Abraham Lincoln Dbq

Scholars almost universally regard Abraham Lincoln as one of the United States’ greatest presidents. He successfully led the nation during its greatest crisis; his wartime issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, and his postwar assassination, gave him the modern reputation of a saintly martyr who championed slaves’ equal rights. However, his true greatness comes from the fact that he saved the union in spite of his flaws. Some people portray Lincoln as an abolitionist who led the nation in a noble war against slavery. Such assessments are not accurate. After his failed opposition of the Mexican-American War resulted in mocking criticism from his constituents, he took no direct stand on slavery for the rest of his term. He abandoned his

for his inauguration, Lincoln learned of an assassination plot and sneaked into the c¬ity in disguise. This immediately prompted criticism accusing him of cowardice. When the war started following the resupply of Fort Sumter that he ordered, he built up the military, created a blockade around the Southern coast, and suspended the right of habeas corpus. When Secretary of State William Seward was in the process of writing a strongly-worded rebuke to Britain for considering supporting the Confederacy, Lincoln rewrote it in a less harsh and provocative tone. The North was militarily unprepared at first; they lacked sufficient supplies and had an untrained army. Lincoln struggled to find a general who could win battles until he appointed Ulysses S. Grant. The North suffered heavy losses, and criticism of him continued from both sides; people often accused him of abusing his power. While this was going on, he also had to deal with the loss of his son, Willie, and his wife’s emotional reaction to it. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all slaves in rebelling states free as part of his strategy. Many Northerners severely criticized him following his signing of the Proclamation, because they did not wish to fight a war over