Soheil nasseri biography of abraham lincoln

I liked them both equally well and if choosing between them I would almost tell you to flip a coin — or read whichever is easier for you to get a copy of. So while this one is slightly less about Lincoln than the others, it offers something extra in return. March 12, at pm. Thank you for your response! Kyle said:. April 18, at am. I wanted to find a good Lincoln biography and came across your blog.

Great list, thank you for such detailed descriptions of each book! April 19, at pm. Rick Garner said:. September 26, at pm. First, I have been following most of your suggestions since Washington and now am spending a great amount on Lincoln. I was really surprised how closely Goodwin followed Tarbell with the Lincoln portions of her work. September 27, at am.

Going on my follow-up list! Joe said:. October 15, at pm. In a world of endless writings on the presidents, your site is an invaluable resource! I so appreciate your diligence and willingness to share! October 16, at am. November 7, at pm. By accident, I have been reading presidential bios this year as well. Fortunately, I chose the one by Ron Chernow and that really got me hooked — his style was easy and his prose is wonderful.

Quincy Adams, then Jackson by H. So, as you can see, I will be up to Lincoln and the Civil War soon. I have been using your reviews since Thomas Jefferson. I am limited to audiobooks so not always your recommendations but your reviews nevertheless have been my guide. Or, should I read one bio focused primarily on Lincolns life and another about the Civil War?

November 13, at am. Your audio adventure sounds great! I would also note that only after I read a great biography of Ulysses S. Grant did I really fully appreciate and understand the Civil War more completely. November 15, at pm. Little did I know then that as I went on he would be a thorn in the side of presidents Jackson to Polk!

Even with Jackson, from other books I know about different wars that Indians helped him with that made him famous, but not mentioned in his bio. That is, if you ever finish this project! Anyway, if you know of any books about Indians dealings with early presidents, please advise. Jeff Collins New Orleans. November 17, at am. Definitely on my bucket list!

Joan Plamp said:. February 24, at pm. Thank you so much for your insight into these books and your honest opinions about them. I am off to purchase two of them to read! February 25, at pm. Laura Martinez said:. March 2, at am. I read Burlingame online for the first 12 chapters because I wanted the detail on the early years. I then got the two abridged Burlingame books from the library and binge-read them.

I found them very enjoyable. I also read Team of Rivals twice, because I got more out of it the second time. With that as a background, I picked up Lincoln in the Bardo with no expectations. I was left pondering insights gained through the characters that I could have only arrived at via the combination of this novel and my extensive reading of Lincoln and my resulting admiration of him.

March 5, at am. Sounds like Saunders really did his homework before letting his imagination run? August 20, at am. Thank you. Just finished B. My first Lincoln, based on your advice. What a man. I have read one of each prez starting with Washington. Have you done that; read Whitman or Irving for example, works by them of bios of? August 21, at am.

But I have been assembling a list of biographies of folks I encountered during this process who are, many times, as compelling as the presidents. August 21, at pm. Halfway through Charnwood as of last night and you are right, it is a great short history of early America, especially remarkable as seen through the eyes of an englishman. Stopping at Lincoln and the Civil War seems a perfect point of reference to review and reassess the origin and evolution of America.

Looks like you have a good list going in that direction. Marc Mishkin said:. April 4, at pm. Dear Steve, I have read a lot of Lincoln biographies, including most of those on your list. I found this first-person account thorough, anecdotal and charming. Indeed Herndon was widely criticized for the informality of his book as Lincoln was by then being widely mythologized.

Marc Mishkin Lakewood, Colorado. April 5, at am. Michael Akos said:. June 15, at pm. Thanks for this info. June 16, at pm. Chris said:. April 1, at pm. I emailed him about the differences between the uncut version and the print version. For those that have read the uncut let me know. Jeffrey Nydick said:. July 4, at am. Steve; Rarely do you fail to mention a significant presidential biography, but I noticed you did not mention this highly-praised Lincoln Prize Winner from Lincoln, A Life of Purpose and Power, by Richard Carwardine.

I have been trying to get back to reading the book, which has been on my shelf for at least the past decade. I have perused enough of it to advise it is a VERY serious scholarly book. Bob said:. August 6, at pm. August 7, at am. Wayne Baker said:. August 30, at pm. Jim Back said:. December 11, at pm. As I recall it is hard to find copies and it was less a biography than a series of essays or character sketches.

