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February 12, Born: February 12, 1809 Died: April 14, 1865 Political Party: Republican, Union Party  1st Term of Office: 1861-1865  2nd Term of Office: March 1865- April 1865  Vice President 1st Term: Hannibal Hamlin (1861-1865)  Vice President 2nd Term: Andrew Johnson (March-April 1865) President Lincoln is thought by many to be the best president in US history, ranking higher even than Washington. Lincoln deserves an A for his presidency because he did a good job dealing with the seceding states and the slavery issue that President Buchanon dumped into his lap. Because he successfully brought the seceding southerners back into the nation and kept Americans content throughout the war, Lincoln deserves this high grade.
 * Abraham Lincoln **

In Lincoln’s inaugural address he told the people of the United States his main goal. And that was the preservation of the Union. He tried to describe to the people how impractical it would be for the North and South to separate. Because there are no physical borders, like rivers or mountains, between the North and the South, it would be impossible to physically separate. He told the people that he would not interfere with slavery where it already exists because he believed that he had no lawful right to do so. Because of this, all Lincoln really wanted to do was protect the union. He said, “I have the most solemn one (oath), to preserve, protect, and defend it.” Unfortunately the southerners made this impossible, as they had already sworn to secede from the Union if Lincoln would be elected president. After the bloody civil war, Lincoln’s goals remained the same. In his second inaugural address he told the people that it was time to “bind up the nation’s wounds…and to achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace.” Lincoln still wanted to make the nation a whole and bound up the northern and southern wounds so the nation could once again act as one, both domestically and foreign.

Unlike the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, Lincoln worked well with his Congress and used the power of veto relatively infrequently, only using it seven times. Lincoln said that the legislation of the country should rest with Congress and often tried to compromise with them. The most probable reason that Lincoln was able to work so well with Congress is because of the secession of the southern democrat from legislature. Republicans were the party that controlled the House and Senate. During this republican domination of government, many republican acts were able to be passed including the Homestead Act that allowed more settlement of the west by giving squatters 160 acres after five years. Another important act would be the Morill Act that allowed the financing of states agricultural and mechanical arts colleges by giving them public lands to sell. These policies showed that Lincoln and Congress had a good relationship and were able to pass legislature that would help the growth of the Union.

The most positive outcome of Lincoln’s administration would be the outcome of the Civil War and the reunified America. A more specific action of Lincoln’s that had an extremely positive outcome would be the Emancipation Proclamation. This was helpful for numerous reasons. First, the proclamation did not affect states that were already in the union because it only freed slaves in the Confederacy. Because of this, he was able to keep Border States that were members of the Union happy. Also, it didn’t do much at the time to really anger anybody in specific because it could not initially be enforced in the Confederacy. By doing this, he foretold the abolition of slavery, but did not outright call for the abolition of slavery in all parts of the United States including the Northerners and seceded southerners. This would have caused much disunion in the Northern states as well. Lastly, an effect of this proclamation was that European nations including Britain decided not to intervene in favor of the south. They didn’t want to intervene because their people were in favor of the abolition of slavery in the United States, and because of this many of their people supported the Northern cause.

The only bad outcome of the Lincoln administration was an outcome that was impossible to avoid, the major disunion between northern and southern states. As southern states pledged to leave the Union as soon as Lincoln was elected president, there was nothing that he could do about it, but the Civil War was a major catastrophe in American history. Lincoln made no specific bad decisions that were heavily criticized during his presidency other than a few necessary decisions for war preparations in which he may have overstepped his executive boundaries. All bad outcomes of the Lincoln administration were either necessary or inevitable and because of this, he still was a great president.

The abolition of slavery was the part of Lincoln’s administration that most effected future generations. The abolition of slavery led to more rights for black including citizenship and suffrage. These have greatly impacted future generations as blacks now have the same rights as all Americans and have leading roles in government. Abolition also caused much uproar in future generations as disputes over black rights erupted for many, many years. The decision of Lincoln to free slaves led to a more diverse America and equality that Americans had been preaching about since the very beginning of the country. This was an important step in the life of the great nation, America.

The United States were much better off after the Lincoln administration for a plethora of reasons. He reunified America by winning the Civil War and bringing the seceding southern states back into the Union. Also, he got rid of the terrible institution of slavery and opened more doors to the rest of the world after the war. Because of this, Lincoln deserves an A for his presidency.

Bibliography:

· Spitzer, Robert J.. "The presidential veto: touchstone of ... - Google Books." //Google Books//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2010. .
 * Degregorio, William A.. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents)//. 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tabstops: list .5in; tabstops: list .5in;">Abe, name Honest, and the Rail-Splitter. "Abraham Lincoln Biography - Biography.com." //Biography.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2010. <http://www.biography.com/articles/Abraham-Lincoln-9382540>.