Abraham Lincoln: America's Greatest President In American History

Great Essays
Reading and Writing Assignment #3
Abraham Lincoln is arguably one of the United States’ greatest presidents. “Abraham Lincoln was the only president in American history whose entire administration as bounded by war” (xv). When he was elected into office tensions were already high and the southern states had already moved forward with the secession and called themselves the confederacy. Over the course of his term he saw ups and downs while dealing with Americas civil war. He became commander in chief since he was inaugurated and used that power as a military strategy. He made it a goal of his own to become an expert on military strategies so that he was well prepared for the war to come. “He gave himself night and that to study the military strategy” (3). He was not a natural strategist. He worked very hard to learn the most. He was a hard worker and it came from his work ethic. Before he was running for president, Lincoln was a lawyer. He used his learning’s from law school in his presidency. Abe Lincoln was often called Honest Abe for his character and heart. If there was one thing that Lincoln knew was that he hated slavery. He was an honorable man and believed it to be a horrible, evil to all of the African Americans. He never changed his mind on that opinion; he did however change his mind about sharing the information. In the beginning, Lincoln knew that in order to keep his loyalty he had to not make the war about emancipation. “His initial policy was restoration of the union ¬¬– the union of 1860, with slavery in fifteen of the thirty-three states…the abolition of slavery was added to the preservation of the Union” (267). After he was elected and America was at war with itself, he started by saying that it was not a war against slavery but a war to unite the union again. “The goal of preserving the Union united the northern people… the issue of slavery and emancipation dived them” (7). It was very important to the southern states to keep their slaves and so they seceded from the United States. Even though Lincoln served as a war president, “Lincoln could never ignore the political context in which decisions about military were made” (7). He was a politician. He knew his obligation to his country. He wanted to save the country from itself. In the beginning of the war Lincoln had to make sure that the name commander in chief meant he could control the troops. “Supreme court ruled that the president as commander in chief was authorized to employ the army and navy” (4). After it was established that he had control, he used the knowledge that he recently gained on war and began his own strategies. He was careful and patient. He knew that he had to be smart with the power he had. He did not want to lose the support of the nation so he made sure to keep the goal of the war was to win back the confederacy for the nation. Lincoln went into the war knowing it would not be easy, and it wasn’t. He faced many ups and downs. His biggest problem was that before he was sworn in for his presidency term the southern states did not want to be part of the nation anymore because president Lincoln was republican and did not agree with slavery. The southern states seceded from the United States before he was sworn in. he had to begin his presidency with the burden that the nation that
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He had written it up but not had it looked at by anyone for a while because he was waiting for the right time. The emancipation proclamation was a document that allowed slaves their freedom, but only if they would pledge the side of the union and help fight for the union. After many wins and losses Lincoln finally released the proclamation, which was the turning point of the war. He waited no longer and it was finally signed. The outcome was outstanding. Adding the slaves to the army for the union helped them immensely. Lincoln’s prime outcome for the war was to win. He needed the confederacy to join back and become a nation

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