John Duffy said:. May 30, at am. Adams attack on it, is obviously quite steeped in the national argument that resulted in the Civil War. These two men are my favorite figures in American history and this book shows why they had such an affinity towards each other: both autodidacts who insisted on following their own judgement while maintaining a keen ear for the political realities of their times.

A very enjoyable read. I also learned how to relax in the ocean for the first time in the Mediterranean, which is a wonderful experience, and also to take a nap in the afternoon without feeling guilty. It was also nice to see the very close, strong relationships that one builds in Palermo. Those were all wonderful things I experienced living in Italy and I still feel very close to Palermo.

I go back every couple of years to visit everybody. I was also fortunate to perform in Florence and Palermo. In Florence, I played a very large concert in the Theatro Communale. I hope to be working more in Italy in the future. I was also very happy to learn how to speak Italian, which is such a beautiful language! BT: What are your plans for the future?

In the last two years, I played for the first time in Russia, France, Ireland and Romania, and I hope I continue to expand into new areas and perform as much as possible. I need another lucky break. BT: I wish you luck and success and hope to see you and come to your concerts in the Disney Hall or the Hollywood Bowl, or places like that. SN: My neighbor and friend pays at the Hollywood Bowl all the time and that would make me and probably some of your readers very happy if I could get a gig there too.

Maybe someone who reads this knows management there and can forward my YouTube video and hopefully they can watch it. I really appreciate you interest in doing the interview. Bijan Hassan Tehrani Founder and Editor in Chief of Cinema Without Borders, is a film director, writer, and a film critic, his first article appeared in a weekly film publication in Iran 45 years ago.

Bijan founded Cinema Without Borders, an online publication dedicated to promotion of international cinema in the US and around the globe, eighteen years ago and still works as its editor in chief. Bijan is has also been a columnist and film critic for the Iranian monthly film related medias for 45 years and during the past 5 years he has been a permanent columnist and film reviewer for Film Emrooz Film Today , a popular Iranian monthly print film magazine.

Bijan has won several awards in international film festivals and book fairs for his short films and children's books as well as for his services to the international cinema. He is also an 82nd Golden Globe Awards voter. You must be logged in to post a comment. Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel. Close Menu. Lincoln warned that the Slave Power was threatening the values of republicanism, and he accused Douglas of distorting the Founding Fathers' premise that all men are created equal.

In his Freeport Doctrine , Douglas argued that, despite the Dred Scott decision, which he claimed to support, [ ] local settlers, under the doctrine of popular sovereignty , should be free to choose whether to allow slavery within their territory, and he accused Lincoln of having joined the abolitionists. Douglas's argument was more legal in nature, claiming that Lincoln was defying the authority of the U.

Supreme Court as exercised in the Dred Scott decision. Though the Republican legislative candidates won more popular votes, the Democrats won more seats, and the legislature re-elected Douglas. However, Lincoln's articulation of the issues had given him a national political presence. Seward , Salmon P. Chase , Edward Bates , and Simon Cameron. While Lincoln was popular in the Midwest, he lacked support in the Northeast and was unsure whether to seek the office.

Over the coming months Lincoln was tireless, making nearly fifty speeches along the campaign trail. By the quality and simplicity of his rhetoric, he quickly became the champion of the Republican party. However, despite his overwhelming support in the Midwestern United States , he was less appreciated in the east. Horace Greeley , editor of the New York Tribune, at that time wrote up an unflattering account of Lincoln's compromising position on slavery and his reluctance to challenge the court's Dred Scott ruling, which was promptly used against him by his political rivals.

On February 27, , powerful New York Republicans invited Lincoln to give a speech at Cooper Union , in which he argued that the Founding Fathers of the United States had little use for popular sovereignty and had repeatedly sought to restrict slavery. He insisted that morality required opposition to slavery and rejected any "groping for some middle ground between the right and the wrong".

Journalist Noah Brooks reported, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience". Historian David Herbert Donald described the speech as "a superb political move for an unannounced presidential aspirant. Appearing in Seward's home state, sponsored by a group largely loyal to Chase, Lincoln shrewdly made no reference to either of these Republican rivals for the nomination.

