Abraham Lincoln Essay

1388 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay about the 15th amendment

Abraham Lincoln was an important figure who rose from being an uneducated man, to becoming the 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln is also known for his determination towards ending slavery. One of Abraham Lincoln’s political accomplishments was issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Before his presidency, Lincoln was not that knowledgeable about the military because he never really had a proper education when he was small. However, Lincoln’s entire presidency basically took place during the war. On January 1st ,1863, President Abraham Lincoln walked into his office and spotted a document on his desk which was given the name “Emancipation Proclamation”. The Emancipation Proclamation declared freedom for the slaves in the southern states that were currently fighting against the United States. Lincoln was the one who wrote the first four pages of the original Emancipation Proclamation.He had no doubts of signing this document because he was much alerted about how important it was to be signed. As Lincoln signed this document, he stated, ”I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper.” Lincoln’s main goal during his presidency was to keep the United States unified. When word got out in the newspapers that the Proclamation was signed,everyone was excited.Henry Turner, a church minister who waited with a crowd of people at a newspaper office, described what he witnessed when everyone read the paper. He stated that “When people saw me coming with the paper in my hand, they raised a shouting cheer …… I started to read the proclamation [but ] I was out of breath and could not read. Mr. Hinton to whom I handed the paper read it with great force and clearness…… Men... ... middle of paper ... ...h amendment banned slavery in any place in the United States.So,everyone had freedom.The fourteenth amendment in 1868 made it legal deny any citizen’s life,liberty, or property unless the law allowed it . Also,this amendment stated that every citizen has equal security under the law. And finally, the fifteenth amendment stated that it was against the law to forbid any one’s rights to vote due to their race, color or previous enslavement . All in all, The Emancipation Proclamation was the first step towards freedom. Abraham Lincoln certainly played a big role in letting the United States a slave free environment. Lincoln was a very determined man who believe that slavery was wrong. All of his determination paid off when congress passed three amendments to make sure of the rights of the African Americans. Lincoln is a dynamic figure who was constantly persistent.

Show More
Related

  • Lincoln's Response To War Dbq

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln became the United States’ sixteenth president during a controversial era in which the Union was in danger over the prospect of slavery. Distraught by the idea that the collapse of the American Union might forever destroy the possibility of a democratic republican government, Lincoln set out to restore the union, claiming that it would not survive if it remained divided. He aimed to protect democracy by ruling secession as illegal. Initially, Lincoln rejected emancipation as a goal of the war, but changed his stance after being pressured by the arrival of an influx of black refugees in Northern camps, and the efforts of radical republicans to use wartime legislation to destroy slavery. As a result, he drafted a general emancipation

    Read More

  • Civil War Movies: Glory

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ious slaves the right to citizenship, meaning they were able to do anything that a normal citizen could do, for example hold seats of power. The Fifteenth amendment ensured that they were given the right to vote. However, the reason that their accomplishments were in vain was because they did not get rid of racism. Whatever advancement they made was taken back due to whites still believing in racism. After the Reconstruction era, the South feared an African American with power so they formed hate groups and technicalities to get around amendments. Even though the Fourteenth amendment ensured that slaves were given the right to citizenship, the whole ideal of “separate but equal” came into play. With the Fifteenth amendment, the South was able to justify the racist action of enforcing a literacy clause or a grandfather clause by writing it into their constitution.

    Read More

  • Abraham Lincoln: Best President

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    President Lincoln has had numerous achievements, such as ending slavery, modernizing the economy, and preserving the Union. Lincoln is famously known for ending slavery. He issued the Emancipation of Proclamation. The presidential proclamation was issued during the American Civil War. Lincoln stated in his speech, "I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of states, and henceforward shall be free."

    Read More

  • Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    The issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the passage of the 13th amendment are two of Lincoln’s most influential documents enacted during his presidency. The Emancipation Proclamation “...declared over three million slaves in the rebel states of the Confederacy to be ‘thenceforward and forever free’...”(Guelzo). This action eventually took the country to the final abolition of slavery when the 13th amendment was introduced, declaring: “Neither slavery

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Emancipation Proclamation Speech

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    The "Emancipation Proclamation" speech was actually intended for most of the people that would free the slaves, not to the slaves. According to Rollyson the proclamation was not intended for the slave, blacks, or former slaves. The “Emancipation Proclamation” speech was during the Antislavery Movement or what some people call it the Abolitionist Movement, during the 1960's. The main leaders of the abolitionist movement were Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas. The point of Lincoln writing the speech about emancipating the slaves was to free the slaves and win the civil war. Lincoln had written a speech named "The Emancipation Proclamation". He wrote this speech and signed it in January of 1863, in Washington, D.C. The theme of the speech was to teach everyone that everyone, no matter what race should be treated equally. In the "Emancipation Proclamation" speech, Abraham Lincoln motivates his intended audience during the Antislavery movement by using pathos and rhetorical question.

    Read More

  • The Emancipation Proclamation

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd 1862. The document states that if the states in the rebellion didn’t cease, the proclamation would go into effect” (10 Facts). When the rebellious states decided not to, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation on January 1st, 1863. The proclamation only applied to the states in rebellion. In fact, the proclamation declared, “that all persons held as slaves, within the rebellious, are and henceforth shall be freed” (The Emancipation Proclamation). During the war, the Southern states used the slaves to support their armies in the field and to manage the home front. Lincoln justified the proclamation as a war measure intended to cripple the Confederates use of slaves in war. The book, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End Of Slavery in America, says “No single official paper in American history changed the lives of as many Americans as Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. But no American document has been held up to greater suspicion” (Guelzo 12).

