7 score and 14 years ago, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States. In the 1860 election Lincoln ran for president against Stephen Douglas and with his election he became the first republican president in the country’s history. Due to his policies on slavery, in slave states Lincolns name was not even on the ballot, but winning the electorate votes of the North was enough to win the election. By his inauguration seven Southern states had seceded from the Union. In April 1961 the U.S. fort Sumter in South Carolina went under siege by southern forces, thus beginning the American civil war. Lincoln’s goal became preserving the union at all costs. The Union army, led by Ulysses S. Grant, had a tough mission ahead as they were forced to fight an offensive war against General Lee and the confederate forces. Following the Union victory at Antietam, Lincoln felt confident enough to shift the cause of the war from preserving the union to abolishing slavery. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which freed all the slaves.
The Union won the battle of Gettysburg which is considered the turning point for the North, and had the most casualties of any battle during the war. Following the battle Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address which, however only 272 words is considered one of the greatest speeches in history. The union went on to win the bloodiest war in U.S history when Lee surrendered in 1965. Before he began reconstruction, Lincoln was assassinated by actor John Wilks Booth. Lincoln is considered one of, if not the greatest presidents in history.
294 (excluding the title)
Citations
(n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-9382540#assassination
(n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg.html
Citations: (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-9382540#assassination (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg.html
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