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.
His efforts against slavery still stand out and no one else has ever fought against slavery like he did. He is still remembered as one of the best presidents that the US has ever had. His legacy is going to live for many more years to come. His unprecedented efforts brought slavery to an end in the US and made him stand out because of the same.
He was one of the most instrumental in abolishing slavery in America, he cared and though 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 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 of 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 persistence 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 till date he is regarded as one of the finest leaders the world has ever seen. This is some achievement which 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
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.
On September 22 he issued a letter which announced the emancipation of the so called slaves in the US. He set them free and the whites were no longer allowed to oppress the blacks in the US. This started a revolution and set the blacks free all over the world. The blacks were treated like slaves by the whites. They were beaten, harassed and misbehaved with by the whites. They were used as domestic servants who took care of all the household chores of the whites’ and who ate what was left over by the whites. This life of theirs was certainly not worth living but Lincoln gave them a new reason to live. He rejuvenated the Dark Continent and the Dark Continent responded by springing into life.
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 which 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 off and hats off to Lincoln for doing exactly the same. It goes to show how Lincoln fought for the poor and how he gave up his life for the emancipation of the blacks, racism still haunts mankind and it is very important to make this world free of racism. Equality must exist and all people must be treated equally. There must be no discrimination, all must have equal rights and all must be treated equally. Lincoln’s goal was fulfilled but things have changed now for the worse, there is racism almost everywhere in the world. It is predominant especially in Europe. It is high time to change this and it is high time to instill equality in the society.