    Read More

  • Great American Presidents: Abraham Lincoln

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents to ever serve in office in the history of the U.S., serving from 1860 to 1865. A self-educated attorney from Illinois, he proved himself to be a brilliant leader throughout the Civil War period. Although President Abraham Lincoln faced the biggest crisis in American history, he saved the nation by preserving the Union during the Civil War, boosting the economy, by fighting for the abolition of slavery, and by boosting the Northern economy.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Emancipation Proclamation

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lincoln had a preliminary proclamation back in September 22, 1862. The reason President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation was because, "slaves in Confederate states which were not back in the union by then would be free, but slaves in the border states were not affected. The president knew the proclamation was a temporary military measure and only congress could remove slave permanently, but had the satisfaction of seeing the 13th Amendment pass a few months before his death." In other words Lincoln wanted to give slave states their rights of freedom, but the slaves along the border wouldn 't get that right of freedom because of where they were located and who they were for. He hoped the 13th amendment would back up his plan of the emancipation proclamation. President Lincolns philosophy left such a great remark on the people of the world. It was said by many different journalists of the civil war that Lincoln was, " a man of profound feeling, just and firm principles, and incorruptible

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass And Malala Yousafzai

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    Douglas also tried to get women to get the right to vote so he spoke out at conventions. The text also quotes, “President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation which began January 1st, 1863, freed all slaves in the south.” While speaking at conventions and conferences, Douglass worked hand in hand with President Lincoln. While working with him, Frederick got him to support anti-slavery. By doing this, all slaves in the south were released and became

    Read More

  • Abraham Lincoln vs the Radical Republicans

    2600 Words  | 6 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln is known as the President who helped to free the slaves, lead the Union to victory over the confederates in the American Civil War, preserve the union of the United States and modernize the economy. The Emancipation Proclamation, issued through Presidential constitutional authority on January 1st, 1863, declared that all slaves in the ten remaining slave states were to be liberated and remain liberated. The Emancipation Proclamation freed between three and four million slaves, however, since it was a Presidential constitutional authority and not though congress, the Emancipation Proclamation failed to free slaves in Border States like Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. Essentially, states that were under Federal Government and loyal to the Union did not have their slaves liberated; Lincoln even stating “When it took effect in January 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation freed 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves.” Some argue Lincoln issued this Proclamation in an attempt to satisfy the demands of Radical Republicans, members of a group within the Republican Party. Radical Republicans were a group of politicians who strongly...

    Read More

  • The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 during the civil war, as main goal to win the war. Some historians argued that it was based on feelings towards slaves because not only it freed slaves in the South; it was also a huge step for the real abolition of slavery in the United States. While other historians argued that it was a military tactic because it strengthened the Union army, because the emancipated slaves were joining the Union thus providing a larger manpower than the Confederacy . The Emancipation Proclamation emancipated slaves only in the Confederacy and did not apply to the Border-states and the Union states.

    Read More

  • The Emancipation Proclamation

    1746 Words  | 4 Pages

    No doubt, famous historical figure Abraham Lincoln was a key figure for the United States during its Civil War. Whenever he’s spoken of in the educational system, he’s known as the man who freed the slaves. During Lincoln’s presidency, he implemented an order that would forever affect the slaves and the outcome of the Civil War. On September 22, 1862, he released the preliminary announcement for the Emancipation Proclamation. It eventually went into full effect on January 1st, 1863, during the second year of the Civil War. As President Lincoln signed the proclamation on New Year 's day in his office, he quoted, “I never felt more certain, that I was doing right, than signing this paper.”

    Read More

  • The Emancipation Proclamation: Affect The Civil War

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    With this document, he planned to win the war for the Union army. A big issue was: Did Lincoln only release the Emancipation Proclamation because he felt pressured to? As soon as Lincoln became president, he was compelled by extremist Republicans and abolitionists to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. They thought that now that there was a Republican president, shouldn’t he issue this proclamation? Lincoln did believe in abolishing slavery, but he postponed this task until he had more support from American citizens.

    Read More

  • The Great Emancipator Analysis

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    His personal beliefs had always been opposed to slavery. He believed that the Founding Fathers had put slavery on the road to extinction, and he wanted to continue it down that path. Lincoln acted very professional; he always put the nation before his personal perspective. It transformed the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom. According to the history book “A People and a Nation”, the Emancipation Proclamation was legally an ambiguous document, but as a moral and political document it had great meaning.

    Read More

  • Abraham Lincoln as the Greatest President

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln is regarded by many Americans as the greatest president to ever hold office in the history of the United States, and his reputation is definitely well deserved. Lincoln wasn't scared to stand up and fight for what he knew was right. He was convinced that within the branches of government, the presidency alone was empowered not only to uphold the Constitution, but also to protect, and defend it. Lincoln was able to lead our country and preserve the Union, keeping the United States from splintering during the devastating times of the Civil War. As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization, and he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that changed the war into a battle for freedom and declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy. That November, Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address, which stated how a country must be dedicated to human freedom in order to survive. He dedicated the battlefield to the soldiers who had perished, and called on the living to finish the task the dead soldiers had begun. (Donald, 1995) Lincoln believed that democracy could be a lasting form of government. He showed a nobility of character that had worldwide appeal, and he was a man of great integrity. However, Lincoln was not only the 16th president of the United States, he was an American hero. Lincoln was a well-rounded individual and he had numerous outstanding qualities. However, it is important to remember that Lincoln also led a private life, complete with close friends and family.

    Read More

More about Abraham Lincoln Essay

Open Document