Abraham Lincoln was one of most celebrated presidents and proved to be a great Civil War leader. Throughout his life he proved to be a successful individual and his early life helped him go what he is known as today. Lincoln ‘s early political calling helped him accomplish illustriousness and earned his presidential term. Although Lincoln was a good president, he had no experience in anything militarily and he still guided us through the Civil War by conveying us to victory with many animating addresss.
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809. He was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky in a log cabin. Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln ‘s parents were Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. Lincoln had one sister, Sarah, and one brother, Thomas, who died in babyhood. In December 1816 Thomas was forced to travel his household to a new farm in southwesterly Indiana. They foremost lived in a stopgap cantonment and so Thomas Lincoln built a lasting cabin. In the Autumn of 1818 Abraham Lincoln faced the worst portion of his childhood. His female parent had died. Soon Thomas Lincoln brought a new married woman place, Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln. She had two misss and a male child. She treated Abraham like he was her ain. He frequently referred to her as his “ angel female parent. ”
Now at the age of 21 Lincoln moved to the province of Illinois one time once more. At the age of 21 Lincoln began to populate his ain life. He was really muscular and could exert an axe good. Lincoln did non desire to be to be a husbandman after he moved to Illinois. Even though he did non desire to be a husbandman he still helped his male parent on his new farm as a rail-splitter. Lincoln subsequently moved, once more, to New Orleans, Louisiana. He so returned to Illinois and moved to New Salem. When Lincoln moved to New Salem he fell in love with multiple misss like Ann Rutledge and Mary Owens. He loved Ann Rutledge but she died in 1835. When he proposed to Mary Owens she denied. Then he found one adult female who he in a heartfelt way loved. Her name was Mary Todd. She was merely like Lincoln, knowing and had high liquors. They shortly became engaged but the battle was shortly broken in 1841 which would direct Lincoln into a province of depression. They shortly got back together and got married on November 4, 1842. Together they had four male childs. They had two boies who died at early ages. Their names were Edward Baker who died at the age of four and William Wallace who died at the age of 11. The other two male childs were Robert Todd and Thomas, who had mental conditions and still managed to outlast his ain male parent. Even though the Lincolns had a good relationship they still had their statements. Mary suffered from awful concerns and solitariness. When her boy William died, when Lincoln was elected president, she went on major money disbursement flings and cost Lincoln a batch of money.
It was when Andrew Jackson was president when Abraham Lincoln foremost got into political relations. Although Lincoln agreed with most of Jackson ‘s positions he did non like the thought that authorities should be separated from the economic system. Lincoln thought that the authoritiess duty was to take attention of the economic system. Lincoln idea of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster as his most aspirant politicians. He was most admired by them because Clay and Webster used their powers to profit resources for the economic system. Lincoln was elected to the Illinois State Legislature four clip from 1834 to 1840 as a Whig Member. Lincoln largely put his clip to raising financess to construct main roads and railwaies for the province of Illinois. Even though Lincoln viewed bondage as bad he was non an emancipationist and thought that Whites still had more rights than inkinesss. Lincoln denied James Polk statement that Mexico started the Mexican-American War by the Mexicans first killing Americans on American dirt. Lincoln and others shortly criticized Polk. Soon Lincoln seemed to be floating off from political relations at the age of 40.
Five old ages subsequently Lincoln got back into political relations. He shortly began to turn a political competition against Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln grew this competition against Douglas because Douglas opened a measure that would let the citizens of Kansas and Nebraska to vote whether they have slavery or non. This shortly became known as the Kansas Nebraska Act which would turn Kansas into Bloody Kansas. In 1858 Lincoln ran against Douglas for the place in the Senate for the province of Illinois. They had many arguments. Many of their arguments were about holding bondage in the United States districts. Lincoln thought that bondage should non be present in the districts but Douglas viewed otherwise. They both had heated arguments with Congress seeking to turn out their points. One of Lincolns most celebrated quotation marks to Congress is, “ A house divided against itself can non stand. I believe the authorities can non digest for good half slave and half free. “ ( Lincoln, A House Divided ) Lincoln, nevertheless, supported Thomas Jefferson ‘s positions that bondage should be contained but non entirely abolished. Lincoln lost to Douglas at the terminal or the place in Senate which he was non surprised. This made him really depressed. Lincoln shortly ran for president after being nominated on May 18, 1860. As a republican now he won with 40 % of the electoral college ballots.
When Lincoln was elected as president was when the true Civil War started. The ground being is because South Carolina seceded from the Union which would do other break one’s back provinces to every bit good. These provinces would organize as the Confederate States of America. This all happened before Lincoln was officially president.
When Lincoln was inaugurated as president the war had officially began. With the South endangering to assail Fort Sumter they eventually did so on April 12, 1861. Lincoln feared this of go oning. He wanted to forestall war and continue the Union. The onslaught on Fort Sumter stopped that. After the onslaught on Fort Sumter, Lincoln called for 70 five 1000 military personnels for the Union Army to support Washington. General Winfield Scott said that Lincoln should non assail the Confederate military personnels in West Virginia but take control of the Mississippi River. Lincoln overruled Scott ‘s thought because Lincoln thought that the war must be fought actively in order to win. This is where Lincoln would hold to get down doing military determinations, which he was non good at, which he would do bad determinations but still learn from them.
