The Qualities Of Abraham Lincoln A National Hero
Abraham Lincoln
Throughout history, Abraham Lincoln is considered to be a national hero. Many Americans think of him as a great president, but do they know why? Abraham Lincoln had many qualities that exemplified him as a great leader such as: intelligence, motivation, experience, and organization skills. However he has one huge quality that does not reflect well on him as a great leader and could make him be considered a terrible hero for America. One quality could stain the office of the president and it was racism. However a terrible quality of a leader is racism, he offset it by keeping moral values out of state. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in a log cabin in Kentucky. Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States. He served as President between the years of 1861-1865. Lincoln was elected for two terms of presidency, but in his second term he was assassinated by John Wilkes Boothe. …show more content…
He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys. All except one died at an early age. Lincoln was a very well-motivated and ambitious man as a president.
Lincoln actually lost most of his elections in the United States Government. While losing so many elections he was still motivated enough keep running until he won the election. Throughout his elections he ran as a member of the Whig party. After losing elections he won a position in the House of Representatives and his law partner said, "His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest."(1). Also Lincoln was motivated to preserve the union even though he personally did not want African Americans to be free. In order to be a leader you must have some intelligence. Lincoln showed that he had intelligence through all he did for the nation. Lincoln received a great deal of knowledge throughout his lifetime such as: espionage, analysis, cryptology, and counter-espionage. He even authorized covert actions. Lincoln was the subject of an intelligence operation even before he became President of the United States in 1861. Lincoln also became a licensed attorney after studying law for
years. Also a huge characteristic that Abraham Lincoln had was organization. Just a key thing to know is that it is almost impossible to operate in the government without being organized. One of the biggest events that Abraham Lincoln was associated with was the civil war. He was extremely organized in civil war. He had everything planned out. He even gave up his ideology on equality so the union would win the war. With Abraham Lincoln’s organization, he won the Civil War to preserve the Union. In order to run a country as Lincoln did, one must be as experienced or better. In 1832 Lincoln ran for the Illinois House of Representatives and was defeated. Lincoln became New Salem 's postmaster after he lost the election. In 1834 Lincoln ran for a seat in the House of Representatives again and won the election. Abraham Lincoln served in the Illinois State Legislature from1834 to 1842. He also was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1847to 1849. With all of the great qualities that Lincoln possessed, he also had negative qualities. The biggest negative quality Lincoln had, was his racism. Although he said that he would free the slaves in order help the union win the war, he also said if he could avoid freeing slaves he would have. In fact Lincoln stated “I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and black races,” to Stephen Douglas. Lincoln also stated “I, as well as Judge Douglas, am in favour of the race to which I belong having the superior position.” and “Free them [slaves] and make them politically and socially our equals? My own feelings will not admit of this. We cannot, then, make them equals.” He made it blatantly obvious that he did want separation of races. He also said “What I would most desire would be the separation of the white and black races.” and he vowed: “I will to the very last, stand by the law of this state, which forbids the marrying of white people with Negroes.”(4). Therefore Abraham Lincoln overall had pros and cons like everyone else on the planet but only few are known as American heroes for both. He showed many great qualities of a leader and had strong heart to use them to the best of his ability. His experiences helped him soar and strive for high goals and eventually achieved them. If he was not motivated and ambitious, Lincoln could not have done the things he did for our nation. Even though he had his own views on racial equality, he was still able to set them aside and work to benefit the nation. By swallowing his pride and being opportunistic, he showed the United States that he was a great leader and an American hero.
Works Cited
1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln
2. https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2011-featured-story-archive/intelligence-throughout-history-abraham-lincoln.html
3. http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/History/presidents/Presidents_16_Lincoln.htm
4. http://www.quebecoislibre.org/08/080815-2.htm
Throughout history, Abraham Lincoln is considered to be a national hero. Many Americans think of him as a great president, but do they know why? Abraham Lincoln had many qualities that exemplified him as a great leader such as: intelligence, motivation, experience, and organization skills. However he has one huge quality that does not reflect well on him as a great leader and could make him be considered a terrible hero for America. One quality could stain the office of the president and it was racism. However a terrible quality of a leader is racism, he offset it by keeping moral values out of state. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in a log cabin in Kentucky. Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States. He served as President between the years of 1861-1865. Lincoln was elected for two terms of presidency, but in his second term he was assassinated by John Wilkes Boothe. …show more content…
He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys. All except one died at an early age. Lincoln was a very well-motivated and ambitious man as a president.
Lincoln actually lost most of his elections in the United States Government. While losing so many elections he was still motivated enough keep running until he won the election. Throughout his elections he ran as a member of the Whig party. After losing elections he won a position in the House of Representatives and his law partner said, "His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest."(1). Also Lincoln was motivated to preserve the union even though he personally did not want African Americans to be free. In order to be a leader you must have some intelligence. Lincoln showed that he had intelligence through all he did for the nation. Lincoln received a great deal of knowledge throughout his lifetime such as: espionage, analysis, cryptology, and counter-espionage. He even authorized covert actions. Lincoln was the subject of an intelligence operation even before he became President of the United States in 1861. Lincoln also became a licensed attorney after studying law for
years. Also a huge characteristic that Abraham Lincoln had was organization. Just a key thing to know is that it is almost impossible to operate in the government without being organized. One of the biggest events that Abraham Lincoln was associated with was the civil war. He was extremely organized in civil war. He had everything planned out. He even gave up his ideology on equality so the union would win the war. With Abraham Lincoln’s organization, he won the Civil War to preserve the Union. In order to run a country as Lincoln did, one must be as experienced or better. In 1832 Lincoln ran for the Illinois House of Representatives and was defeated. Lincoln became New Salem 's postmaster after he lost the election. In 1834 Lincoln ran for a seat in the House of Representatives again and won the election. Abraham Lincoln served in the Illinois State Legislature from1834 to 1842. He also was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1847to 1849. With all of the great qualities that Lincoln possessed, he also had negative qualities. The biggest negative quality Lincoln had, was his racism. Although he said that he would free the slaves in order help the union win the war, he also said if he could avoid freeing slaves he would have. In fact Lincoln stated “I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and black races,” to Stephen Douglas. Lincoln also stated “I, as well as Judge Douglas, am in favour of the race to which I belong having the superior position.” and “Free them [slaves] and make them politically and socially our equals? My own feelings will not admit of this. We cannot, then, make them equals.” He made it blatantly obvious that he did want separation of races. He also said “What I would most desire would be the separation of the white and black races.” and he vowed: “I will to the very last, stand by the law of this state, which forbids the marrying of white people with Negroes.”(4). Therefore Abraham Lincoln overall had pros and cons like everyone else on the planet but only few are known as American heroes for both. He showed many great qualities of a leader and had strong heart to use them to the best of his ability. His experiences helped him soar and strive for high goals and eventually achieved them. If he was not motivated and ambitious, Lincoln could not have done the things he did for our nation. Even though he had his own views on racial equality, he was still able to set them aside and work to benefit the nation. By swallowing his pride and being opportunistic, he showed the United States that he was a great leader and an American hero.
Works Cited
1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln
2. https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2011-featured-story-archive/intelligence-throughout-history-abraham-lincoln.html
3. http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/History/presidents/Presidents_16_Lincoln.htm
4. http://www.quebecoislibre.org/08/080815-2.htm