Abraham Lincoln - Essay Example

ABRAHAM LINCOLN Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of United s and he served from March 1861 to April 1865 when he got assassinated. He led America through her Greatest, military, moral and constitutional crisis. He played a significant role in ending the American civil war, modernizing the economy, abolishing slavery and he also strengthened the national government. He grew up in a poor family in the Western Frontier. He was born on twelfth February 1809 in Kentucky, Hardin County and later moved to Indiana in 1816. He only attended three brief school periods as he was busy working looking for money to support his family. In 1830 he moved with his family to Southern Illinois in Macon County and he got a job where he worked on a river flat boat hauling at the Mississippi River. He then settled in the town of New Salem where he worked as a post master and a shop keeper. At age twenty three in 1832 he got to purchase a small general store on credit together with a partner in New Salem, Illinois (Freedman 13). The economy was doing well in the region and their business was picking up but he eventually sold his shares. He became interested in local politics and he was a strong supporter of Whig party. He was self-educated and he became a country lawyer after passing his bar examination in 1836. He got into politics and he won the Illinois state legislature position in 1834 and that was his major turning point in his career and political life. He had attained popularity and he could attract crowds in New Salem. He lost the first time in his campaign for Illinois General Assembly because he lacked powerful friends, education and money (Freedman 18). He strongly opposed the spread of slavery and discrimination based on race and he advocated for renovations and improvements at the Sangomon River. He had a vision of expanding America and making it a home for every person regardless of the skin color. Abraham focused on cities and commerce more than Agriculture. After passing his bar examination, he moved to spring field where he worked as a lawyer and it was there where he met his wife, Mary Todd. She was from a wealthy family which had held hostage many slaves in Kentucky. He married her on 4th November 1842 in Springfield. They bought a house near his office and his wife kept it with the help of a servant or a relative. Their first son Robert Todd got born in 1843 and their second born son, Edward Baker followed in 1846. They were fond of their children and they were considered not to be strict with them. Unfortunately Edward died in 1850 as a result of Tuberculosis. In the same year they got their fourth born son Willie who died in February 1962. Their fourth child Thomas was born in April 1853 and he also died from heart failure at the age of eighteen in 1871 (Freedman 50). Robert was their only child who lived till adulthood and gave them grandchildren. The death of their children really affected them and as a result Mary got to develop stress and was sent to a mental health asylum while Lincoln suffered from clinical depression. He first won elections to America House of Representatives and he served his term from 1847. When he was a congressman he was unpopular with the voters of Illinois because of his strong stand against the war between Mexico and The United states. He vowed not to do politics again and promised that he would not seek re-election and he returned to spring field in 1849. When the leading democrat in the congress pushed for the approval of the Nebraska act which stated that voters in every domain or territory are the ones who had the powers and right to decide if they should have slaves or not and not the Federal government (Freedman 26). He was so happy with this idea and as result in October 1854 he went before crowds in Peoria and used the opportunities to denounce slavery as he considered it as a violation of basic rights of the citizens with regard to the Declaration of Independence. He joined Republican Party which was formed as a result of its strong fight against slavery and in 1858 he ran for the senate seat through the party though he had failed to win the same position in 1855. It was in the same year that he gave his famous speech where he quoted the bible in a series of Debates against Douglas. He did not win the election but the debates made him popular in the nation. He gained more reputation after he gave his speech at the Coopers Union in New York. As A Result May the same Year he was chosen by the republicans as their favorite candidate for the president of United States. In the general elections he faced Douglas and fortunately he won the North and he became the sixteenth president the United States of America. He was inaugurated in 1861 march (Freedman 34). People from the southern part formed Confederate States of America who attacked South Carolina in April leading to the beginning of the civil war. This was another turning point in his life. Jefferson Davis the leader of confederate was a Mexican war hero, west point graduate and a former secretary of war. Lincoln on the other side had only served in the hawk war briefly but he surprised people as he proved to be a wartime leader. He learned really fast about the tactics and the strategy in the civil war’s early years. After the battle of Antietam, Lincoln ordered Emancipation proclamation with an aim of freeing all slaves. The proclamation took effect in1863 January 1st though the slaves in the bordering states were still in bondage. This made him an important person in the American history as much as the fight against slavery is concerned. He encouraged for a free and fair hard working nation where every citizen had equal rights. He urged the citizens to avoid discrimination based on color as there was no race superior to the other. He advocated that the rich should pay for the services they got from their servants. He opposed and discouraged the expansion of slavery through his famous speeches. He proposed laws and acts which made slavery illegal in a society which believed in slavery. He fought for the rights of the minority and as a result had support from the African Americans and other minority groups in the states (Freedman 63). He was development oriented as he lowered taxes charged on commodities by the government and he made efforts to provide social amenities to every part of the country regardless of the occupants. During the Civil war he was not on a revenge mission but he