Lincoln and the truth about his presidency

A detailed Summary of Lincoln and the truth about his presidency

Abraham Lincoln is often thought of as one of the United States' better presidents. However, there is some controversy as to how good a president he actually was in retrospect. Was he as notable as he is made out to be? Abraham Lincoln was a great president. He was no doubt one of the most honest presidents that the United States had. He was not perfect, and he was not always truthful, but his few departures from the straight and narrow path of rectitude came during a war in which the nation's very existence as a united nation was at stake. And, "on those occasions he had to rise above both principle and the Constitution in pursuing what he regarded as the nation's interest." While some of the presidents that followed may have also done some of the same things he did on different occasions, none of these instances was the existence of the nation in anywhere near such a great risk at falling apart. Many of the financial happenings that were and are regarded as questionable have lead back to people working under him, but not a single one could be traced back to him. Some historians claim that a few of his actions were unconstitutional, however, all of his actions were later upheld by the Congress. Lincoln did what needed

When the Civil War first commenced, Congress was not in session. To wait would have been sure loss. With this in mind, Lincoln took all necessary action completely on his own. He put a blockade on key Southern ports, even though there were legal barriers against it. The Supreme Court later upheld this action. He also decided that he should enlarge his army even though the Constitution clearly gives this privilege exclusively to Congress. The Congress later obliged by upholding this order. These were all things that needed to be done right away; it was not feasible to wait for Congress to get back in session.

Accident, stupidity, and the corruption of a few individuals caused much of the waste of funds and material in this period. Lincoln proved himself to be an honorable man in these financial matters - even though not all of his subordinates can say the same.

brother-in-law had driven hard bargains; and he had only been charged the going rates. As he saw it, he had saved the government money. He had attained excellent ships, and he had proved to be honest and reliable. Lincoln stood behind Welles on this matter, and the Senate exonerated him.

Lincoln was an honest man. Especially when dealing with personal money matters. For example, at one point during his administration, Congress granted him twenty thousand dollars to fix up and refurbish the White House. In doing so, Mrs. Lincoln exceeded the allowed dollar amount by six thousand seven hundred dollars. President Lincoln said that he would not ask for the Congress to give him more money, especially at a time of unrest between the North and South, with his soldiers being short of blankets. Instead, he told them that he would pay for the excess out of his own pocket. Though Congress did decide to pay for the overrun by adding it to the budget for the next year, Lincoln did not ask, and was prepared to pay for it himself.

The Emancipation Proclamation was not all it seemed to be. It only applied to the slaves in the states that were rebelling. However, the government had no power to free the slaves in those states. All the slaves in the loyal Border States remained shackled. This was smart on his part, for an attempt to free them by proclamation rather than by constitutional amendment would probably drive their masters into the welcoming arms of the Confederates.

Lincoln was not actually the liberator of all slaves. As a matter of fact, he did not free a single slave. After the North's first victory in battle he gave the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. It stated that in the final version, which would become effective on January 1,

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Approximate Word count = 1785
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People