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Honest Abe

Part 16 of My Presidential Review Series

Finally breaking the solid bloc of unknown presidents, we get to Abraham Lincoln. Do I even have to tell you anything in this introduction paragraph? Well, maybe an anecdote or two. Lincoln was one of the founders of the Republican Party. Lincoln's only son that survived to maturity, Robert Todd Lincoln, was saved from being crushed by a train by John Wilkes Booths' brother. He was the first president to be successfully assassinated. Lincoln served March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865.

By the time Lincoln took office, the Civil War had started. The main cause for the war was slavery, pitting the Northern abolitionists against the Southern extremists. Lincoln was one of the moderates, who supported leaving slavery alone in the South but stopping its extension into the territories. The tariff and nullification, issues that had divided North and South before slavery became a debate, also contributed to the start of the war.

Eleven states seceded and formed the Confederacy in 1861: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. In February 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected its president. At first, the Confederate capital was Montgomery, Alabama, but was moved to Richmond, Virginia once Virginia seceded. The North had a great advantage over the South, far outpacing them in industry and with twice the population. They were able to - and did - create a blockade on Southern ports that stopped them from receiving desperately needed supplies. The South, however, had some of the finest military leaders in the world and fought on their homeland. They also won foreign sympathy due to much-needed cotton.

On April 12, 1861, Confederates under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard attacked Fort Sumter at Charleston harbor, forcing its commander, Major Robert Anderson, to surrender. The incident officially started the Civil War. The first battle was at Bull Run, which was attended by Northern civilians certain of a Union victory. Those same civilians were routing almost as bad as the Union troops by the battle's end, when forces under General Beauregard, Joseph E. Johnston, and Stonewall Jackson won a victory over Union forces under General Irvin McDowell. The North, stunned, dug in for the long run. Lincoln replaced McDowell with Major General George B. McClellan, who would later run against Lincoln in 1864. McClellan was excellent at training the troops but was too cautious as a commander. Lincoln ordered him to advance on Richmond, and he advanced with 100,000 men to the Virginia shore by sea, proceeding so slowly up the peninsula that General Johnston was able to amass enough forces to repel the Union attack. General Robert E. Lee sought to follow up this victory with a thrust northward, defeating superior Union forces at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August, 1862. He crossed into Maryland and clashed with forces under McClellan at Antietam, where, after very bloody fighting, Lee's advance was checked and he was forced to retreat. It is often thought the war would have ended if McClellan had gone after Lee's army. Lincoln then replaced McClellan with General Ambrose E. Burnside, who repeatedly tried to reach Richmond, each time unsuccessful. In the West, meanwhile, forces under Ulysses S. Grant won victories in Tennessee and the Mississippi Valley and Admiral David G. Farragut took New Orleans in April 1862.

In September, 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation with effect from January 1, 1863. He had postponed issuing the document until the Union had won a significant victory, like Antietam, for fear that releasing it earlier would be misinterpreted as an act of desperation. The proclamation freed only slaves in the Confederate states and not the Border States that decided to stay in the Union or Confederate areas under Union domination.

In May, 1863, Confederates under Lee defeated superior Union forces at Chancellorsville, Virginia, but lost one of his best commanders, Stonewall Jackson, in the battle. Lee once again turned north, reaching as far as Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where in July 1-3 1863, he fought an historic battle with General George G. Meade. By the time that the battle ended, 1/4 of the 75,000 Confederates and 1/5 of the 90,000 Union soldiers at Gettysburg had died. Failing to pierce the Union defense, Lee once again retreated south. In the West, Grant took Vicksburg and secured the whole lower Mississippi Valley in July 1863.

In 1864 Lincoln promoted Grant to commander of all Union armies. While Grant pursued Lee in the Wilderness campaign, General William T. Sherman marched on Atlanta, taking the city in September and burning it, and proceeded to start his famous "march to the sea." After reaching Savannah, Sherman then turned north to join Grant in closing in on Lee. In early April 1865, Richmond fell and on April 9th Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Grant gave lenient terms, allowing officers to keep sidearms, mounted units their horses, and treating all with dignity.

Union casualties were 365,000 dead and 282,000 wounded; Confederate casualties are unknown. The war ended slavery forever. The South remained under direct Northern military rule for over a decade and under domination for even longer. Not until 1977 was a Deep Southerner elected again. That president, Jimmy Carter, in 1978 restored citizenship to Jefferson Davis.

During the Civil War, Lincoln undertook extreme measures curbing civil liberties. He suspended habeas corpus, permitted military arrest and court-martial of anti-war activists, and spent war funds before congressional appropriation. His actions were approved by Congress.

Under the Homestead Act, the first federal law granting public lands to squatters, a citizen, or one about to become a citizen, was granted free title to 160 acres after having settled on it for 5 years. The law was responsible for the rapid growth of the Great Plains.

The government granted to each state, proportionate to its representation in Congress, public lands, which were to be sold to finance agricultural and mechanical arts colleges. The bill was sponsored by Republican Representative Justin S. Morril of Vermont.

Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, and died on April 15, 1865.

Lincoln was probably one of the greatest leaders in American history. He guided the nation through the Civil War, one of the largest, if not THE largest, crisis we ever faced. He made the right choices, even if they were difficult. His curbing of civil liberties, though not a shining spot on any presidency, has been shown to be vital to large war efforts. Lincoln planned on a conciliatory attitude towards the South, which now is viewed as the decision we should have made. His assassination was the single worst thing to happen to the South in its history.

Overall Ranking: 2 (sorry Gideon)

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

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"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

My eighth grade algebra teacher used that one all the time..

Seeing how popular Lincoln is, I doubt this article has introduced new facts to anyone on this site, but good job writing it anyway!

