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Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency Essay

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Abraham Lincoln is a hero to all Americans for he preserved our Union and abolished slavery. Lincoln combined the forces of strength, courage, will, and morality to guide America through a time marked by complete social upheaval and Civil War. Lincoln entered the White House burdened by an oppressive set of domestic issues; the most pressing was the rift between the North and South. Before Lincoln’s inauguration, the Union was dissolving, and he was left with only one choice, to preserve America and to make war against the South. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the highest, Lincoln and his administration would rank as an eight. Lincoln’s presidency was unique, for it was the only one that endured a Civil War that tore and …show more content…

As Doris Kearns Goodwin so aptly says in her Pulitzer Prize winning book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln chose deep political rivals such as Salmon P. Chase, William H. Seward, and Edward Bates, for the cabinet positions of Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, and Attorney General, respectively (Goodwin). All of these men ran against Lincoln in the 1860 Republican Party Presidential primary, and berated Lincoln with political and personal attacks. They strongly disagreed with his approaches to many integral issues, yet Lincoln appointed them all due to their political genius and their intense loyalty to the Union. Throughout his administration, Lincoln sought advice on a wide variety of matters, where his cabinet had opinions that dissented from his own. For example, the eventual acquisition of Alaska through the proposal by William H. Seward was only possible under President Johnson because of Lincoln’s strong objections to the plan. Lincoln greatly respected the opinions of his cabinet members and chose them because of their intelligent opposition to his views. Lincoln’s first challenge was to rebuke the South Carolina Ordinances for Secession; he effectively accomplished this. South Carolina claimed that the American government was acting as a destructive agency, which gave the people the right to change or eliminate it and create a new government. The secessionist fire-eaters of South Carolina

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