wanted to proclaim peace and equality for all citizens regardless of their race and gender. Peace was his main objective and he did not enslave any confederate captives during the war time period. He offered free land for settlers and new banking laws which offered favorable interest rates to the settlers to enable them advance financially and in turn improve their living standards. He fought with an intention of safeguarding human rights for all and this includes also the minorities. In his efforts to develop the country, he promoted rapid modernization and enhancement of the economy by building railroads banks and canals. He renovated the roads and built major highways which connected the states. He offered tariffs that enhanced the building of factories and he ensured the prevailing of peace which in turn provided a peaceful environment conducive for development. He turned down the war against Mexico in 1846 to allow for development and growth of the country (Freedman 43). He supplied food and medical services to the slaves and helped them get on their feet financially. After giving them land he offered them loans and grants to ensure they were financially stable. He ensured his government provided basic needs to the citizens as he provided clean piped water to every part of the country and supplied food to the poor who were mainly slaves. He wanted peace by all means and as a result he even used his army to protect escapade slaves. From early 1830 he was a loyal member of Whig and the party advocated for modernization in banking, Tariffs to fund internal development and espoused urbanization. In the year 1846 he was elected to the House of Representatives where he got to serve a two year term (Freedman 41). He showed loyalty to the party by making speeches that supported the party’s policies and ideas. In 1848 he supported Zachary tailor for presidency in the Whig nominations. He had hoped to be appointed the commissioner to General Land Office but Taylor ignored him and gave the position to his Rival Butterfield who Lincoln considered as an old fossil. He was consoled by being offered the position of governor in Oregon territory. The territory was a strong holds for the democrats and accepting the offer would have ended his political and legal career in Illinois. This reasons made him to turn down the offer and he resumed with his law practice. He went back to practicing law in spring field where he handled all types of cases that came before him. He handled many transportation cases arising from the westward expansion. In the year 1849 he received a flotation device patent for the movements of boats on water. Though the ideas never got commercialized, it made him the only president In America to have a patent. His most revered criminal trial took place in 1858 when he stood by William Armstrong got accused of murdering James Preston (Freedman 72). He used facts established by the judicial notice to challenge the eye whiteness. The witness claimed to see the crime because of the moonlight but Lincoln argued and proved that the moon was at low angle and the visibility could not have been clear and this led to Armstrong being set free. He is also remembered for not raising objections in the court room. He strongly discouraged slavery in the new U.S west territories. He got back to politics to oppose and advocate against the pro-slavery Nebraska Act. He encouraged the neighboring states to end and outlaw slavery and most importantly he pushed the 13th amendment to the American constitution which outlawed slavery permanently. During the war he supervised the major operations (Freedman 65). He advocated for no shading of innocent blood and he protected the women and children. He convened leaders from major positions and placed pressure on them to cooperate. His strategy way was to shut down the normal trade at the south by setting a naval blockade. He took control of Tennessee and Kentucky and he also gained control over the southern river system by using gunboats. He understood the importance of taking total control of the war and he struggled to come up with strategies to end the war. He prevented the war from becoming and international conflict by contending and reinforcing strong union sympathies in the neighboring slave states. The efforts he put in the war took much of his political time as he had dominated all his attention and time to the war. In 1861, he approved the confiscation act, which mandated the judiciary to free slaves who got used to support confederate war effort (Freedman 24). This played a significant role in signaling political determination in abolishing slavery in the confederates. He consulted other successful leaders for advice to win the war. He acquired knowledge by consulting and reading and hence he had advantage over his rivals. He selected governors based on their passed success and he studied Henry Halleck book to acquire some knowledge about war. For example he consulted and learned about the critical need and importance of controlling strategic points during a war from his chief of staff General. He finally won the war and he was happy when peace prevailed. Lincoln was a master politician and he brought together the varying factions of the Republican Party. He brought together war democrats and he spent time talking to different politicians across the land to hold the various party factions together and safeguard its objectives intentions and policies. He is in history for unifying the states in America hence the Name United States of America. His successful reunification of the country and end of slavery made United States a home of many people from all over the world. He presented the Americans theory regarding history of freedom and equity for all. He outlined the moral basis of republicanism. He was perceived as an abolitionist and a champion for human liberty (Freedman 12). He was a self-made politician who ensured there was freedom and unity for all. His image symbolized freedom and he was a sign of hope to the people oppressed by the communists’ regimes. He is also remembered for his effective ways of raising money for the Government through tariffs and federal income tax. He also presided over the establishment of a national currency that has played a big role in improving American currency. Lincoln had many turning points in his legal and political career and that is what made him successful. Works Cited Freedman, Russell. Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Read More