At times he was presented as the plain-talking "Rail Splitter" and at other times he was "Honest Abe", unpolished but trustworthy. On May 18 at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Lincoln won the nomination on the third ballot, beating candidates such as Seward and Chase. A former Democrat, Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, was nominated for vice president to balance the ticket.

Lincoln's success depended on his campaign team, his reputation as a moderate on the slavery issue, and his strong support for internal improvements and the tariff. As the Slave Power tightened its grip on the national government, most Republicans agreed with Lincoln that the North was the aggrieved party. Throughout the s, Lincoln had doubted the prospects of civil war, and his supporters rejected claims that his election would incite secession.

Breckinridge as their candidate. Lincoln and Douglas competed for votes in the North, while Bell and Breckinridge primarily found support in the South. Before the Republican convention, the Lincoln campaign began cultivating a nationwide youth organization, the Wide Awakes , which it used to generate popular support throughout the country to spearhead voter registration drives, thinking that new voters and young voters tended to embrace new parties.

As Douglas and the other candidates campaigned, Lincoln gave no speeches, relying on the enthusiasm of the Republican Party. The party did the leg work that produced majorities across the North and produced an abundance of campaign posters, leaflets, and newspaper editorials. Republican speakers focused first on the party platform, and second on Lincoln's life story, emphasizing his childhood poverty.

The goal was to demonstrate the power of "free labor", which allowed a common farm boy to work his way to the top by his own efforts. In the runup to the election, he took an office in the Illinois state capitol to deal with the influx of attention. He also hired John George Nicolay as his personal secretary, who would remain in that role during the presidency.

On November 6, , Lincoln was elected the 16th president. He was the first Republican president and his victory was entirely due to his support in the North and West. No ballots were cast for him in 10 of the 15 Southern slave states, and he won only two of counties in all the Southern states, an omen of the impending Civil War. The South was outraged by Lincoln's election, and in response secessionists implemented plans to leave the Union before he took office in March Attempts at compromise followed but Lincoln and the Republicans rejected the proposed Crittenden Compromise as contrary to the Party's platform of free-soil in the territories.

Lincoln supported the Corwin Amendment to the U. Constitution , which passed Congress and was awaiting ratification by the states when Lincoln took office.

Soheil nasseri biography of abraham lincoln

That doomed amendment would have protected slavery in states where it already existed. On February 11, , Lincoln gave a particularly emotional farewell address upon leaving Springfield; he would never again return to Springfield alive. Due to secessionist plots, unprecedented attention to security was given to him and his train. En route to his inauguration, Lincoln addressed crowds and legislatures across the North.

He traveled in disguise, wearing a soft felt hat instead of his customary stovepipe hat and draping an overcoat over his shoulders while hunching slightly to conceal his height. His friend Congressman Elihu B. Washburne recognized him on the platform upon arrival and loudly called out to him. Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States, that by the accession of a Republican Administration, their property, and their peace, and personal security, are to be endangered.

There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed, and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists.

I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. Lincoln cited his plans for banning the expansion of slavery as the key source of conflict between North and South, stating "One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be extended.

This is the only substantial dispute. We must not be enemies 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. By March , no leaders of the insurrection had proposed rejoining the Union on any terms.

Meanwhile, Lincoln and the Republican leadership agreed that the dismantling of the Union could not be tolerated. Major Robert Anderson , commander of the Union's Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, sent a request for provisions to Washington, and Lincoln's order to meet that request was seen by the secessionists as an act of war. Historian Allan Nevins argued that the newly inaugurated Lincoln made three miscalculations: underestimating the gravity of the crisis, exaggerating the strength of Unionist sentiment in the South, and overlooking Southern Unionist opposition to an invasion.

William Tecumseh Sherman talked to Lincoln during inauguration week and was "sadly disappointed" at his failure to realize that "the country was sleeping on a volcano" and that the South was preparing for war. But he had also vowed not to surrender the forts The only resolution of these contradictory positions was for the Confederates to fire the first shot".

They did just that. On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to send a total of 75, volunteer troops to recapture forts, protect Washington, and "preserve the Union", which, in his view, remained intact despite the seceding states. This call forced states to choose sides. Virginia seceded and was rewarded with the designation of Richmond as the Confederate capital, despite its exposure to Union lines.

North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed over the following two months. Secession sentiment was strong in Missouri and Maryland, but did not prevail; Kentucky remained neutral. As states sent Union regiments south, on April 19 Baltimore mobs in control of the rail links attacked Union troops who were changing trains. Local leaders' groups later burned critical rail bridges to the capital and the Army responded by arresting local Maryland officials.

Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in an effort to protect the troops trying to reach Washington. Taney to issue a writ of habeas corpus. In June, in Ex parte Merryman , Taney, not ruling on behalf of the Supreme Court, [ ] issued the writ, believing that Article I, section 9 of the Constitution authorized only Congress and not the president to suspend it.

But Lincoln invoked nonacquiescence and persisted with the policy of suspension in select areas. Lincoln took executive control of the war and shaped the Union military strategy. He responded to the unprecedented political and military crisis as commander-in-chief by exercising unprecedented authority. He expanded his war powers, imposed a blockade on Confederate ports, disbursed funds before appropriation by Congress, suspended habeas corpus , and arrested and imprisoned thousands of suspected Confederate sympathizers.

Lincoln gained the support of Congress and the northern public for these actions. Lincoln also had to reinforce Union sympathies in the border slave states and keep the war from becoming an international conflict. It was clear from the outset that bipartisan support was essential to success, and that any compromise alienated factions on both sides of the aisle, such as the appointment of Republicans and Democrats to command positions.

Copperheads criticized Lincoln for refusing to compromise on slavery. The Radical Republicans criticized him for moving too slowly in abolishing slavery. The law had little practical effect, but it signaled political support for abolishing slavery. In August , General John C. Internationally, Lincoln wanted to forestall foreign military aid to the Confederacy.

Navy illegally intercepted a British mail ship, the Trent , on the high seas and seized two Confederate envoys; Britain protested vehemently while the U. Lincoln ended the crisis by releasing the two diplomats. Biographer James G. Randall dissected Lincoln's successful techniques: [ ]. Lincoln painstakingly monitored the telegraph reports coming into the War Department.

He tracked all phases of the effort, consulting with governors and selecting generals based on their success, their state, and their party. He worked more often and more closely with Lincoln than did any other senior official. Lincoln's war strategy had two priorities: ensuring that Washington was well-defended and conducting an aggressive war effort for a prompt, decisive victory.

Occasionally Mary prevailed on him to take a carriage ride, concerned that he was working too hard. Lincoln began to appreciate the critical need to control strategic points, such as the Mississippi River. In directing the Union's war strategy, Lincoln valued the advice of Gen. On June 23—24, , Lincoln made an unannounced visit to West Point , where he spent five hours consulting with Scott regarding the handling of the Civil War and the staffing of the War Department.

McClellan general-in-chief. McClellan's slow progress frustrated Lincoln, as did his position that no troops were needed to defend Washington. McClellan, in turn, blamed the failure of the campaign on Lincoln's reservation of troops for the capital. In , Lincoln removed McClellan for the general's continued inaction. Despite his dissatisfaction with McClellan's failure to reinforce Pope, Lincoln restored him to command of all forces around Washington.

McClellan then resisted the president's demand that he pursue Lee's withdrawing army, while General Don Carlos Buell likewise refused orders to move the Army of the Ohio against rebel forces in eastern Tennessee. The appointments were both politically neutral and adroit on Lincoln's part. Against presidential advice Burnside launched an offensive across the Rappahannock River and was defeated by Lee at Fredericksburg in December.

Desertions during came in the thousands and only increased after Fredericksburg, so Lincoln replaced Burnside with Joseph Hooker. In the midterm elections, the Republicans suffered severe losses due to rising inflation, high taxes, rumors of corruption, suspension of habeas corpus , military draft law , and fears that freed slaves would come North and undermine the labor market.

The Emancipation Proclamation gained votes for Republicans in rural New England and the upper Midwest, but cost votes in the Irish and German strongholds and in the lower Midwest, where many Southerners had lived for generations. In the spring of , Lincoln was sufficiently optimistic about upcoming military campaigns to think the end of the war could be near; the plans included attacks by Hooker on Lee north of Richmond, Rosecrans on Chattanooga, Grant on Vicksburg, and a naval assault on Charleston.

At the same time, Grant captured Vicksburg and gained control of the Mississippi River, splitting the far western rebel states. The federal government's power to end slavery was limited by the Constitution, which before , was understood to reserve the issue to the individual states. Lincoln believed that slavery would be rendered obsolete if its expansion into new territories were prevented, because these territories would be admitted to the Union as free states, and free states would come to outnumber slave states.

