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__**Abraham Lincoln**__ //Republican ​First Term: March 4, 1861 - March 4, 1865 Second Term: March 4, 1865 - April 15, 1865 Vice Presidents: Hannibal Hamlin(1861-1865), Andrew Johnson(1865)//

Abraham Lincoln is undoubtedly the greatest president to have ever led the United States of America, and if he were to be graded would deserve an A+. Lincoln deserves the prestigious grade of an A+ because he led the nation through perhaps its greatest challenge, the Civil War. He abolished slavery, won the war, reunited the union, managed to avoid war with England, prevented foreign aid towards the South, and bolstered the Union’s economy. He forever changed the future of the entire world and gave millions of people the freedom that they so rightfully deserved.

__**Goals:**__ When Lincoln entered office, 7 Southern states had already seceded and 4 more were soon to follow. One of Lincoln's immediate goals was to get the remaining slave states to stay in the union. He successfully accomplished this goal by meeting with state leaders and promising them that he would not remove slaves from those states. He also imprisoned rebel leaders from those areas, over 18,000 in total, without trial. However, none were executed and all were eventually set free.

Lincoln’s military goals were to utilize the North’s better economy, significantly larger population and superior navy to win the war. He set up a blockade to starve the South’s economy and prevent them from the profitable cotton trade with England. Another way he weakened the Southern economy was by sending General Sherman on his famous march to the sea, where he burned and looted everything in his path. The union also freed Southern slaves, taking away some of the South’s economic workforce. Lincoln utilized his larger population to engage the confederacy in Attrition Warfare, wearing down the South through sheer numbers. He also utilized conscription to draft his large population into the military, which though unpopular, was very effective. Lincoln continually avoided war with Britain, notably by releasing the two captured confederates who were taken from the Trent.

Lincoln’s long term goals were to abolish slavery and rebuild the union. At first he said that he didn’t want slavery to spread out of the South, but as the North gained steam with the victory of Antietam, he announced the Emancipation Proclamation which would forever rid the nation of slavery. However, Lincoln didn’t enforce the Proclamation on the slave states that didn’t secede in order to assure that they would stay in the Union. Lincoln didn’t have much to do with the Reconstruction of the Union because of his tragic death just 6 days after the war ended, but he wanted to go easier on the South than many of his fellow republicans, who wanted to punish it and radically change its social and economic systems. Despite this, Lincoln won the war which brought the union back together, and successfully destroyed the evil institution of slavery in the USA forever. __**Relationship with Congress:**__ Lincoln enjoyed a good relationship with the republican dominated Congress, only using his veto powers 4 times, and the only significant time being his pocket veto of the Wade-Davis Bill. Meanwhile, he signed a lot of Congress legislature. He signed the Homestead Act, which opened up millions of acres westward for a cheap price. He also approved the Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act, which set up agricultural colleges in each state. Lincoln’s approval of the Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864 helped the construction of westward railroads and led to the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Other acts approved by Lincoln were the 2nd and 3rd Morrill Tariffs and the Revenue Act of 1862. Finally, Lincoln helped with and approved the National Banking Acts which set up a strong federal financial system. Overall, Lincoln’s relationship with his republican dominated Congress was about as good as it gets. __**Most Positive Outcome:**__ One of Lincoln’s greatest //single// actions was the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves and made all men equal, **but his success in reuniting the Union was his greatest feat.** Lets face it, if Lincoln wouldn’t have passed the Emancipation Proclamation, eventually someone else would’ve. But it takes someone special to face such gigantic challenges and still manage to win the war and reunite the Union. Reuniting the Union is Lincoln’s true legacy. Slavery was a dying cause, but had the South managed to repulse the North and keep governing itself the U.S.A. could still be split, and the South probably would’ve continued to use slavery for several decades. The abolishment of slavery is almost a result of reuniting the Union, which is why Lincoln’s greatest achievement in office was reuniting the United States of America. __**Least Positive Outcome:**__ Lincoln didn’t make many bad choices, and none of his mistakes were even close to as significant as his good choices. However, Lincoln’s biggest mistake as president was disobeying the Constitution. He disobeyed the Constitution in several ways, he called for a blockade of the South without congressional approval, suspended Habeas Corpus, imprisoned over 18,000 supposed rebels, and spent money from private citizens without congressional approval. However, these decisions were all necessary and none had permanent effects. In fact, all were for the good of the Union, but the fact that he disobeyed the Constitution makes them his biggest mistake. Lincoln’s political enemies were enraged by these “Tyrannical” acts, but none of them ever significantly hurt citizens or permanently encroached on freedoms. Lincoln was such a good president that even his biggest mistakes were still of some benefit for the nation. __**Future Impact:**__ Lincoln is probably the most influential president ever to govern the United States of America. He reunited the Union and kicked slavery to the curb. Without Lincoln, the Confederate States of America might still border the United States of America, and they might still enslave blacks. His influence doesn’t end there, he created the first income tax, helped lead to the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, avoided a 3rd war with England, and even instituted Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Without Lincoln, the world would be very different today.

In conclusion, the Nation was far better off when Lincoln was assassinated than when he entered office. He entered to a nation divided, and lived to see the Union once again reunited. Although the reconstruction era was a difficult time, its better to be one nation with problems than two countries divided in a brutal civil war. Lincoln’s presidency is about as close to perfect as anyone will come, and anything less than A+ would be an insult to the greatest president ever to lead the United States of America.

__**Bibliography**__ "Abraham Lincoln |." //The White House//. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. . "Abraham Lincoln -." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. . Degregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2005. Print. History. 2006. Web. 25 Oct. 2009.  "The Accomplishments of President Abraham Lincoln." //PERSONAL WEB PAGES - home.att.net//. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. . "Presents Abraham Lincoln." //The History Place//. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. . Web. 25 Oct. 2009.