Abraham Lincoln Legacy

Thomas J. DiLorenzo exposes the preconceived “Hero” myth of Lincoln in his novel “The Real Lincoln”, while also conjuring an internal debate within the reader. In doing this he creates intrigue, which encourages a more thought provoking study into Lincoln’s legacy. The novel covers a wide variety of content, starting with Lincoln’s run at the local and state government levels, while also expanding on his late political career – a time during which the Union’s struggle to secure State’s rights led to the conflict we know as the Civil War. DiLorenzo delves deeper into the Lincoln political machine, and delves deeper into the economic and social policies during his tenure in office, ultimately demonstrating how the Lincoln administration changed policy for the years to come.

In Abraham Lincoln, by George McGovern, McGovern summarizes and gives insight on one of the United States’ most well-known and highly praised presidents, Abraham Lincoln. McGovern thoroughly outlines Lincoln’s life, his struggles and how he became the great president that he was. One point McGovern continues to mention is how no matter how bad a situation was or even when people doubted Lincoln, he would take his defeats and preserve. In the beginning of the book, McGovern recounts Lincoln’s life as a kid and a young adult. He describes how no matter how bad Lincoln failed or how sad he was, “Lincoln would not resign himself to failure and loss; instead he learned from each experience and carried on” . In addition, McGovern continues to mention how Lincoln never stopped learning. From a young age, Lincoln loved to learn, read and expand his knowledge so he could fully analyze any situation. According to McGovern, this personality trait allowed Lincoln to work and rise up from a farmer’s son to the President of the United States. This trait, also, allowed Lincoln “to take a far more active role in managing military affairs” . Lincoln was able to come up with a new strategy for the Union to win the Civil War.

April 15, 1865 was a highly anticipated evening at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. President Abraham Lincoln, along with Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward were scheduled to attend a showing of Our American Cousin. This enjoyable gathering soon turned to tragedy for the American leaders. In the middle of the performance, shots were fired and blood was shed while the unassuming audience sat oblivious to the events unfolding. John Wilkes Booth executed his scheme to assassinate President Lincoln, one of the most important and influential men in American history, who inspired the masses with his unexpected rise to power.

Although James McPherson presents Lincoln as having numerous qualities that defined him as a brilliant leader, he wastes no time in revealing what he believes to be Lincoln’s greatest strength. In his Introduction, McPherson states regarding Lincoln’s political leadership: “In a civil war whose origins lay in a political conflict over the future of slavery and a political decision by certain states to secede, policy could never be separated from national strategy…. And neither policy nor national strategy could be separated from military strategy” (McPherson, p.6). Lincoln could not approach the war from a purely martial standpoint—instead, he needed to focus on the issues that caused it. For the catalyst of the war was also the tool for its solution; a war started by differing ideologies could only be resolved through the military application of ideology. This non-objective approach to the waging of the war almost resembles the inspired approach McPherson brings to his examination of Lincoln himself.

It is hard not to agree with David Herbert Donald in his biography of Abraham Lincoln. He does his best to not give his professional opinion of anything and only writes about the topics from which he has proof of. The main ideas that the author has throughout the text is greatly supported with Lincoln’s own papers and from written first-hand accounts of his generation. Donald accounts for the changes of position on slavery and the equality of blacks throughout his presidency. I think that this book is a great depiction of Abrahams Lincoln’s life.

One of the ironies of the Civil War era and the end of slavery in the United States has always been that the man who played the role of the Great Emancipator was so hugely mistrusted and so energetically vilified by the party of abolition. Abraham Lincoln, whatever his larger reputation as the liberator of two

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president, and served during an incredibly fragile and monumental age in America’s growth. As president during the civil war, and creator of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, he was controversially viewed as either an innovator or a wrongdoer. In any light, his presidency and murder created shockwaves throughout America during their time of post-war healing and grief, and sparked change that led the U.S to be the country it is today. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was unjust because he was an influential leader and active abolitionist who made great changes for equality in America, but he completely disregarded the needs of the confederate movement during their time in the Civil War.