He sought to persuade the states to agree to compensation for emancipating their slaves. In June , Congress passed an act banning slavery on all federal territory, which Lincoln signed. In July, the Confiscation Act of was enacted, providing court procedures to free the slaves of those convicted of aiding the rebellion; Lincoln approved the bill despite his belief that it was unconstitutional.

He felt such action could be taken only within the war powers of the commander-in-chief, which he planned to exercise. On July 22, , Lincoln reviewed a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation with his cabinet. Peace Democrats Copperheads argued that emancipation was a stumbling block to peace and reunification, but Republican editor Horace Greeley of the New-York Tribune , in his public letter, "The Prayer of Twenty Millions", implored Lincoln to embrace emancipation.

My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union When Lincoln published his reply to Greeley, he had already decided to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and therefore had already chosen the third option he mentioned in his letter to Greeley: to free some of the slaves, namely those in the states in rebellion.

Some scholars, therefore, believe that his reply to Greeley was disingenuous and was intended to reassure white people who would have opposed a war for emancipation that emancipation was merely a means to preserve the Union. He spent the next days, between September 22 and January 1, preparing the army and the nation for emancipation, while Democrats rallied their voters by warning of the threat that freed slaves posed to northern whites.

With the abolition of slavery in the rebel states now a military objective, Union armies advancing south "enable[d] thousands of slaves to escape to freedom". By the spring of , Lincoln was ready to recruit black troops in more than token numbers. In a letter to Tennessee military governor Andrew Johnson encouraging him to lead the way in raising black troops, Lincoln wrote, "The bare sight of fifty thousand armed, and drilled black soldiers on the banks of the Mississippi would end the rebellion at once".

Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield cemetery on November 19, He defined the war as dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality for all. He declared that the deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain, that the future of democracy would be assured, and that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".

Defying his prediction that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here", the Address became the most quoted speech in American history. Responding to criticism of Grant after Shiloh, Lincoln had said, "I can't spare this man. He fights. Meade's failure to capture Lee's army after Gettysburg and the continued passivity of the Army of the Potomac persuaded Lincoln to promote Grant to supreme commander.

Grant then assumed command of Meade's army. Lincoln was concerned that Grant might be considering a presidential candidacy in He arranged for an intermediary to inquire into Grant's political intentions, and once assured that he had none, Lincoln promoted Grant to the newly revived rank of Lieutenant General, a rank which had been unoccupied since George Washington.

His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 2, Grant in waged the bloody Overland Campaign , which exacted heavy losses on both sides. He emphasized defeat of the Confederate armies over destruction which was considerable for its own sake. As Grant continued to weaken Lee's forces, efforts to discuss peace began. Lincoln refused to negotiate with the Confederacy as a coequal; his objective to end the fighting was not realized.

The Confederate government evacuated Richmond and Lincoln visited the conquered capital. On April 9, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox , officially ending the war. Lincoln ran for reelection in , while uniting the main Republican factions along with War Democrats Edwin M. Stanton and Andrew Johnson. Lincoln used conversation and his patronage powers—greatly expanded from peacetime—to build support and fend off the Radicals' efforts to replace him.

To broaden his coalition to include War Democrats as well as Republicans, Lincoln ran under the label of the new Union Party. Grant's bloody stalemates damaged Lincoln's re-election prospects, and many Republicans feared defeat. Lincoln confidentially pledged in writing that if he should lose the election, he would still defeat the Confederacy before turning over the White House; [ ] Lincoln did not show the pledge to his cabinet, but asked them to sign the sealed envelope.

The pledge read as follows:. This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterward.

The Democratic platform followed the "Peace wing" of the party and called the war a "failure"; but their candidate, McClellan, supported the war and repudiated the platform. Meanwhile, Lincoln emboldened Grant with more troops and Republican party support. The National Union Party was united by Lincoln's support for emancipation. State Republican parties stressed the perfidy of the Copperheads.

On March 4, , Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address. In it, he deemed the war casualties to be God's will. Historian Mark Noll places the speech "among the small handful of semi-sacred texts by which Americans conceive their place in the world;" it is inscribed in the Lincoln Memorial. Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.

Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether".

