Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party.

Related Topics:
February 12 - 1809 - April 15 - 1865 - President of the United States - Republican Party

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Lincoln staunchly opposed the expansion of slavery into federal territories, and his victory in the 1860 presidential election further polarized the nation. Before his inauguration in March of 1861, seven Southern slave states seceded1 from the United States, formed the Confederate States of America, and took control of U.S. forts and other properties within their boundaries. These events soon led to the American Civil War.

Related Topics:
Slavery - 1860 presidential election - Inauguration - Slave state - Seceded - ¹ - United States - Confederate States of America - American Civil War

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Lincoln is often praised for his work as a wartime leader who proved adept at balancing competing considerations and at getting rival groups to work together toward a common goal. Lincoln had to negotiate between Radical and Moderate Republican leaders, who were often far apart on the issues, while attempting to win support from War Democrats and loyalists in the seceding states. He personally directed the war effort, which ultimately led the Union forces to victory over the Confederacy.

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His leadership qualities were evident in his diplomatic handling of the border slave states at the beginning of the fighting, in his defeat of a congressional attempt to reorganize his cabinet in 1862, in his many speeches and writings which helped mobilize and inspire the North, and in his defusing of the peace issue in the 1864 presidential campaign. He is sometimes criticized for issuing executive orders suspending habeas corpus, imprisoning opposing government officials, and ordering the arrest of a number of publishers.

Related Topics:
1864 presidential campaign - Habeas corpus

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Some historians also argue that Lincoln had a lasting influence on U.S. political and social institutions. The most important may have been setting the precedent for greater centralization of powers in the federal government and a weakening of the powers of the individual state governments.

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This claim, however, is disputed as the federal government largely reverted to its former weakness after Reconstruction and the modern administrative state would only emerge with the New Deal some seventy years later.

Related Topics:
Reconstruction - New Deal

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Lincoln is most famous for his role in ending slavery in the United States with the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation as a pragmatic war measure which would set the stage for the complete abolition of the institution.

Related Topics:
Slavery - Emancipation Proclamation

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Lincoln was also the president who declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday, established the U.S. Department of Agriculture (though not as a Cabinet-level department), revived national banking and banks, and admitted West Virginia and Nevada as states. He also encouraged efforts to expand white settlement in western North America, signing the Homestead Act (1862).

Related Topics:
Thanksgiving - National holiday - U.S. Department of Agriculture - Cabinet - West Virginia - Nevada - Homestead Act

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Lincoln is usually ranked as one of the greatest presidents. He is criticized by some for overstepping the traditional bounds of executive power. Others fault him for his refusal to make efforts at compromise with the seceding states.

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Because of his role in ending slavery, and his guiding the Union to victory in the civil war, his assassination made him a martyr to millions of Americans.

Related Topics:
Assassination - Martyr

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