Even though Abraham Lincoln was considered to be one of America’s greatest presidents, Hofstadter challenges that idea. Hofstadter also states that Lincoln was an advocate for the common man and believed in simplicity. – “It was precisely in his attainments as a common man that Lincoln felt himself to be remarkable, and in this light that he interpreted to the world the significance of his career.” Lincoln struggled with many conflicts as president. The most significant conflict that Hofstadter presents is the conflict of his balancing his religious beliefs and ultimate goals of becoming successful. “The motivating force in the mythology of success is ambition, which is closely akin to the cardinal Christian sin of pride… How can an earnest man, a public figure living in a time of crisis, gratify his aspirations and yet remain morally whole? “He believes that making him known to be the “clean hero” was completely outlandish. Hofstadter’s biggest criticism about Lincoln is that “he was a follower and not a leader of public opinion.” One major example was the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which stated that “contained no indictment of slavery, … expressly omitted the loyal slave states from its terms … [and] did not in fact free any slaves.” Hofstadter also criticizes Lincoln’s “embarrassing contradictions” when it came to the topic of slavery, where in a Chicago speech he presented he said

Was born on February 12,1809 in the Hodgenville Kentucky. He was killed by John Wilkes booth on April 15,1865,Good Friday, at the age of 56. Abe had 2 siblings ,1 sister and 1 brother, and had 4 kids with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln. He served as a president for 2 years and faced reelection in 1864. Although he only had 3 months of military service he led the United States through the civil war. His sister Sarah died at the age of 20 and his brother didn’t live for more than 3 days. Not only was Abe a president and a war hero but he also was a lawyer. He was the 16th president and he was a republican.

In Thomas DiLorenzo’s book The Real Lincoln, is about giving the people who want to know the real story about the “greatest” American President. When in fact he was not all that great of a president. People know him as the great emancipator. This is ironic because “Lincoln barely ever mentioned the issue of slavery before 1854, and, even then, he did not seem sincere” (3). This is what everybody knows Lincoln for is freeing the slaves, but it proves that he is given credit for something he did not do. What else was Lincoln given credit for that he did not deserve? Thomas DiLorenzo is a professor of economics in Sellinger School of Business and Management at Loyola College in Maryland. Specializing in history and political economics. He has

In her award-winning book entitled Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin quotes the former president as warning his delegation prior to the Chicago Republican Convention to “Make no contract that will bind me.” Lincoln was the sculptor of his own life. He had spent years chiseling himself into the model leader that he wanted to present to the nation. An independent thinker, Lincoln did not want the political whims of others to define him. In the same fashion, I am a person who eschews the capricious desires of society.

The first of the two sources to be examined here is Allen Guelzo's House Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of 1858. This source took a more technical examination of not just the speeches and overall influence of Lincoln during this time, but also on where politics stood around the middle of the nineteenth century. To begin with, this source took a more critical examination at the Lincoln-Douglas race from the perspective of the complex political situation that was inherent during this time. That is to say, the campaigns that were waged were not merely about how viable each candidate was for office, but rather the philosophical differences between these individuals and many others, according to the source. This means that the source was able to take a closer look at why Abraham Lincoln, as well as Douglas, actually believed what they did. This retrospective aspect of the source allowed

In the history of the United States of America many men have made contributions to our nation, whether it be small or large. Our founding fathers John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington helped give birth to our nation by successfully guiding us through a revolution and our country’s infancy. Franklin D Roosevelt led the nation through a war on two fronts eventually defeating the Axis powers of Nazi Germany and Japan. The list could go on and on about legendary men that made important contributions to the United States of America, however one man that seems to always come out on top of all these men is none other than our sixteenth president Abraham Lincoln. This man guided a nation through a Civil War that saw six hundred and twenty thousand people die. Signed the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." And gave one of the most famous speeches in American history with is Gettysburg Address. The amount of things Lincoln accomplished in his lifetime could go on and on, but one thing is for certain he was one of the greatest Americans to ever live. However what type of man was Lincoln? Noble? Driven? Stephen B Oates gives us the best interoperation of the man Lincoln really was in his book With Malice Toward None.

Abraham Lincoln was considered by many American’s as one of the greatest Presidents of the United States. Having come from humble beginnings it could be said that Abraham Lincoln rose up to meet all the challenges that would greet him, and it could be argued that at the time the only person who could successfully guide the United States through the Civil War was Abraham Lincoln. At the time of his presidency, the United States was falling apart, with the South trying to secede from the North, creating much chaos that Lincoln had to deal with. He worked slowly and throughly, which sometimes got people agitated but he was a very careful working man and knew that it was better if he took his time. Abraham Lincoln was not

He often would walk from his office to the Secretary of War’s office to discuss strategies to win the war. David T. Phillips stated in his book Lincoln on Leadership that, “Lincoln spent most of his time among the troops” (p.13). Lincoln rode his horse most of the time to the camp of the Union soldiers and cheered them up. He also motivated them by letting them know the importance of winning the war. The Core Lesson under Individual Consideration states that, “The leader empathizes with and supports each follower and keeps channels of communication open” [BCEE] (2014a, p.13). We have discussed Lincoln as Visionary Leader now let’s move on to Lincoln as Ethical Leader.