Abraham lincoln:biography - Essay Example

Abraham Lincoln Introduction Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United s is one of the most famous leaders in history due to his dedication to the struggle of freedom and the emancipation of the American slaves. During his reign as the president of the United States, a number of historical events occurred including the American civil war that pitied the southern states versus the northern states. The process of abolishing the slave trade and slavery in the country gained momentum during his reign and this led to the liberation of the American minorities (Denson 31). In this paper, Abraham Lincoln’s life, times as a leader, ideals, struggle for freedom and the view of analysts will be presented. Early life Born in 1809 in Hodgenville Kentucky to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, Abraham lived in a small village and spent most of his early life working in his parent’s farm. Though growing up as a lone child, Abraham was born with other siblings including a sister Nancy and a brother Thomas, both of whom died while still young. The stay in Kentucky was marred by suppression and suffering as his parents were unable to get title deeds to own their farmland thus forcing them to locate to Indiana (Ferguson 86). The Indiana land ownership law was more accommodative than the one in Kentucky and the state enacted stricter laws on slavery. In Kentucky, slavery and the use of slaves were rife and this contributed to their relocation to Indiana, a state that had the northwest ordinance, which forbade the use of slavery. The Christian faith of Lincoln and his parents within the Baptist church contributed to his early hatred for slave trade and slavery in the state of Kentucky (Holzer 128). Though Lincoln never had the opportunity to get formal education during his early life, he showed special interest in learning and read extensively. His mother died in 1818, which led to his remarrying a Kentucky widow called Sarah Bush, a lady who treated him with fondness and love. After stating in Indiana for some time, the family of Lincoln relocated to Illinois from where young Lincoln made boat trips to New Orleans and later relocated to new Salem. Lincoln had a tough relationship with his father and this is shown by the lack of reference to him in the older years of Lincoln. He later joined the military while in new Salem where he served in the black hawk war of 1832 and served various leadership positions in the military (Ferguson 90). Law and politics As a young American, Abraham developed strong ideals and beliefs in the development and strengthening of the democratic space of the United States. These strong ideological beliefs and view made him grow into one of the most respected members of the Whig party. During his times as an active political activist and pro-democracy crusader, Lincoln met Mary Todd, a daughter of an influential banker in Kentucky, a lady she later married 1842. Lincoln unsuccessfully contested for the representative seat but later won the Illinois representative seat in 1946 forcing him to relocate to Washington DC with his family. During his time in the United States national congress, the southern and northern states were sharply divided over the issue of slavery (Denson 28). The northern strongly opposed the use of slavery as advocated for the use of free labor for production and farming. As a result, the north outlawed slavery and slave trade while the south depended on slave trade for their cotton plantations. As a result, a large population of black slaves were owned and manipulated by southern plantation owners who exposed them to deplorable conditions. The southern also enacted strong pro-slavery laws which provided legal support for the owners of slaves and gave room for the development and growth of slave trade. As a representative of Illinois, Lincoln strongly opposed the use of slaves and the spread of slave trade into the western state. After the end of his term, Lincoln moved to Springfield to set a law firm with his partner William Herndon (Goodwin 229). During his law practice, the stood out due to his oratory skills, honesty and dedication to his strong ideals on democracy and the abolition of slave trade. Stephen Douglas, a political rival to Lincoln won the Illinois senatorial seat and introduced the popular sovereignty law that gave the people the power to decide whether they wanted to use slaves or not. This created room for strong division among the pro and anti-slavery groups resulting into one major historical division in the United States. It was during this time that Abraham decided to demonstrate his full opposition to slave trade by joining the republican and vying for a political office. Republicans by then opposed slave trade and slavery and advocated for the enactment of laws that could abolish and prohibit slavery and slave trade in the country. He vied for the Illinois senatorial seat against Stephen Douglas and this culminated into the famous Lincoln-Douglas debate, which exposed Lincoln to the masses due to his strong oratory prowess and the ability to articulate his points with ease. He used this opportunity to express his opposition towards slavery and slave trade and its vice to the United States as a country. Even though he lost the election, this debate made him popular win the country and also within the ranks of the Republican Party (Goodwin 231). Election to the presidency After declaring his interest in the presidency of the United States, Abraham Lincoln organized major rallies in the country that popularized his bid for the top seat and endeared the masses to his democracy and freedom ideals. He wrestled the republican presidential ticket from the favorite William steward and this gave him the go ahead to face his perennial rival Douglas Stephen and John Breckinridge among other candidates. In his first cabinet, Douglas appointed his political rivals within the Republican Party in a move seen as healing rift and seeking majority support from his party. During his inauguration as the 16th president, seven states had seceded from the union and therefore did not participate in the inauguration (DiLorenzo 71). However, Lincoln made a move against the advice of his cabinet, which triggered the civil war of 1861 between the northern and southern states. He sent a provision to fort Sumter that bore the symbol of federal authority and influence in the states that had already declared secession from the union (Holzer 124). The civil war During the popular civil war pitying the south against the north, Abraham Lincoln made a number of decisions as the commander in chief, which decreased his popularity within the army. His approach did not auger well with the then general of the army George McClellan, a general who was more pro-democratic in his ideals. His perception of war was based on the complete destruction of the enemy and believed in soldiers who had the ability to fight, making him appoint Ulysses Grant to be the army commander in 1864. During this war, Lincoln demonstrated his opposition to slavery when he issued a presidential decree that abolished slave trade and slavery in the country (DiLorenzo 65). When issuing this decree, Lincoln argued that the constitution protected slavery during peace and provided no provisions for slavery during war as was the situation then. This gave him room to endorse the 13th amendment that led to the complete abolition of slave trade and slavery in the United States. After his re-election for the second term in office, the racial doctrine and beliefs in the United States experienced significant changes. This made him build more enemies among the southerners and pro-slave trade citizens who conspired to kill him, including John Wilkes Booth, his ultimate assassin (Denson 28). Death of Abraham Lincoln In April 1865, the civil war between the south and the north officially ended with over 600,000 deaths reported and much more injuries reported. The end of the war signaled the official abolition of slave trade and the emancipation of the journey to freedom especially among the minority groups and the blacks. However, six days after the end of this war, john Wilkes assassinated Lincoln as Lincoln was attending a performance at the Appomattox court house on ‘our American cousin’ at the ford theater. Booth died the next day from the gun shot injuries marking an end to his decade long struggle for democracy, the abolition of slave trade and freedom for all citizens of the United States of America. Works cited Denson, John. A century of war: Lincoln, Wilson and Roosevelt. Auburn, Alabama: Ludwig Von Misses Institute, 2006. Print. DiLorenzo, Thomas. The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda and an Unnecessary War. Roseville, Calif: Prima Publishing Company, a Division of Random House, 2002. Print. Ferguson, Andrew. Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe’s America. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press; distributed by Publishers Group West, 2007. Print. Goodwin, Doris. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005. Print. Holzer, Harold. Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2008. Print. Read More