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

Among those present for this speech was actor John Wilkes Booth , who, on April 14, , just over a month after Lincoln's second inauguration , assassinated him. Reconstruction preceded the war's end, as Lincoln and his associates considered the reintegration of the nation, and the fates of Confederate leaders and freed slaves. When a general asked Lincoln how the defeated Confederates were to be treated, Lincoln replied, "Let 'em up easy.

His main goal was to keep the union together, so he proceeded by focusing not on whom to blame, but on how to rebuild the nation as one. Thaddeus Stevens , Sen. Charles Sumner and Sen. Benjamin Wade , who otherwise remained Lincoln's allies. Determined to reunite the nation and not alienate the South, Lincoln urged that speedy elections under generous terms be held.

His Amnesty Proclamation of December 8, , offered pardons to those who had not held a Confederate civil office and had not mistreated Union prisoners, if they were willing to sign an oath of allegiance. As Southern states fell, they needed leaders while their administrations were restored. Banks to promote a plan that would reestablish statehood when 10 percent of the voters agreed, and only if the reconstructed states abolished slavery.

Democratic opponents accused Lincoln of using the military to ensure his and the Republicans' political aspirations. The Radicals denounced his policy as too lenient, and passed their own plan, the Wade—Davis Bill , which Lincoln vetoed. The Radicals retaliated by refusing to seat elected representatives from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

Lincoln's appointments were designed to harness both moderates and Radicals. Chase, whom Lincoln believed would uphold his emancipation and paper money policies. After implementing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln increased pressure on Congress to outlaw slavery throughout the nation with a constitutional amendment. He declared that such an amendment would "clinch the whole subject" and by December an amendment was brought to Congress.

Passage became part of Lincoln's reelection platform, and after his successful reelection, the second attempt in the House passed on January 31, Lincoln believed the federal government had limited responsibility to the millions of freedmen. He signed Senator Charles Sumner's Freedmen's Bureau bill that set up a temporary federal agency designed to meet the immediate needs of former slaves.

The law opened land for a lease of three years with the ability to purchase title for the freedmen. Lincoln announced a Reconstruction plan that involved short-term military control, pending readmission under the control of southern Unionists. Historians agree that it is impossible to predict how Reconstruction would have proceeded had Lincoln lived.

Biographers James G. Randall and Richard Current , according to David Lincove, argue that: [ ]. It is likely that had he lived, Lincoln would have followed a policy similar to Johnson's, that he would have clashed with congressional Radicals, that he would have produced a better result for the freedmen than occurred, and that his political skills would have helped him avoid Johnson's mistakes.

Eric Foner argues that: [ ]. Unlike Sumner and other Radicals, Lincoln did not see Reconstruction as an opportunity for a sweeping political and social revolution beyond emancipation. He had long made clear his opposition to the confiscation and redistribution of land. He believed, as most Republicans did in April , that voting requirements should be determined by the states.

He assumed that political control in the South would pass to white Unionists, reluctant secessionists, and forward-looking former Confederates. But time and again during the war, Lincoln, after initial opposition, had come to embrace positions first advanced by abolitionists and Radical Republicans. Lincoln undoubtedly would have listened carefully to the outcry for further protection for the former slaves.

It is entirely plausible to imagine Lincoln and Congress agreeing on a Reconstruction policy that encompassed federal protection for basic civil rights plus limited black suffrage, along the lines Lincoln proposed just before his death. Lincoln's relationship with Native Americans started before he was born, with their killing of his grandfather in front of his sons, including Lincoln's father Thomas.

While in office his administration faced difficulties guarding Western settlers, railroads, and telegraphs, from Indian attacks. On August 17, , the Dakota War broke out in Minnesota. Hundreds of settlers were killed, 30, were displaced from their homes, and Washington was deeply alarmed. Lincoln sent General John Pope as commander of the new Department of the Northwest two weeks into the hostilities.

Cloud, Minnesota. Serving under Gen. Pope was Minnesota Congressman Henry H. The legitimacy of military commissions trying opposing combatants had been established during the Mexican War. Pope ordered all detained be tried. Lincoln ordered Pope send all trial transcripts to Washington, where Lincoln and two of his staff examined them.

Lincoln realized the trials could be divided into two groups: combat between combatants and combat against civilians. In the second group were forty cases. One he commuted for becoming a state's witness. Sibley dismissed another when proof surfaced exonerating the defendant. The remaining 38 were executed in the largest mass execution in U.

