Who was Abraham Lincoln? Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and is regarded as one of America's greatest heroes. He preserved the Union of the U.S. throughout the Civil War from 1861 to 1865 and in the end brought about the emancipation of slaves. His rise from a humble beginning to achieve what could be said to be the highest office in the U.S. is a remarkable story. His insistence that the Union was worth saving, unlike the people around him, embody the ideals of the self-government that all nations should strive to achieve. Lincoln proved himself to be a shrewd military strategist and leader: His Emancipation Proclamation help paved the way to the abolishment of slavery, while his Gettysburg Address can be said to …show more content…
By the time Lincoln was inaugurated, seven southern states had already seceded from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America. After Lincoln ordered a fleet of Union ships to supply Fort Sumter in April, the Confederate fired upon both the fort and fleet, which marked the beginning of the Civil War. Defeated in the Battle of Bull Run, the hopes for a quick Union victory were quickly dashed and Lincoln called for 500,000 more troops as both side prepared ahead for a long and bloody conflict. Although Lincoln only had a brief period of service to his name in the Black Hawk War, he surprised many when he proved to be a capable wartime leader. Although General George McClellan was loved by his troops, Lincoln was continually frustrated by his reluctance to advance and he was removed from command when he failed to pursue Robert E. Lee's retreating army after the victory at Antietam in September 1862. Shortly after the battle at Antietam, Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, which freed all the slaves in the rebellious states. Even though Lincoln once maintained that the Civil War was the struggle to save the Union and not to save or destroy slavery, he came to regard the emancipation to be one of his greatest achievement and would later argue for the passage of the constitutional amendment outlawing slavery. This is known as the 13th Amendment that was eventually passed after his