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Mr. Gillard
AP US History
10 December 2006
Essay 14: Lincoln
Thanks to his achievements during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln has become
known as one of America’s greatest presidents. If the Civil War hadn’t have taken place,
Lincoln would have most likely gone down in history as a mediocre president, but his
accomplishments during his presidential terms helped him to earn the title of one of
America’s greatest presidents.
During the Civil War, Lincoln called upon was his power to create a blockade,
which he did. He suspended the writ of habeas corpus, where prisoners are to be brought
before a court to find if they are guilty or not. By suspended habeas corpus, Lincoln
imprisoned 18,000 suspected Confederates without taking them to trial. Lincoln also
spent government money with the authorization from Congress. Though it can be seen as
bad, by doing what Lincoln did, it showed the Confederacy that the Union was not a
‘pushover’.
Many people know Lincoln by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, a
declaration immediately ending slavery after the Civil War. Lincoln, at first just wanted
the Civil War to be to preserve the Union, but it eventually changed into preserving the
Union and ending slavery. Though it did not actually end slavery, it still set into motion
the ending of legal slave owning.
Another monumental achievement made by President Lincoln was the signing of
the Homestead Act in 1862. The Homestead Act made available millions of acres of
governmentheld land in the west for purchase at a low cost. By signing the act, Lincoln
paved the way for more westward expansion.
Most likely the most important achievement made by Lincoln while president was
the Reconstruction. After the war, the Union and the Confederacy was still split, and
Lincoln had to find a way to reintegrate the two. Lincoln wanted to find a way to quickly
bring the southern states back into the Union without alienating the South. Going though
the South, the Union reconquered every southern state and Lincoln appointed Northern
officials to watch over the states.
Lincoln did many things that earned him the title of greatest presidents. His
successes during before and during the Civil prove that he is deserving of the title.