Emily Kaht
Richmond-Burton Community High School
2009 Scholarship Award Winner

President Lincoln: The Legendary Leader

Leadership. Perseverance. Courage. These qualities are the defining traits of the presidents that history now regards as successful leaders. One such president is Abraham Lincoln. Although Lincoln was responsible for many pieces of important legislation during his presidency, he is now respected largely for his heroic leadership during the Civil War. This admiration is quite justified; Lincoln’s bold and resolute actions during this great crisis not only preserved the United States, but also warrant his placement at the top of the hierarchy of presidents, alongside such legends and George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

From the very beginning of his presidency, one of Lincoln’s most laudable qualities was his refusal to sacrifice morals for popularity. In his inaugural address, he wasted no time in informing his “dissatisfied fellow countrymen” that he intended to do whatever it took to protect the values of America’s government ("History: Abraham Lincoln: Presidential Accomplishments"). Throughout his presidency, he unwaveringly stood by this promise, even in the face of criticism and death. This extent of commitment to moral integrity is one of the many characteristics that merits Lincoln’s status as one of the most praiseworthy presidents in the history of the United States, especially considering that some of his peers, such as President Nixon, lacked any degree of honesty.

Another reason that Lincoln is worthy of great respect is that he was willing to take daring personal risks in order to preserve his country. For example, after the southern states seceded from the Union, Lincoln was quick to show his level of commitment to his nation by declaring martial law, which suspended habeas corpus (American Patriot Network). Although this action was sharply protested, it ultimately helped to preserve what was left of the Union and prevented any of the border states from joining the Confederacy. It also helped to keep quiet any Secessionist sympathizers that were living in the North, which helped to prevent further disintegration of a nation that had already been ripped apart (American Patriot Network). This action was all the more admirable because Lincoln risked his job to take it; he ignored public outcries and even a direct order from Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney (American Patriot Network) because he knew that it was the only was to save the Union. Lincoln’s willingness to put his country above himself is another quality that puts him in the same league as America’s other top presidents, such as Washington and Jefferson.

Unlike the Founding Fathers, to whom Lincoln is often compared, Lincoln was not born in a time that called for a revolution against an oppressive monarchy. Yet, in a way, Lincoln was every bit as revolutionary as his famous predecessors, and as his popular successor Franklin Roosevelt, because all of these men had something in common: each one introduced ideas that were radical, and, in many cases, unpopular, but that would ultimately contribute to the greater good. Lincoln’s radical proposal was, of course, the emancipation of the slaves. It was Lincoln who set in motion the process of ridding America of the monstrosity of slavery. Despite the unpopularity of abolition, Lincoln was against slavery from as early as his childhood ("History: Abraham Lincoln: Life Before the Presidency"), and, on New Year’s Day of 1863, he enacted the ever-famous Emancipation Proclamation ("History: Abraham Lincoln: Presidential Accomplishments"). Although this proclamation did not, in effect, free any slaves, it was an important forerunner to the Thirteenth Amendment, which would forever abolish the bondage of human beings in the United States. This is yet another reason why Lincoln is deserving of a place at the top of the hierarchy of America’s presidents.

Lincoln was inarguably one of the most outstanding presidents in America’s history. He was great not just because he was a president, but because he was, at heart, an honest, meritorious man who put the interests of his country and his fellow man above himself, and who refused to turn a blind eye to the moral wrongs in his country. Although Lincoln himself is long gone, one only has to look around themselves to see the effects of this legendary leader, and to realize that the evidence of his time as president of this country will always be prevalent in this great nation of equality and liberty.

Works Cited

American Patriot Network. "Did President Lincoln suspend the U.S. Constitution?" American Patriot Network. 31 Mar. 2009 <http://www.civilliberties.com/pages/did_lincoln.htm>.

"History: Abraham Lincoln: Life Before the Presidency." National Park Service - Experience Your America. 31 Mar. 2009 <http://www.nps.gov/history/logcabin/html/al1.html>.

"History: Abraham Lincoln: Presidential Accomplishments." National Park Service - Experience Your America. 31 Mar. 2009 <http://www.nps.gov/history/logcabin/html/al3.html>.