HangMa

Mrs.Engel
AfricanAmericanHistory
January62014
AbrahamLincoln
AbrahamLincolnwasbornFebruary12,1809inHardinCounty,Kentucky.Theareathathe
wasraisedinhadmanywildanimalsandwasconsideredthefrontier.Hismotherdiedwhenhewas`0
sohewasraisedbyhissisteruntilshedied,thenhisfatherremarriedandbroughtanewstepmother.
Hewasselftaughtthroughreadingmanybooksthoroughlyandrepetitivelyspendingmuchtime
studyingtoeducatehimself,asheonlyhad1yearofactualschooling..HemarriedMaryToddin
1842.Hehad4children,3whodiedbeforereachingadulthood,Williediedat12,Edwarddiedof
tuberculosis,andTaddiedofheartfailure,thesedeathscausedMaryToddtobecommittedtoa
mentalasylumandAbrahamtohaveclinicaldepression,whichhecalledthemelancholyatthetime.
AbrahamLincolnmademanycontributionstothecivilwar,hewasthepresidentatthetime,
andmadethebiggestdecisionwhichgreatlychangedthepathofAmericanHistory.Hewastheoneto
declarewarbyactingtopreservetheUnion,whichwasthelinkingoftheNorthandtheSouth,the
thingthatdividedthemwasmostlyslavery.HisdecisiontopreservetheUnionatanycostcausedthe
civilwar,abolishedslavery,andstrengthenedthenationafterwards.Thisdecisionwouldcausefurther
enmitybetweentheNorthandtheSouth,whichdoesnotgoawayuntil100yearslater,whenracial
tensiondroppedafterthespeechbyDr.MartinLutherKingJr.
HismostfamousspeechwastheGettysburgAddress,init,hesaysNowweareengagedina
greatcivilwar,testingwhetherthatnation,oranynationsoconceivedandsodedicated,canlong

endure.Wearemetonagreatbattlefieldofthatwar.Wehavecometodedicateaportionofthat
field,asafinalrestingplaceforthosewhoheregavetheirlivesthatthatnationmightlive.Itisaltogether
fittingandproperthatweshoulddothis.Thisspeechmarkedthebeginningofthewaragainstthe
Confederacybecauseitwasthedeclarationofthewaragainstslaverytothewholecountry,including
thesouth,whichwasmoreconcernedwithstatesrights.
Hiscontributiontoabolitionwastheendingofit,eventhoughthereweremanyabolitionistsat
thetime,theEmancipationProclamationwasthefinalblowthatendedslaveryintheConfederacy.This
angeredmanyConfederatesandcausedtensionstosoaragainsttheNorthuntilthewarfinallystarted.
Noonetothisdaystillcanfullyknowswhichsidestartedthewar,asitisaheavilydebatedtopicto
thisday.Hisabolitionistviewmayhavecamefromhisbackgroundasachild,ashebelongedtoa
churchthatprohibitedslaveryandlivedinareasinthenorthwheretherewerenoslaves.Hewasiconic
fortheidealofrepublicanism,andwasportrayedasthefatherofit.Republicansatthetimewere
mostlyconsideredantislavery,thus,AbrahamLincolnwastheirmostimportanticon.
Duringthewar,AbrahamLincolnwenttomanycampsandbattlegroundstoraisethemoraleof
thesoldiers.Hegavepassionatespeechesandencouragedmanytokeepfighting.Hisideaofblacks
beingkin,althoughnotunheardof,gainedinpopularitythroughoutthenation.Lincolnlearnedmany
militarymaneuversandtermsthroughhisstudyofwarbookssuchasElementsofMilitaryArtand
Science.Becauseofthis,hewassuccessfulasamilitarytacticianandgainedfameasareputable
general.Healsoappointedandledmanygeneralsandtheirbattles
Attheendofhispresidency,hewasheavilycriticizedbecausehedidnotendthewarquickly
enoughtoappeasethegeneralpopulation.TheNorthhadwonincreasinglymoremilitarybattles
againsttheSouth,sothewarfeltlikeitwasgoingtoendsoonenough.Hestillmanagedtobringmany

republicansthatwereseparatedthroughpoliticaldifferencestogether,hespentmanyhourstalkingto
themtobringbackasenseofunitythroughouttheparty.WithoutLincoln,theRepublicanpartybefore,
wereaveryweakanddisorganizedparty,theyhadnosenseofunityastheirpoliticalviewswere
different.Althoughthedifferenceswerenotextreme,theydidnotfeelabondbetweentheircommon
goals.HealsoralliedmanynorthernDemocratstojoinhiscause,bringingmoreandmoresupporters
ofhispolitics.
HisimpactonAfricanAmericanHistoryisheavy,hecompletelyabolishedslaverythroughout
theUnitedStates,preservedtheunion,allwhiledoingthisasoneperson,butthroughthehelpofother
abolitionistsofcourse.ThewaythatheencouragedtheConfederatestorebuildafterthewarheavily
affectedthesouth.Heavyracialdiscriminationwasoftenpresentandwouldbethereuntilthelate
1900s.Lincolnspoliticalruthlessnesswouldbeakeyfactorintherelationshipsbetween
AfricanAmericansandtheirwhitecounterpartsintheSouth.

WorksCited
"AbrahamLincoln."History.com.A&ETelevisionNetworks,n.d.Web.03Jan.2014.
"AbrahamLincoln."TheWhiteHouse.N.p.,n.d.Web.03Jan.2014.
"TheGettysburgAddressbyAbrahamLincoln."TheGettysburgAddressbyAbraham
Lincoln.N.p.,n.d.Web.05Jan.2014.