Compare And Contrast Lincoln And George Washington

FINAL ESSAY OPTION

Essay comparing and contrasting George Washington and Abraham Lincon’s methods of leadership.

Lindi Brokaw

U.S. History to Reconstruction

Dennis Allen

March 9, 2023

Two of America's most famous presidents were George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. These two men are often considered the best leaders that the United States has ever had. During their time, Lincoln and Washington both accomplished many great things. Additionally, they were able to protect the country when it was vulnerable and going through hardships. One reason that both men are so admired is because they ruled the country with similar practices and principles. However, their distinct methods during the presidency also allowed them to succeed

This is because while in office, they were forced to work with a government that opposed their ideas. For example, Washington and Congress disagreed when it came to having a national bank. When the bank plan was proposed, James Madison raised the point that the Constitution never mentioned a national bank. Madison’s argument, “...was enough to raise in President Washington’s mind serious doubts as to the constitutionality of the measure…Congress passed fairly quickly over Madison’s objections.” By voting toward the bank, a split was created between Congress and the president. Creating a national bank was an important matter, and even though Washington felt hesitant, Congress passed it anyway. Similarly, Lincoln also struggled to work with Congress because he was up against an extremist wing called the Radical Republicans. These people supported abolition more than other Republicans, and they wanted Lincoln to end slavery immediately. However, Lincoln initially disagreed with such intense abolition. In his Inaugural Address, he specifically stated, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists.” Nevertheless, the Radicals harassed Lincoln for his entire presidency. Like with Washington, Congress pushed their agenda on Lincoln regardless of what he believed or wanted. Overall, both of these presidents had a strained

This is because while Washington’s relationship with the court system was positive, Lincoln experienced friction and a lack of support. Since Washington was the first president, he was responsible for developing the entire Supreme Court. With that, he methodically chose justices to represent the people, and he wanted them to protect and represent the Court’s federal authority. Washington’s Court was productive and honorable, but that changed by the time of Lincoln’s presidency. When Lincoln entered office, the majority of the Court’s justices were Southerners who were opposed to his Republican stances. As a result, Lincoln restructured the court system to make it objective and unbiased. In his First Annual Message on December 3, 1861, Lincoln stated, “...the country generally has outgrown our present judicial system.” He wrote this for the people of the United States to explain and justify changing the Court. By the end of 1862, Lincoln filled three justice spots with people from his own party, giving the court system an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. With that, even though both presidents had similar experiences with Congress, their relationship to the Supreme Court was vastly