President Abraham Lincoln is an extraordinary president because of his dedication.
Abraham Lincoln is worthy to claim the title “The Great Emancipator” since he wants to make a change to slavery in order to create equality for the African-American people and unify the nation as whole. He is one of the most remarkable presidents who reshaped America for the greater cause during his time. Out of the previous fifteen presidents that served before Abraham Lincoln, he was the first Republican president ever elected and aided the Union to victory during the Civil War. He also managed to end slavery in the United States. His honesty and powerful speeches to the nation are truly motivational. On March 4, 1861, President Lincoln presents his First Inaugural Address.
It is the day that Lincoln first swears into office and takes oath as the Sixteenth President of the United States. He states about how he will be responsible about his position and that he will resolve the conflict that could possibly split up the nation. When Lincoln entered presidency, he was not welcomed and accepted by the South, who were very supportive of slavery. However, he did his best to pacify the leaders of those states with his First Inaugural Address. He stresses his dedication to guard the Union and says to the nation that, “We must not be enemies.
Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature” (Gienapp 97). He knows that the country should not be divided again and affirms in everything that he says genuinely and he would do anything in his power to keep the Union and the nation secured. Lincoln realizes the conflict on slavery and asserts that, “The whole nation..
.is interested that the best use shall be made of these territories. We want them for homes of free white people.
This they cannot be, to any considerable extent, if slavery shall be planted within them…as an outlet for free white people everywhere.
..find new homes and better their condition in life.” (Norton 351). He thinks that it isn’t fair for the slaves to be held captives and doing work for the white people without having freedom. In order to reunite both North and the South together, slavery must be ceased and provide them the freedom that they need. In the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Lincoln also believes that “Union couldn’t survive as half slave and half free.” (Lecture 43).
He believes that slavery will continue spreading throughout the nation if it doesn’t end and his vision of the Union does not fit with this belief. Plus, the government wouldn’t even withstand the division between the half free and half slave situation due to the differences. Even though he loses against Douglas in the debate, it is a stepping stone for Lincoln to show his concerns for the nation and his characteristics on why he thinks that the North and the South should be reunited by abolishing slavery. After the debate between Lincoln and Douglas, Lincoln rises in fame which gives him a chance to be elected as President of the United States. One of the most memorable dates for Lincoln was January 1, 1863. He presents the Emancipation Proclamation, which declares the slaves to be freed from Confederate states.
This was a very huge step toward the cease of slavery and it is a bold action for him to do so against the South since they thought it was necessary to maintain slavery. Emancipation Proclamation touches many hearts in the nation and allows the African-American people to join the Union army to give them the opportunity to fight for their freedom during the Civil War. However, Lincoln acknowledges that “the Emancipation Proclamation would have to be followed by a constitutional amendment in order to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.” (Johnson 12) Therefore, the Thirteenth Amendment is passed down and it states that, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subjected to their jurisdiction.
” (Primary Documents in American History 3). This amendment finalizes the abolishment on slavery once and for all. These actions that President Lincoln made for the Union, the African-American people, and the nation prove that he’s very capable of embracing his goals in order to unify the United States as one. Although it cost them a war that took many lives, they were victorious in the end and thus giving the freedom that the slaves deserve to have and uniting the nation.
In the end, Lincoln abolished slavery and saved the Union. The Civil War is a clash that intimidates to permanently separate the United States. If it weren’t for Lincoln’s dedication and willpower to preserve the Union, then the United States may not exist at all.
He becomes the creator of the Emancipation Proclamation and it is a huge step of reshaping the country for equality and abolishment. It is highly undoubtful that he is one of the admiring presidents that we had because of his inspirations as well as massive impact on the nation. He succeeds in the end, thus earning the title “The Great Emancipator.”
