ABRAHAM LINCOLN
When people are asked to identify which president they feel had the greatest impact on our history, Lincoln's name consistently comes up. But why? Lincoln had little formal education and did not serve in public office but for brief periods prior to becoming president. In short, based on his background, Lincoln would not seem to be someone likely to succeed as President. Yet his innate wisdom and humanity made him one of the greatest of the nation's Chief Executives. He was an exceptional administrator, and an admirable commander in chief who did a masterful job of articulating the moral goals of the war for he strongly believed in the preservation of one nation indivisible. (The Civil War, pgs. 14-16) Lincoln's primary concern was for the preservation of the union. Abraham Lincoln, "Honest Abe" came to Washington as a newly elected President early in 1861. In an attempt to allay southern fears that his accession to office signaled a Republican determination to abolish slavery, he quoted from a previous speech he had made: "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I ha
To Halleck (9-19-63): "I hope you will consider it..." Lincoln was re-elected with a huge majority, unlike his first election. In his second inaugural address Lincoln again spoke with unforgettable eloquence, this time on the theme of reconciliation: "...With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations." (The American Presidents, pg.140) Final victory came when Lee surrendered to Grant at the Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. Eight years after Appomattox, Mark Twain assessed the impact of the Civil War: It had "uprooted institutions that were centuries old, changed the politics of a people, transformed the social life of half the country, and wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations." (Images of the Civil War, pg. 172) With Lincoln's stong, moralistic leadership, the North went to war to preserve the Union; it ended by preserving and strengthening a nation.
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Approximate Word count = 1944
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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