By the way, 9:00 tonight on the History channel is "FDR: A Presidency Revealed," if you're interested.

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Seeing how popular Lincoln is, I doubt this article has introduced new facts to anyone on this site, but good job writing it anyway!

That was why I did the second sentence joke.

By the way, 9:00 tonight on the History channel is "FDR: A Presidency Revealed," if you're interested.

I know. They also ran an 8-hour special on every presidency that I watched/taped.

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Not until 1977 was a Deep Southerner elected again. That president, Jimmy Carter

Uh, I can see where you dont think Va is deep south, but Texas? LBJ won in 64.

That being said, I can understand your feelings, but strongly disagree with this ranking. In trying to save the Union, Lincoln became the most dictatorial president in the history of this country, and even to this day, his supression of basic rights has gone unmatched by any other president.

But he did care for the south, and yes, his Assassination was the worst thing possible for not only the south, but for race relations as well. For I truly believe that if Lincoln had prevented the carpet baggers from pillaging the south, the assimilation of the black man would have gone faster and better.

However, due to his atrocious human rights violations, I can not rank him above 10. I dont see him being second to Truman (altho I dont see Truman being number 1, but I can live with that one).

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Uh, I can see where you dont think Va is deep south, but Texas? LBJ won in 64.

Texas isn't really deep south. It's more western, really. Deep South is Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, you know, that general area.

That's true. But the crisis of the Civil War has also gone unmatched in the history of this country. Sometimes, a few rights must be suspended in order to do something, in this case save the Union. I can overlook the extremities of his actions because of the extremities of the situation. Also, he used that new power to make the Emancipation Proclomation, which without the power he assumed would never have passed.

However, due to his atrocious human rights violations, I can not rank him above 10. I dont see him being second to Truman (altho I dont see Truman being number 1, but I can live with that one).

Where'd you get the idea I was making Truman 1st? I'm placing Truman in the Top 10, yes, but certainly not 1st. I may admire him, but he simply wasn't THAT good.

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Where'd you get the idea I was making Truman 1st? I'm placing Truman in the Top 10, yes, but certainly not 1st. I may admire him, but he simply wasn't THAT good.

Sorry, did not mean to put rankings into your mouth so to speak. I like Truman too, and he is a top 10, and I can see him even being number one in some peoples book. SO I just very mistakenly, assumed.

As for Lincoln, one can always argue the ends justify the means. It has been done by many tyrants in the past to justify the unjustifiable. But it is never right.

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As for Lincoln, one can always argue the ends justify the means. It has been done by many tyrants in the past to justify the unjustifiable. But it is never right.

Hm. True, but have many tyrants had the ends Lincoln had? I think not. But it looks like we're just going to have to agree to disagree here. I will tell you that his actions regarding civil rights kept him from the coveted number 1 spot, but I really don't think it drops him further than that. I can understand your point of view, though.

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Hm. True, but have many tyrants had the ends Lincoln had? I think not.

that is why I still rank him 10th, and not dead last. Plus he did do other good things

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But it looks like we're just going to have to agree to disagree here.

I did warn you with Buchanan, that this one was going to be controversial!

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I did warn you with Buchanan, that this one was going to be controversial!

I knew it would.

But I also thought it would generate a little interest...which it obviously hasn't. I guess Zachary Taylor will remain the one with the most amount of people commenting.

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But I also thought it would generate a little interest...which it obviously hasn't. I guess Zachary Taylor will remain the one with the most amount of people commenting

I thought it would as well. He is one of a 3 maybe that most people can name from the pre-20th century (Jefferson and Washington being the other 2).

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Interesting your Abe Lincoln one would come out the day before this anniversary.

In 1861, soon after the U.S. Civil War had begun, a riot erupted in Baltimore, Maryland after a group of U.S. soldiers attempted to move through the city streets. Maryland was a Southern slave state, and although Maryland had not seceded, Confederate sympathy was very strong, especially in Baltimore. The riot began when citizens attacked the soldiers, who responded by firing into the crowd. Four solders and nine civilians were killed.

Much has changed in Maryland since those times.

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Wow. That is kind of strange. Well, I should hope things have changed in Maryland.

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Wow. That is kind of strange. Well, I should hope things have changed in Maryland.

you kidding? They are trying to out liberal Mass now!

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you kidding? They are trying to out liberal Mass now!

Ah. Hadn't realized. Wait, is that possible?

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Ah. Hadn't realized. Wait, is that possible?

Well, they had a kennedy running for Governor. Barbara mikulski and sarbanes as senators (quiet, but solid liberals), and Kwazei mFume was one of their reps.

nah, I dont think it is possible, but they are trying!

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Well, they had a kennedy running for Governor. Barbara mikulski and sarbanes as senators (quiet, but solid liberals), and Kwazei mFume was one of their reps.nah, I dont think it is possible, but they are trying!

Oh. Well, I still don't think they're even close to replacing Massachusetts. That would require the concentrated liberalness of every other liberal in America.

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Overall Ranking: 2 (sorry Gideon)

The reason I consider him so poorly is, he preserved the union, but at the expense of the Constitution...and the precedents he set have led to presidents since underriding the Constitution even further.

(Most Libertarians I have spoken with rank Abraham Lincoln along with George W. Bush as two of our worst presidents ever).

Good article anyway!

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The reason I consider him so poorly is, he preserved the union, but at the expense of the Constitution...and the precedents he set have led to presidents since underriding the Constitution even further.

Well, I can understand that.

(Most Libertarians I have spoken with rank Abraham Lincoln along with George W. Bush as two of our worst presidents ever).

Hm, now there's an interesting take (though I will admit the Bush thing is nothing new).

Good article anyway!

Thank you. Always good to hear that.

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