abolition will forever give him a favorable place in history.

Lincoln’s most negative action was to disregard an ancient governing document of this nation: the Constitution. If a president would violate the Constitution today they would not have the complete compliancy of Congress, even if their decisions were made under the strains of war. Many of Lincoln’s actions did benefit the Union’s cause, but the point is they violated laws set down for our nation by our founding fathers; not even the president has the right to go against the law and take matters into his own hands. While his actions may have been honorable, they still were unlawful and Congress should not have stood behind his judgments. Lincoln took an oath on a bible that he would abide by the laws of the land and then he took matters into his own hands.

Lincoln’s main impact was to transform the position as president into a role more powerful than ever. Through his violation of the Constitution and disregard for the power of both Congress and the court system, he displayed that the president was not subordinate to other group. Lincoln turned the presidential role into one that required the chief executive to do all they could to defend their country in times of crisis. While not all future the presidents has taken Lincoln’s stance on what a president has the ability to do, I am certain everyone has felt the toll of the power placed on their shoulders and the slight desire to breach the limits as Lincoln did. Lincoln set a whole standards for Mr. Presidents to come, he revolutionized this position.

American was both bettered and worsened by Lincoln’s presidency. The evils of slavery were abolished from the nation and all blacks were freed from their bondage, although many of the ex-slave’s lives did not improve greatly. Lincoln’s assassination left the South unprotected from the anger of the northerners. The country was slowly reaching unity again and peace, for the most part, reigned in America. With Lincoln as president the Union won the war and slavery finally lost its grip on the nation, so the country overall did improve. I do see more positives than negatives resulting from his presidency, so I believe Lincoln deserves the grade of a B.

Bibliography:

"Abraham Lincoln." //The White House//. The White House, n.d. Web. 25 March 2010. . "American President: Abraham Lincoln." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. University of Virginia, 2010. Web. 25 Mar 2010. . Degregoria, William A. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents//. Sixth Edition. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books Inc., 1946. 89-103. Print.