Abraham Lincoln and His Impact on Government

The sixteenth president of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. Lincoln grew up in a poor farming family and had little education, he studied law on his own and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1836.  A decade later, Lincoln was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he expressed his opinion on national issues, including opposing the spread of the slavery. During the Lincoln-Douglas debates, he gained national attention and finally became the president on March 4, 1861. He grew up from a country boy to one of America’s greatest heroes for leading the Union through the Civil War and ending the slavery. His strength, moral courage, and dedication to democracy represent the core values of the popular  sovereignty and U.S. government. This webpage will guide you through his early life, leadership during the Civil War, and his greatest impact on American history.

When the Civil War began in 1861, Lincoln fulfilled his duty as a president and worked hard to keep the United State in one Union at all cost. He led the United States through this turbulent and dangerous era, doing everything he could to protect the Union. During this time, he gave the famous Gettysburg Address, in which he inspired Americans to stay united and follow the values of the nation's founding–to build a country of peace, equality, and freedom. In the speech, he reminded Americans to honor the sacrifice of their ancestors and live up to their mission to complete the “great task remaining before us,” so that “ the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

 As the Civil War continued, Abraham Lincoln noticed that saving the United States alone was not enough, he needed to end the slavery issues because the ending of the slavery would weaken the Confederacy and give the war a greater moral purpose. With that being said, after the Battle of Antietam, he issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. “All persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” The proclamation immediately encouraged the blacks to join the army and protect their freedom. They supported this declaration, and made the Emancipation Proclamation assume a place among the greatest documents of human freedom. Later, to ensure that slavery would be completely abolished, Lincoln strongly supported the 13th Amendment which would be validated on December 6, 1865. The amendment stated that “ neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This amendment gave moral force to the American Civil War, turned the struggle into a true fight for human rights, and became a milestone in the nation’s journey toward liberty and equality. Sadly, President Lincoln did not live to see this amendment ratified.