How Did Lincoln Influence The Whig Parties

It is no secret that Abe Lincoln is the most notable Whig president. His loyalty to the party ran deeply and it dated all the way back to his young adulthood. After leaving home, Lincoln sought to become a man outside of his father’s heavy influence. He latched on to the notion of the ‘self-made man’ and strived to be a successful example of that idea. Whigs represented the hard working, passionate youth of his era and Lincoln described himself as just that. Essentially, they represented the opposite of his father, who he liked the least and tried his hardest not to become. The Whig party gave him a platform to make a name for himself and form a persona that he could use throughout his political career.

Luckily for Lincoln, many of the party’s stances aligned with his own personal views. Lincoln was intensely focused on internal improvements, a national bank to improve the economy, and the use of tariffs much like the Whig party was. While slavery was on the backburner, the Whig party’s views on the topic also coincided with Lincoln’s since it was centered around the idea that slavery was harmful to the society. …show more content…
The family he married into had deep ties to the elites of the Whigs which gave him an extra edge when he was trying to become a representative of the party. Lincoln also had an intense admiration for Henry Clay who was a significant figure in the Whig party. To Lincoln, Clay was the “ideal statesman”; if Lincoln ever wanted to become a great politician, he would follow Clay’s example. His high esteem for Clay was yet another factor drawing him to the Whig