Congressman Alexander Ramsey told Lincoln in , he would have gotten more re-election support in Minnesota had he executed all of the Mdewakanton. Lincoln responded, "I could not afford to hang men for votes. Some he released due to the efforts of Bishop Henry Whipple. Lincoln adhered to the Whig theory of a presidency focused on executing laws while deferring to Congress' responsibility for legislating.

Under this philosophy, Lincoln vetoed only four bills during his presidency, including the Wade-Davis Bill with its harsh Reconstruction program. The Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act provided government grants for agricultural colleges in each state. The Pacific Railway Acts of and granted federal support for the construction of the United States' first transcontinental railroad , which was completed in In the selection and use of his cabinet Lincoln employed the strengths of his opponents in a manner that emboldened his presidency.

Lincoln commented on his thought process, "We need the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services. There were two measures passed to raise revenues for the federal government: tariffs a policy with long precedent , and a federal income tax.

In , Lincoln signed the second and third Morrill Tariffs , following the first enacted by Buchanan. He also signed the Revenue Act of , creating the first U. The Lincoln Administration presided over the expansion of the federal government's economic influence in other areas. The National Banking Act created the system of national banks. The U. In response to rumors of a renewed draft, the editors of the New York World and the Journal of Commerce published a false draft proclamation that created an opportunity for the editors and others to corner the gold market.

Lincoln attacked the media for such behavior, and ordered a military seizure of the two papers which lasted for two days. Lincoln is largely responsible for the Thanksgiving holiday. It had been sporadically proclaimed by the federal government on irregular dates. The prior proclamation had been during James Madison 's presidency 50 years earlier.

In , Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November of that year to be a day of Thanksgiving. In June Lincoln approved the Yosemite Grant enacted by Congress, which provided unprecedented federal protection for the area now known as Yosemite National Park. Lincoln's philosophy on court nominations was that "we cannot ask a man what he will do, and if we should, and he should answer us, we should despise him for it.

Therefore we must take a man whose opinions are known. Noah Haynes Swayne was an anti-slavery lawyer who was committed to the Union. Samuel Freeman Miller supported Lincoln in the election and was an avowed abolitionist. David Davis was Lincoln's campaign manager in and had served as a judge in the Illinois court circuit where Lincoln practiced.

Democrat Stephen Johnson Field , a previous California Supreme Court justice, provided geographic and political balance. Chase, became Chief Justice. Lincoln believed Chase was an able jurist, would support Reconstruction legislation, and that his appointment united the Republican Party. Lincoln named his main political rival, William H. Seward, as Secretary of State and left most diplomatic issues in Seward's portfolio.

However, Lincoln did select some top diplomats as part of his patronage policy. He was successful after indicating to Britain and France that the Union would declare war on them if they supported the South. John Wilkes Booth was a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate army, he had contacts with the Confederate secret service.

At the last minute, Grant decided to go to New Jersey to visit his children instead of attending the play. At in the evening, Booth entered the back of Lincoln's theater box, crept up from behind, and fired at the back of Lincoln's head, mortally wounding him. Lincoln's guest, Major Henry Rathbone , momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped.

After remaining in a coma for nine hours, Lincoln died at in the morning on April Two weeks later, Booth, refusing to surrender, was tracked to a farm in Virginia. He was mortally shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett and died on April Secretary of War Stanton had issued orders that Booth be taken alive, so Corbett was initially arrested to be court martialed.

After a brief interview, Stanton declared him a patriot and dismissed the charge. The caskets containing Lincoln's body and the body of his third son Willie then traveled for three weeks on the Lincoln Special funeral train. Many others gathered along the tracks as the train passed with bands, bonfires, and hymn singing [ ] or in silent grief.

As a young man Lincoln was a religious skeptic. In the s Lincoln subscribed to the Doctrine of Necessity , a belief that the human mind was controlled by a higher power. In the s Lincoln asserted his belief in "providence" in a general way and rarely used the language or imagery of the evangelicals; instead, he regarded the republicanism of the Founding Fathers with an almost religious reverence.

He wrote at this time that God "could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds. Lincoln believed in an all-powerful God who shaped events and by was expressing that belief in major speeches. I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.

Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God.

