Abraham Lincoln - Research Paper Example

Abraham Lincoln was 16th President of US and is considered as one of the greatest Presidents in the history of country because he led the nation through military, constitutional as well as moral crisis. The article “The True Lincoln” which appeared in Time on June 26, 2005 suggested that Lincoln is probably the only President who has provoked so many questions because of the complexity of his character as a whole. This article generally outlines the overall charisma and character of Lincoln which has dominated American politics and society since his death.

The article has also discussed about his role in binding both the North and the South and peace which has been brought due to his efforts. However, despite his mild and good-hearted character, his followers seem to be provoked on his death and efforts were made subsequently to change his character and his nature. For example, many attempted to make a pious and religious man despite the fact that he was not interested in being following religion the way people were following it. (Time)Article by Jon Swaine which appeared in Telegraph on Feb 11, 2011 suggested that till his last days, Lincoln wanted free black slaves to be shipped to British colonies.

This article suggests that though Lincoln was an anti-slavery politician who took practical efforts to denounce slavery in the country and freed four million slaves in America however, was interested in idea of sending slaves to British colonies. The overall purpose of this idea was to disallow blacks to live among American whites. This therefore creates an impression that Lincoln was supporter of colonialism and relatively held racist views about blacks. This article attempts to challenge one of the key assumptions about Lincoln and his overall images which emerged over the period of time. (Swaine)The article “Lincoln Reconsidered” discusses about his time as a politician before and during civil war.

This essay argues about the basic political philosophies of Lincoln and argues against the popular notion that Lincoln was an archetypal republican and a person who attempted to reconstruct the ideological differences between different groups within the country. Author therefore gives an entirely different version about the way he considers Lincoln as the republican or not. Author argues that it was not only Lincoln who was advocating against slavery and other ills of American society at that time but Newspapers as well as other Republicans were also voicing same concerns. (Holt)The above articles suggest that Lincoln’s character and his overall personal and political life was relatively complex in nature.

Many other authors have also argued about the religious beliefs of Lincoln and attempted to associate certain false representations with him. What is critical to note however, that his role against abolishing slavery has been phenomenal? He was perhaps the only person in history of US who fought legal and constitutional battles to ensure that slavery is abolished from the country. All the authors however, suggested that new research may shed further light on the overall personality of Lincoln and his contribution.

Works CitedHolt, Michael F. Lincoln Reconsidered. Septemeber 2009. 03 May 2012 .Swaine, Jon. Abraham Lincoln wanted to deport slaves to new colonies. 11 Feb 2011. 3 May 2012 .Time. The True Lincoln. 26 June 2005. 3 May 2012 .