Comparing Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy Essay

The appellation, “The Great Emancipator” is not granted to just any person, but rather it highlights a courageous, respectful, and driven individual. Abraham Lincoln’s contribution to the United States is so grand and captivating, that he is deservingly recognized as America’s greatest president. For example, he abolished slavery, led America through the Civil War, and prevented the Union from splitting apart. Abraham Lincoln is America’s greatest president and was the forceful leader that manipulated America from a state of turmoil into a state of justice and harmony.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln both helped tremendously as civil rights leaders. The civil rights movement took place in the 1950s and 1960s. The civil rights movement gave blacks equal rights under law in the United States. (7) Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln were both great civil rights leader. In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize. (6) Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. (1)

Although there have been numerous assassination plots and attempts, there have only been four successful presidential assassinations in the history of the U.S. Today I’ll be comparing and contrasting two different president killers: John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. They lived almost a century apart, but still have many similarities. Lee and John basically did the same crime, assassinating a U.S President, however, they have numerous differences.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States of America. He served as President when the country was under war. Abe Lincoln was born in 1806 and grew up in the countryside as a pioneer. His mother died at a young age and he had a sister. His father married a widow that had three children and Abe Lincoln liked her very much. Every day he attended school and worked very hard on his father's farm.

"The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been” (Henry). This quote from Henry Kissinger is a representation of the Kennedy term in office. President Kennedy took the world to a whole new level; he succeeded in many tasks in his short time as president. John F. Kennedy was great president because of his involvements in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Peace Corps.

     Through out the course of history, America has seen great Presidents. These men all exhibited characteristics which helped them to be successful in their endeavor to become the nations leader. Among those characteristics are traits such as being a good spokesperson or leader and being fair towards all which makes for a good President.

“With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as god gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nations wounds; to care for him who shall borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphaned child-to do all which may be achieved and cherished a just and a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all other nations”-Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (Great Documents of America 19).

Throughout the history of the United States of America, there have been many leaders. President Abraham Lincoln and President John F. Kennedy are arguably two of the greatest presidents that this country has had. Whether it was 1865, during the bloodiest war in the history of the US, or 1961, during the most tense international power struggle that we have ever faced, these men were able to do what was needed to get the job done. The one ideal that they shared that made them great leaders was an aspiration to make this country the best in the world. Some differences between these men were their specific goals as leaders. While Lincoln was

During that summer he took many different back strengthening exercises, and in September he was accepted by the Navy. In March 1943, as a lieutenant he took command of a PT (torpedo) boat in the Solomon Islands. On the night of August 2, his boat was cruising west of New Georgia it was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer. He rallied the survivors and managed to get them to an island after being thrown across the deck onto his back. He then towed a wounded man three miles through a rough journey through different seas. He was a very brave man, for several days he risked his life repeatedly, swimming into dangerous waters hoping to find a rescue ship. He finally met up with two friendly islanders and sent them for aid with a message that he carved on a coconut. Back home he received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, and the Purple Heart, but his earlier back injury had been aggravated, and unfortunately he contracted malaria. After an operation on his back, he was discharged early in 1945.

In the book Killing Kennedy it says that Lincoln and Kennedy had many similarities, and they do. There are many similarities between John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln. These similarities can range from a simple year to in depth details. Details like Booth and Oswald were both killed before being brought to trial. Most of the similarities are fact except a few like, Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy and Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States of America. He was elected into presidency on November 6, 1860. Many of the southern states were unsupportive of Lincoln becoming president because he had run on an anti-slavery platform. Lincoln being elected into presidency caused states such as South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas to split from the Union. In his inaugural address Lincoln proclaimed it was his duty to maintain the Union; a month later the Civil War began. Although Lincoln did many great things for our country, his vital role in the Civil War is what most likely lead to his assassination.

The late president John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said, “Sure it's a big job; but I don't know anyone who can do it better than I can” (“John F. Kennedy” BrainyQuote.com). Kennedy was a young and fresh political figure at the time of his election in 1960. The thirty-fifth president of the United States was born May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the youngest president ever, as well as the first and only Roman Catholic president (Bass, et al.). His presidency was shortened by an assassin on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy preceded his presidency with a term in the U.S. House of Representatives (1947-1953) and a term in the U.S. Senate (1953-1961) (“John F. Kennedy” History.com). Kennedy, a

On November 22, 1963 the lives of John F. Kennedy, Harvey Lee Oswald, Jack Ruby, Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, Lyndon B. Johnson. John Connally, Abraham Zupruder, and several others , all took a dramatic turning point. On November 22, 1963 President John Fittzgerald

Abraham Lincoln assumed the office of the President of the United States 153 years ago. Barack Obama did the same 148 years later. Nearly fifteen decades separate these two historical events and astounding men. While one man has gone to great lengths to model himself after the other, there was possibly a connection there all along. The differences between Lincoln and Obama are evident and expected, but the similarities are remarkable and extraordinary.

In 1830 the family moved to Macon County, Illinois where Lincoln made a living in manual labor. Later he moved to New Salem, Illinois where he worked as a shopkeeper. When the Black Hawk War broke out in 1832 between the U. S. and the Native Americans, the volunteers in that area elected Lincoln to be their captain. During this time he was able to make several important political connections. After the Black Hawk War ended in 1834, Lincoln was elected into the Illinois state legislature as a member of the Whig Party. It was around this time that he decided to become a lawyer. He taught himself by reading various law books. In 1837 he moved to Springfield, Illinois where he began to practice at the John T. Stuart law firm. Lincoln went on to serve a single term in the U. Sl. House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849. He used his term in office to speak out against the Mexican-American War and supported Zachary Taylor for president in 1848. He decided not to run for a second term,