This spirituality can best be seen in his second inaugural address, considered by some scholars [ ] as the greatest such address in American history, and by Lincoln himself as his own greatest speech, or one of them at the very least. Lincoln is believed to have had depression, smallpox , and malaria. Several claims have been made that Lincoln's health was declining before the assassination.

These are often based on photographs of Lincoln appearing to show weight loss and muscle wasting. Lincoln's redefinition of republican values has been stressed by historians such as John Patrick Diggins , Harry V. He did this at a time when the Constitution , which "tolerated slavery", was the focus of most political discourse. His position on war was founded on a legal argument regarding the Constitution as essentially a contract among the states, and all parties must agree to pull out of the contract.

Furthermore, it was a national duty to ensure the republic stands in every state. As a Whig activist Lincoln was a spokesman for business interests, favoring high tariffs, banks, infrastructure improvements, and railroads, in opposition to Jacksonian democrats. Just as the Republican Party of the s absorbed certain elements of Jacksonianism, so Lincoln, whose Whiggery had always been more egalitarian than that of other Whigs, found himself absorbing some of them as well.

And some of the Jacksonian spirit resided inside the Lincoln White House. William C. Harris found that Lincoln's "reverence for the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, the laws under it, and the preservation of the Republic and its institutions strengthened his conservatism. Randall emphasizes his tolerance and moderation "in his preference for orderly progress, his distrust of dangerous agitation, and his reluctance toward ill digested schemes of reform.

In Lincoln's first inaugural address, he explored the nature of democracy. He denounced secession as anarchy, and he explained that majority rule had to be balanced by constitutional restraints. He said, "A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people.

The successful reunification of the states had consequences for how people viewed the country. The term "the United States" has historically been used sometimes in the plural "these United States" and other times in the singular. The Civil War was a significant force in the eventual dominance of the singular usage by the end of the 19th century.

In his company, I was never reminded of my humble origin, or of my unpopular color. In surveys of U. Kennedy , and Ronald Reagan were the top-ranked presidents in eight public opinion surveys, according to Gallup. Lincoln's assassination left him a national martyr. He was viewed by abolitionists as a champion of human liberty. Republicans linked Lincoln's name to their party.

Many, though not all, in the South considered Lincoln as a man of outstanding ability. Allen C. Guelzo states that Lincoln was a "classical liberal democrat—an enemy of artificial hierarchy, a friend to trade and business as ennobling and enabling, and an American counterpart to Mill , Cobden , and Bright whose portrait Lincoln hung in his White House office ".

Sociologist Barry Schwartz argues that Lincoln's American reputation grew slowly from the late 19th century until the Progressive Era —s , when he emerged as one of America's most venerated heroes, even among white Southerners. Schwartz argues that in the s and s the memory of Abraham Lincoln was practically sacred and provided the nation with "a moral symbol inspiring and guiding American life.

Roosevelt, preparing America for war, used the words of the Civil War president to clarify the threat posed by Germany and Japan. Americans asked, "What would Lincoln do? In the Cold War years Lincoln's image shifted to a symbol of freedom who brought hope to those oppressed by Communist regimes. Bennett argued that Lincoln opposed social equality and proposed that freed slaves voluntarily move to another country.

The emphasis shifted away from Lincoln the emancipator to an argument that blacks had freed themselves from slavery, or at least were responsible for pressuring the government to emancipate them. By the s Lincoln had become a hero to political conservatives [ ] —apart from neo-Confederates such as Mel Bradford , who denounced his treatment of the white South—for his intense nationalism, his support for business, his insistence on stopping the spread of slavery, his acting on Lockean and Burkean principles on behalf of both liberty and tradition, and his devotion to the principles of the Founding Fathers.

Barry Schwartz wrote in that Lincoln's image suffered "erosion, fading prestige, benign ridicule" in the late 20th century. In the 21st century President Barack Obama named Lincoln his favorite president and insisted on using the Lincoln Bible for his inaugural ceremonies. Lincoln has often been portrayed by Hollywood, almost always in a flattering light.

Lincoln has also been admired by political figures outside the U. He appears on postage stamps across the world. He was the first of five presidents to do so. He has been memorialized in many town, city, and county names, [ ] including the capital of Nebraska. Contents move to sidebar hide. House of Representatives — Article Talk. Read View source View history.

Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. President of the United States from to For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln disambiguation. Hannibal Hamlin — Andrew Johnson Mar—Apr.