<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Portrait of Abraham Lincoln<\/p><\/div>\n He has many names\u2026 The Emancipator<\/i>, the Liberator<\/i>, or Honest Abe<\/i>. President Abraham Lincoln is highly revered for his great leadership during the United States bloodiest war. He achieved in 5 years, what very few Presidents can achieve in 8 years. He emancipated the Southern slaves, established the 13th<\/sup> Amendment, and won the Civil War, all while preserving the Union. His unquestionable leadership through one of our nation\u2019s darkest hours has made it so that it is known, \u201cthe United States is,\u201d not, \u201cthe United States are.\u201d Abraham Lincoln united the states of America.<\/p>\n Abraham Lincoln\u2019s vision of what the United States could\u00a0be is truly remarkable. President Lincoln did not have a guidebook or any mentor to help him through our nation\u2019s most difficult time. His first\u00a0major accomplishment during his time as President was the famous piece of legislation, the Emancipation Proclamation<\/a>. The Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves in enemy territory would be freed on January 1, 1863 if the South did not surrender by then. Of course, the slaves were not freed while in enemy territory right away, but many slaves, once they’ve fled to the North, were\u00a0essentially freed immediately. \u00a0 The slaves behind Union lines were freed.\u00a0 As the war progressed and the North continued to push into Southern states, more and more slaves were freed.<\/p>\n Lincoln visits with Allan Pinkerton (left) and General McClernand (right) at Antietam.<\/p><\/div>\n Most people think that Lincoln should\u2019ve just declared the Proclamation at the war\u2019s start, but it\u2019s not that simple. Lincoln knew that timing was imperative to it’s potential success. There were\u00a0four Border States that were torn between the Union and the Confederacy: Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri. If these states seceded, the Union army would\u2019ve been outmatched and outmaneuvered and would have lost the war. Lincoln had to wait for a big Union victory before he could announce Emancipation. Unfortunately, this big victory didn\u2019t come until a little over a year into the war. The Union\u2019s victory at Antietam boosted morale not only in the Union army, but between the Northern and Border States as well. This victory gave Lincoln the political edge he needed\u00a0to put forth the Emancipation Proclamation without the Border States seceeding.\u00a0The Emancipation Proclamation turned the war from being about \u201cstate\u2019s rights\u201d to what it was actually about, slavery.<\/p>\n Now that it was clear that the war was about\u00a0slavery, everything changed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For one, \u00a0blacks could\u00a0now fight for the Union\u00a0which increased the North’s manpower advantage over the South.\u00a0 Secondly, the European powers, who were allied with the Confederacy, didn’t interfere after January 1, 1863. The European powers had already abolished slavery by this point and did not want to support\u00a0a “country” fighting mainly for slavery. Both the blacks being able to fight and\u00a0the European withdrawl\u00a0were\u00a0highly significant\u00a0setbacks for the South.. setbacks that would prove nearly impossible to overcome.\u00a0 Due to the diminished outlook for the South, Lincoln’s timing was perfect for putting the Proclamation forward.\u00a0 Not too soon, nor too late!<\/p>\n While most slaves were freed, the Emancipation Proclamation only covered through the end of the war and, hence, their fates would be uncertain\u00a0after the war.\u00a0 Lincoln knew he had to abolish slavery permanently and, hence, \u00a0needed to find a way to\u00a0amend the United States Contstituion which would ultimately become — the 13th Amendment<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 However, trying to get that amendment passed through both the\u00a0House and Senate\u00a0was no walk in the park for Lincoln as it took more than a year to pass both Houses.<\/p>\n At the beginning of the war, it is disputed whether Lincoln originally wanted to free the slaves at all.\u00a0 No matter the timing of Lincoln’s epiphany about the evil’s of slavery, we do know that, by the end of the war, Lincoln was definitely against slavery.\u00a0 If he appeared neutral\u00a0on\u00a0the issue, it was likely\u00a0because it was too dangerous politically, but after he was re-elected, Lincoln made the abolishment of slavery his top priority.<\/p>\n The Amendment passed through the Senate rather easily in April 1864, but the real struggle was to get it passed in the House.\u00a0 Lincoln had most of the Republicans on his side, but the challenge was to convince around 20 moderate Democrats to vote \u201cYay\u201d or to abstain. Lincoln resorted to bribery, by offering positions to the lame duck Democrats who would vote \u201cYay,\u201d and even talked personally to some Democrat representatives to get them on board with the Amendment\u2019s passing.\u00a0 Lincoln, not only, had to pass the Amendment, but he had to do it before the wars end. Lincoln knew as well as Congress, if the South was to surrender before the Amendment was voted on, then the Amendment most assuredly, would\u2019ve been voted down.\u00a0 At the time, the prevailing wisdom was that Lincoln could not, both, preserve the Union and end slavery.\u00a0\u00a0 The first and main\u00a0objective was to preserve the Union by winning the war, but it was very treachorous political water to also free the slaves.\u00a0 Lincoln, indeed, had to do some things that were \u201cquestionable,\u201d but it was for the greater good of the nation.<\/p>\n Lincoln\u2019s last, and I believe to be greatest, accomplishment is that he was able to preserve the Union. No national leader wants to be the one who is responsible for their country\u2019s undoing.\u00a0 Lincoln, along with dealing with the issue of slavery, the death of his son, and even the possible defeat from the Confederacy, was able to keep a composed head through this, not just for him, but also for the country.\u00a0 Lincoln needed to show everyone that their leader was strong and would get them through the nation\u2019s crisis.\u00a0 As a result, this boosted morale\u00a0of\u00a0the soldiers, as well as Northern supporters. He also was very involved with the war.\u00a0 Whereas most Presidents leave the matter to their highest Generals, Lincoln went through several Generals<\/a> due to their lack of success.\u00a0 Some Generals didn’t even listen to him in the early years of the war due to lack of respect for Lincoln.\u00a0 Lincoln finally settled on General Ulysses S. Grant as his highest General for the Union Army. As we all know, General Grant was a very great General during the war. Lincoln had to make the choices that would be difficult for others. He had to make choices for the future prosperity of the nation, even if that meant firing his underlings.<\/p>\n Lincoln is a very inspirational leader to myself and to these United States. \u00a0He understood the importance of time and that events have to happen at a specific period, otherwise you might not get the most effective result.\u00a0 Also, he knew that when times were rough,\u00a0he neede to \u00a0keep a calm mind. There are always stresses and difficulties in life, but especially if you are leading during a time of crisis,\u00a0and maintaining\u00a0calm and confidence to keep moving forward.<\/p>\n Lincoln could\u2019ve just taken the easy way out and not fight for the freedom of slaves, or just let the war drag on without good leadership until the eventual South victory, but that just wasn\u2019t who he was. As it\u2019s often said, \u201cLincoln grew 15 years in his 5 years in office.\u201d I know I will always look towards Lincoln\u2019s example when I lead in the future!<\/p>\n![\"Lincoln](\"http:\/\/faculty.wagner.edu\/lori-weintrob\/files\/2013\/11\/LMF.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Portrait](\"http:\/\/faculty.wagner.edu\/lori-weintrob\/files\/2013\/11\/Abraham_Lincoln_head_on_shoulders_needlepoint-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Intro<\/span><\/h1>\n
The Emancipator<\/span><\/h1>\n
![\"Courtesy](\"http:\/\/faculty.wagner.edu\/lori-weintrob\/files\/2013\/11\/antietam1-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>A Change in the Constitution<\/span><\/h1>\n
“The United States of America is…”<\/span><\/h1>\n
Reflection<\/span><\/h1>\n