The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln - Essay Example

The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln It is not uncommon for a U.S. President to come into office facing important and divisive issues but the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, inherited a nation that was literally dividing, the most significant issue faced by any who has held the highest office either before or since. The Southern states began seceding from the Union a few months before Lincoln took office but his predecessor, James Buchanan, had done nothing to address the situation leaving the possible collapse of the nation to Lincoln. His main concern upon entering office was re-establishing the United States as a single country, his second abolishing slavery. Both counted as his greatest acts as president because each was monumental tasks at that time in history. Abraham Lincoln was a fierce opponent of slavery. He joined the newly formed Republican Party due to its anti-slavery platform. As a U.S. Senator from Illinois, Lincoln was concerned about the institution of slavery being expanding into newly formed states in the west. In June of 1858 he gave the famous “house divided” acceptance speech following his election to the Senate affirming his belief that “this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free.” (Hubbard, 1998). Because of his very public stance against the institution of slavery, his election as president was not acceptable to southern states, seven of which broke off from the Union prior to the inauguration. Lincoln’s first act as president was to call up 75,000 soldiers to stop the Southern revolt. Refusing to send troops that would fight their southern neighbors, claiming Lincoln has exceeded his constitutional authority; Tennessee, Arkansas and Virginia seceded as well joining the Confederate States of America. Lincoln did not know much about military matters so he educated himself on the subject by reading books on military history. He had no formal education but was a learned man and became a lawyer by reading books so this was an effective method for him. Lincoln sent a supply ship to Fort Sumter located in South Carolina to fortify Union troops stationed in what Southerners now considered a different country, their own. The Civil War officially began when southern troops fired on the ship and fort. Two months later, in an effort to quickly end the war, Lincoln ordered the army to capture Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital but the Union was badly defeated on their way in the small town of Manassas, Virginia. Lincoln then realized the war would be protracted so signed a bill into law that called for the enlistment of half a million more troops for a three year period. Lincoln proved to be a capable military tactician and, for the most part, chose effective field commanders. General George McClellan, commander of the biggest Union army, was a favorite of the troops but not Lincoln who was frustrated with McClellan’s unwillingness to advance against the Confederate army. Lincoln relieved McClellan of his command when he did not pursue the retreating Confederates following the 1862 Union victory at Antietam. (“Abraham,” 2012). Lincoln created a great deal of controversy when he suspended the right of habeas corpus (due process of law) in 1861 when Congress was not in session. He had already ended civil law in some areas but regarded these drastic, many correctly called unconstitutional, measures as necessary steps in the war effort. Lincoln revealed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 following the Battle of Antietam which freed the slaves but Southern states ignored it at the time. Two significant Union successes in the summer of 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Vicksburg, Mississippi finally gave the Union an advantage. Lincoln made General and future president Ulysses S. Grant the Union forces Supreme Commander in 1864 due to his decisive victory at Vicksburg. General George Meade had been expected to receive the title but missed his opportunity when the troops under his command did not deliver a decisive and final blow against the Confederate army at Gettysburg. Lincoln chose the body-strewn site of Gettysburg to dedicate a national cemetery where he gave the famous “Four score and seven years ago” speech honoring the dead soldiers in their quest for equality. Though he said that the words said there would not be remembered, the speech is one of the most widely known and quoted in history. In 1864 Lincoln was running for a second term against the same General McClellan he had humiliated by relieving him from command. Although the war going in the Union’s favor, it armies had all but taken Virginia, Northerners including his supporters had long grown tired of the bloody, costly and seemingly never-ending conflict. His opponents accused Grant of being a “butcher.” “Patriotism is played out” according to one newspaper “each hour is but sinking us deeper into bankruptcy and desolation.” (McPherson, 1988). The Republican Party leader, Thurlow Weed, thought as late as the summer prior to the election that Lincoln could not possibly be re-elected because “the people are wild for peace.” (McPherson, 1988). McClellan was the clear favorite until Union troops won a decisive victory at Atlanta in July, 1864. General William T. Sherman led his army on a slash and burn march through the South including the main trading hub of the Confederacy, Atlanta, Georgia. A Richmond (Virginia) newspaper complained that “the disaster at Atlanta came just in time to save the party of Lincoln from irretrievable ruin.” (McPherson, 1988) The victory in Atlanta meant two things, the end of the war was near and the Union would win which secured Lincoln a victory of his own at the polls the following November. One month after Lincoln’s second inauguration, the South surrendered on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House. On April 11, Lincoln encouraged citizens of the North to welcome the back Southerners “with malice toward none; with charity for all.” (“Abraham,” 2012). He then began his ambitious quest to restore the south as well as the bitter feelings each side had toward the other. Unfortunately, Lincoln would be assassinated before he could carry out his plan for Reconstruction. As Lincoln and his wife watched the play “My American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater on the evening of April 14, a somewhat famous actor named John Wilkes Booth snuck into the presidential box and shot him in the back of the head at close range. As he leapt over the balcony and on to the theater floor Booth is quoted as saying “Sic semper tyrannis” meaning “thus ever to tyrants,” in other words, ‘this is what you get when you oppress people.’ The now infamous Latin phrase is the state motto of Virginia. Lincoln died the next day after never regaining consciousness. (“Abraham,” 2012). Coming into the presidency, Lincoln was focused on two main goals, reunite the Union and abolish slavery. Although he was hated by many and used questionable tactics in his effort to secure victory, Lincoln achieved what he set out to do which was a Herculean task by any measure. It’s likely that few, if any, other people could have achieved both goals especially during a time when even his allies were not for continuing the war and were not nearly as fervent about the idea of ending slavery. Lincoln became president during the most tumultuous times in American history and is judged by many as being America’s best president due to the way he presided over those years and the positive outcome of his decisions. Works Cited “Abraham Lincoln.” The History Channel. 2012. Web. November 24, 2012 http://www.history.com/topics/abraham-lincoln Hubbard, Charles M. “Abraham Lincoln.” American History Magazine. August, 1998. Web. November 24, 2012 http://www.historynet.com/abraham-lincoln McPherson, James. “The Battle Cry of Freedom.” New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Read More