Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States of America. He was in office from March 4 eighteen-sixty one to April 15 eighteen-sixty five. Lincoln was preceded in the Whitehouse by President James Buchanan and was succeeded by President Andrew Johnson. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12 eighteen-hundred and nine and died on April 15 eighteen-Sixty five after he was assassinated.
A lawyer by profession, Lincoln led the United States in one of the most difficult times. He was the President when the United States went into Civil War. This was the most difficult time constitutionally as he insisted on preserving the Union. The moral and military crises had reached its apex. Abraham Lincoln was a moderate who vehemently opposed to the expansion of slavery. He was elected into Whitehouse in eighteen sixty on a Republican Party ticket.
Abraham Lincoln’s Influence
Abraham Lincoln was the most influential figure in the American history and the greatest hero due to his charisma and implausible impact following his only one of its kind appeal. The best of the training for him was embedded in his humble history and the steady political rise where he tasted both defeat and success.
His life served as a lesson to most citizens. His moral life was worth to be emulated having been brought up in a religious family whose fundamentals opposed immorality and slavery. He understood the problems of landlessness, as sometimes in his young life their family was quartered in Indiana.
It was very easy for Lincoln to appeal to the citizenry once his life history became an open book because Americans understood Lincoln as a firm and principled man. Throughout his life, he never changed his vision that centered on the unity of the United States and service delivery to humanity.
The other reason why Abraham Lincoln was influential was that he saved the Union flag and emancipated slaves. Lincoln’s human personality that was outstanding saw him take a leading role in the fight against slavery. This was the backbone of his legacy. Led by South Carolina, most states in the south felt that they would secede when Lincoln ascended into the highest office in the land because he opposed slavery.
However, Lincoln believed in the unity of the United States and that saving the union was an embodiment in the principles of democracy. As much as Lincoln despised war, he clearly warned the south states that attempts to secede would be met by war as the only option of saving the union.
Finally, Lincoln freed the slaves in the famous Emancipation Proclamation of January 1 in eighteen-sixty three. This was used to send a strong message that the Civil War was between the anti slavery crusaders on one side against those who wanted to perpetuate slavery. The line of separation was drawn by the speech.
His famous quote
“In your hands, fellow countrymen who are not satisfied, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you, you have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, but I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it.”
This famous quote was adopted from Abraham Lincoln’s Web Site. The speech was delivered during the early stages of the civil war when the south states led by South Carolina showed the signs of seceding.