When the war officially started Abraham Lincoln had to take a good general. He went through many generals like George B. McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, and Joseph Hooker. He was non satisfied with those three. He, nevertheless was satisfied with General George Meade who won the most bloody conflict in the Civil War, Gettysburg. After Gettysburg Lincoln made a concluding pick for a general that would stop up winning the war for the Union, Ulysses S. Grant. Lincoln had learned from his past errors and now made good determinations for generals to assist him win the war. In 1864 Lincoln had promoted Ulysses S. Grant as lieutenant general of the Union Army. Grant was an of import member of many of Lincoln ‘s generals. Lincoln besides had many other people assisting him win the war such as Secretary of War, Edward M. Stanton who supplied the Union ground forces, the head of staff, Henry Wager Halleck whose served as a presidential adviser, and the leader of all the ground forcess was General George Gordon Meade along with the aid of Ulysses S. Grant as the general in head of the Army of the Potomac. Even though Lincoln had no military experience prior to the Civil War he still proved to be a successful leader and determination shaper that would assist the Union win the war.
At the beginning of the war Lincoln would non accept an abolitionist act to stop bondage, the chief ground to contending the Civil War. He had grounds for this ; for illustration prior before the Civil War even started he tried to forestall it by stating he would non get rid of bondage in the South in hopes of continuing the Union. He besides thought that it would be difficult to acquire about four million freed slaves to incorporate the slaves into Americas societal life. When many people tried to declare freedom for many slaves in the South, Lincoln dismissed the declarations. In 1861 and 1862 Congress passed arrogation Acts of the Apostless that implied that Lincoln was allowed to prehend belongings from any slave proprietor. Lincoln did non implement these Torahs and finally a adult male stepped in by the name of Horace Greeley stating Lincoln to implement the walls and Lincoln said, “ My paramount object in this battle is to salvage the Union, and is non either to salvage or to destruct bondage. If I could salvage the Union without liberating any slave I would make it ; and if I could salvage it by liberating all the slaves I would make it ; and if I could salvage it by liberating some and go forthing others entirely, I would besides make that. ” ( Lincoln ) Lincoln fundamentally meant that he merely wanted to salvage the Union and that he would make anything to salvage it.
With the rebellion of many people stating Lincoln to liberate slaves Lincoln came up with a announcement. This Announcement was known as The Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation stated that all slaves in the Confederate provinces were declared free. This merely applied to slaves in the Confederate provinces but non in the Union. Lincoln did this because he saw this as a manner to continue the Union. It showed the people of the Union that Lincoln was truly contending this war for a ground which was to stop bondage. Lincoln nevertheless still believed that Whites had more rights than inkinesss. These essays were some of the most celebrated essays said by Lincoln and brought hope to the Union to assist win the war. In the eyes of many people today Lincoln is now known as The Great Emancipator.
Lincoln besides made another great address during the Civil War known as The Gettysburg Address. In The Gettysburg Address Lincoln aimed it at lighten uping the Americans liquors of the war. Lincoln intended on this essay to maintain the Union together and to do certain that no 1 gave up because they had already gone to far to give up. Lincoln besides mentioned in this essay that he wanted to maintain democracy together and non allow it neglect. He mentioned this when he said, “ It is instead for us to be here dedicated to the great undertaking staying before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotedness to that cause for which they gave the last full step of devotedness — that we here extremely resolve that these dead shall non hold died in vain — that this state, under God, shall hold a new birth of freedom — and that authorities of the people, by the people, for the people, shall non die from the Earth. ” Even though The Gettysburg Address was two proceedingss long it still reached out to Lincolns fellow Americans to still hold hope in the war.
In order to win the Civil War Lincoln had to hold support. To make this Lincoln had to appeal to as many groups and persons as he could with the aid of his disposal. Lucky for Lincoln he had the lucky act to appeal to people and speak them into things. Lincoln made usage of this act to his advantage and gained every bit much support as he could.
During the war some of the politicians from Lincoln ‘s challenger party, the Democrats, helped the Confederacy. To cover with this act of lese majesty Lincoln frequently had his generals arrest some of these politicians like Governor Horatio Seymour of New York. He besides allowed his generals temporarily omit some newspapers.
As the elections for president were pulling nearer, Lincoln was the primary nomination for the Republicans. However, another Republican by the name of John C. Fremont was chosen earlier than Lincoln as a nomination by a different group. After a piece Fremont shortly gave up on the election of 1864. In the election of 1864 Lincoln once more planned his ain run. Lincoln gathered as much support as he could and to his success he won the election of 1864 with 55 % of the ballots against his the former general of the Union, George B. McClellan.
Soon Republicans and Democrats urged Lincoln to negociate peace offers with the Confederate ‘s. Peoples urged Lincoln to go on the war to assist liberate the slaves. Lincoln replied, “ To me it seems field that stating reunion and forsaking of bondage would be considered, if offered, is non stating that nil else or less would be considered, if offered. ” ( Lincoln ) However, the Confederate ‘s denied Lincoln ‘s peace offers and the war would go on until either side won.
In the spring of 1865 the Confederate ‘s surrendered and the Union had eventually won the war. Lincoln nevertheless for some clip did non populate up to his word by retracing the Union. He showed no marks of Reconstruction. However, in April 1865 Lincoln stood up to his word and the Reconstruction advancement began. The Reconstruction of the Union would be short lived because on April 14, 1865, while go toing a drama at Ford ‘s Theatre, John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln by hiting him in the dorsum of the caput. Booth used a Baby Phillip Derringer to hit Lincoln.
In decision Lincoln was a singular Civil War leader and showed great marks of leading throughout the war to assist the Union win the war.