Abraham Lincoln was among the most influential leaders that the world has ever seen. He was the sixteenth president of the USA. He was instrumental in dealing with the civil war. He showed America a new road during the Civil War which is also considered by many as the toughest period America ever faced. This paper will throw light upon the contribution of Abraham Lincoln because he has been my inspiration.
“Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you… You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.” (Abraham Lincoln, 2009).
“I think Slavery is wrong, morally, and politically. I desire that it should be no further spread in these United States, and I should not object if it should gradually terminate in the whole Union.” (Abraham Lincoln, 2009). He was one of the most instrumental in abolishing slavery in America, he cared and thought about the people, his selflessness made him very popular and adorable among the people. Lincoln played a very huge role in avoiding a war with Britain in the year 1861, he believed in peaceful coexistence. America had a very strong army at that time and an even stronger navy even though Abraham Lincoln settled all the issues amicably. Had it been someone else in his position the conditions at that time would not have been the same. He made efforts to safeguard the interests of the people; abolishment of slavery is just a small example of which he did. In addition to this he did numerous other things like he promoted the passage of the thirteenth amendment, he was instrumental in issuing the Emancipation proclamation and the same was declared in the year 1863. Lincoln had a knack for handpicking people who were supposed to work with him, he made sure that the people he picked were sensible and stuck to him when it came to decision making. This enabled Lincoln to work freely without coming under the pressure of anyone else.
Lincoln faced hardship almost all his life before taking charge as the president of the USA. His mother died of milk sickness when he was just nine years old. Lincoln never got along with his Father; he got along very well with his Step Mother but never got along with his Father. Lincoln faced bankruptcy early on in his life but these small challenges only made him stronger and doubled his will to achieve his goal.
He was elected as the President in the year 1860, his hard work and dedication paid off and he achieved his goal of becoming the President and serving the people. His speech better known as the Gettysburg address shaped the proceedings which were to take place in America. Unfortunately when the civil war was about to end, he was shot while watching a play with his wife. It is very fair to say that Abraham Lincoln was persistent personified; ignoring the defeats he had to face in life he marched on to reshape America. He gave a new dimension to America and even to date he is regarded as one of the finest leaders the world has ever seen. This is some achievement that takes a lot to achieve.
“The Emancipation Proclamation, announced on September 22 and put into effect on January 1, 1863, freed slaves in territories not under Union control. As Union armies advanced south, more slaves were liberated until all of them in Confederate hands (over three million) were freed. Lincoln later said: “I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper.” The proclamation made the abolition of slavery in the rebel states an official war goal. Lincoln then threw his energies into passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to permanently abolish slavery throughout the nation” (Letter to Albert, 2009).
“I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be “the Union as it was.”… 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. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors, and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.” (Letter to the Horace Greely, 2009). This is a passage taken from the great proclamation which was made by him. The most significant contribution of his was to abolish slavery in America. This was really a very commendable job that was very difficult to complete, many criticized him for being too slow in abolishing slavery but he finally managed to do it. The people who criticized him were very demanding; it is very obvious that a social evil takes a lot of time to get rid of and hats off to Lincoln for doing exactly the same.
Influence of Abraham Lincoln on my Life
Abraham Lincoln aimed at bringing equality in society; I share the same dream as Abraham Lincoln. In order to give my dreams a practical shape, I have formed alliances with members who have common goals. We aim to bring equality in the society and we also try to eliminate any sort of racism which exists in the world. Our next aim will be to develop a website so that we can have a global reach and we can share many unknown things with people. Their suggestions will be encouraged and suitably rewarded; this will give an opportunity to all the women all across the globe who suffer from oppression to voice their opinion in our forum. We have full backing of the policemen, they have been very encouraging right from the day I approached them. This Not for profit organization is called “The Lincoln’s Dream”, currently there are 5 white men, 4 black men and 6 women in this project, we aim to make this a very big organization in order to follow in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln. I have already succeeded to an extent by forming alliances with the members who share common dreams. I have many plans to eliminate inequality and racism from our society, but I don’t want to jump the gun, I want o go step by step. Abraham Lincoln has left his ever-lasting impression on my mind and I have decided his dreams are my dreams now, he envisaged a future where there is equality and I am working towards having a very desirable future and this is how Abraham Lincoln has influenced my life.
Conclusion
Lincoln was a great leader and there are no two ways about this, his persistence stood out and was an example for everyone to learn from, he was a born leader who inspired many a people. America witnessed prosperity and growth during his presidency. This goes to show that he was very good at managing people and this is a very important quality a leader must possess and Abraham Lincoln certainly had many more qualities in addition to this.
References
Abraham Lincoln. In Showcase. 2009. Web.
Abraham Lincoln. In The White House. 2009. Web.
Bibliography
Letter to Horace Greely. In Abraham Lincoln Online. 2009.
Letter to Albert G Hodges. In Abraham Lincoln Online. 2009.