In 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States. He successfully kept the country together, which was extremely difficult due to the ideological divide on the slavery issue. The greatest contribution of Lincoln was that he achieved the victory of the Civil War during his terms. This victory further initiated the emancipation and desegregation of slaves in later generations. The Civil War was a crucial turning point in the US history. As a brilliant politician, diplomat, and strategist, Lincoln’s contribution secured the victory of the civil war and the unification of the country. Lincoln has often ranked in top positions in votes on the greatest president in the US history. This essay believes that Lincoln’s greatness lies in his great vison of unification, smart diplomat skills, and brilliant military leadership.
Lincoln was a successful defender of the unification of the federation. While many people consider Lincoln as the liberator of slaves and the ender of slavery, he should be praised more for being a great president and politician. Historians often criticize Lincoln on his ambiguous attitude towards slavery, but Lincoln realized that it was impossible to achieve both equality and unification under the circumstances. Therefore, he chose to set the unification of the federation as the most important goal of his political life.
He had much longer visions in dealing with national issues. He wanted to free the slaves from the personal perspective, as he hated slavery and the suffering it brought upon the slaves. However, he was not carried away by such personal emotions, and realized that without a unified country, the slaves in the south were going to suffer even more years. Therefore, all the government policies and strategies under Lincoln conformed to the ultimate goal of unification. In the historical and social context back then, racism was still the dominant ideology, even among the northerners. Lincoln was well aware of the situation. The northerner would be reluctant to fight for the slaves. Lincoln’s real belief of an abolitionist, his avoidance on the abolition issue at the beginning of the Civil War, and his lenient policy for rebellious southern armies all served the purpose of unification.
Lincoln wisely dismissed foreign attempts to intervene in the Civil War. Since the outbreak of the Civil War, the British, French, Spanish governments all issued official proclamations of neutrality. This put the north in an extremely disadvantaged diplomatic position. Since the south was in control of the important cotton exports to many European countries, it had the advantage to win over the support of the British force. Meanwhile, the US was considered a major threat to many European countries, especially Britain and France. By supporting the south, they could potentially contribute to the division of the country, which would benefit their colonizing control in north America. In response to the aggression from these countries, Lincoln took an extremely careful gentle approach to resolve the potential conflicts.
He was well aware that the slightest conflict could lead to the break of the balance. During the Civil War period, Lincoln stopped the southern states from conducting business with all of the rest of the states, through a naval blockade. However, he did not ban foreign ships from entering and leaving the ports. In addition, Lincoln also actively sought the opportunities to export grain products like wheat to Britain. These policies effectively stopped the European countries from leaning towards the south.
The leadership of Lincoln was the key contribution to the north’s victory. Although Lincoln tried his best to stop the outbreak of the war, when it finally did, he spent all his effort pushing for victory. As the president and the highest commander, Lincoln took part in creating guiding strategies and major warfare plans, without overlooking the details. Although he was not from military origins, he did extensive research on military theories.
He made extensive reference to the Napoleon military belief. The essence was to dismantle the active forces of the enemy. Therefore, the northern army targeted the southern army, instead of the southern capital Richmond. Towards the end of the war, Lincoln divided the northern force into the eastern and the western wings. This made the surrounding and attacking on the south very effective. Meanwhile, Lincoln also had the great eye for talent. As the president, he was extremely efficient in evaluating the military officers. He was quick to remove any incompetent ones who could not lead, and replaced them with young talents. For example, Lincoln saw the talent that General Grant had, despite his problem of drinking. He put great responsibilities on Grant, and in return, Grant brought him the termination of the war with victory.
At the beginning of his presidency, Lincoln took over a country which was on the edge of being divided. By the end, he returned the people with a country that had never been more unified, which was heading to a positive direction to become the world’s only superpower. In this process, Lincoln was visionary enough to not let his personal emotions to carry him away from the more important goal of unification. Dealing with plotting European forces, he took a mild, even seemingly weak approach. In return, he did not give these countries any opportunity to lean further towards the south. Finally, Lincoln served as a great commander and strategist in acknowledging talents, who eventually let the north to victory.
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