The Civil War. A subject that some people think was caused by lack of Southern states’ rights. But let’s not talk of that. It would probably be preferred to talk about Lincoln. Despite what some people might say, Lincoln was an accomplished president. Lincoln was a successful leader, as demonstrated by his sense of humor, his influence, his intelligence, and his ability to handle depression. Upon reading this, it is hoped that a new light will be seen on Lincoln.
In the world of the eighteen sixties it was rare for someone to have a sense of humor, especially the president. Back then, it must have been hard to smile. But even still, Lincoln managed to smile in most of his pictures, if not all. “You can comb through thousands of photographs …show more content…
Does there even need to be a discussion about this? It is incredibly hard to deny that Lincoln was an influence on this country. Some may argue it as being bad, or some may argue it as being good. “General Pope, seeking a quick and dramatic finish to the affair, pressured Lincoln to sign the orders for all 303 executions. Nor was he alone; outraged newspaper editors and congressmen advocated a speedy hanging as well.”(Soodalter) This example shows how people just wanted the Sioux to die. They didn’t care how many of the convicted were promised safety. In their eyes, all of the 303 Sioux were guilty. But Lincoln met with one of the Sioux’s allies, and decided to go over each of the cases himself. “Given the mood of the country regarding what were seen as unprovoked savage depredations, what drove Lincoln to spare the lives of so many Sioux? The wonder isn’t that Lincoln allowed more than three dozen men to hang; it’s that he took time away from a war that was going badly - and that threatened the entire existence of our nation - to examine one at a time the cases of more than 300 Sioux, and to spare the lives of all but 38 of them.”(Soodalter) Only 38 of the convicted men were hanged. In addition to this act of empathy, or sympathy, Lincoln took time away from the war with the South to go over the cases. A war that was going quite badly for …show more content…
That should be pretty clear. Just take a look at the Gettysburg Address. The speech he wrote was two minutes, while the person who spoke before him took two hours. The gathered crowd didn’t really know how to react when Lincoln sat back down after speaking. And the photographer didn’t even get a chance to take a photo of Lincoln while he was speaking. As if that wasn’t enough, he was also able to escape a plot the secessionists had to kill him before his inauguration. “Pinkerton hoped to foil the plot by getting Lincoln to change his schedule. On February 21, he met with Lincoln in a Chicago hotel room. Lincoln said he could not believe there was a conspiracy to kill him. Hours later, Frederick Seward, son of Senator William Henry Seward, arrived at Lincoln's room and warned him of the plot, which had been discovered independently by detectives working for Colonel Stone and General Scott. They had sent young Seward to Lincoln, who now was convinced. Pinkerton and his associates were able to come up with a plan to get Lincoln safely to and from the inauguration which involved shifting the cars with the president on board to another train.” (cia.gov) True, this example didn’t really prove Lincoln’s intelligence persay, but he recognized that their claims for plots to assassinate him weren't a joke, and he agreed to their plan. This must have also showed Lincoln how far the secession states were willing to go. Looking