Abraham Lincoln Character Analysis

Abraham Lincoln is known as one the most resilient presidents in the United States history. This was largely because of his triumph over adversity during one the most turbulent times in United States history: the American Civil War. Lincoln had many positive traits attributed to him by historians and the general public alike such as honesty, charisma, a silver tongue, and a sense of equality. While the previously mentioned traits helped Lincoln in his political career, Lincoln had to possess some additional unique traits in order to aid him in his career as a military leader. The traits that Lincoln had that would end up helping him during the American Civil War, in addition to some of the previously mentioned traits would be strength of character, …show more content…
At the beginning of the war, the goal was to preserve the Union. Slavery was not initially considered to be an important factor in this goal. But as the war progressed, the topic of slavery became more and more pronounced in relation to preserving the Union. Although Lincoln had no initial plan to free the slaves, he still considered this as an option if it would mean that the Union would be preserved. The Confederate States of America’s economy was highly dependent on slave labor so this would hinder the Confederate economy a great deal. Lincoln hoped that by suggesting to give slaves freedom that this would encourage the Confederacy to rejoin the Union and return to the way things were prior to the American Civil War. “…Therefore he intended to issue a proclamation warning Confederate states that unless they returned to the Union by January 1, 1863 (which scarcely anyone expected), their slaves “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” (McPherson 133). Lincoln did this despite heavy opposition from the general public that aligned with the party opposite to his. “Shall the Working Classes Be Equalized With Negroes?” blared the headline of one Northern newspaper. “Workingmen! Be Careful! Organize yourself against this element which threatens your impoverishment and annihilation.” (McPherson 128). These acts would foreshadow the working of a constitutional amendment …show more content…
Lincoln had a difficult time in identifying quality military leadership during the American Civil War. This was due to the fact that the military back during the American Civil War was not as professional and organized as it is the present day. Lincoln had to appoint his own generals for the military. The decisions for these generals were as much political decisions as military decisions. One of the most prominent examples in Lincoln’s difficulty in appointing quality military leadership was with Lincoln’s appointing of George B. McClellan as general-in-chief of the Union army in 1861. McClellan was not only in a different political party to Lincoln he also was opposed to Lincoln in his political views about slavery and believed the purpose of the American Civil War was to preserve the Union and nothing else. McClellan’s view of the war as a way to only preserve the Union was common during the early stages of the war. Despite the clash in political views, Lincoln did have McClellan as a general in order to aid the Union army and felt that McClellan’s professional experience was necessary. Another fault to appointing McClellan was his lack of aggression on the battle field. McClellan was incredibly cautious and would wait long bouts of time before enacting any military moves. Battles in which the cautiousness would