Abraham Lincoln was a very interesting president. He exemplified his moral opposition to slavery quite publicly. It seems as if he was the only pro-abolition president that had the guts to do something. On a fateful day, the lives of many that have suffered throughout the years would finally cease. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Even though this basically only worked on the Northern states, it eventually led to the freedom of all slaves, making them all freemen that owned themselves. This makes me wonder… What would have happened if Lincoln was never elected president? How long would it have taken for slavery to be abolished? Nevertheless, this did, in a way, leave a clear path for the 13th Amendment to be passed, which would ensure that all people could own themselves and not be considered as property.
Not only did Abraham Lincoln help the slaves gain their freedom, but he was also quite the philosophical man. One of his quotes was “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable – a most sacred right – a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.” This quote seems to be related to slavery. Essentially, he seems to be stating that anyone should have the opportunity to have their voice to be heard, no matter their race or gender. He also believes that those rights would essentially lead to a liberated world. This liberated world he speaks of seems to give the idea that everyone has to be free and of course, means that everyone should be able to own themselves.
We sometimes don’t really think about Lincoln as being that influential in our history, but without him being the president of the United States, a lot of our history would be completely different. I mean, without him, the Confederate States might never of had seceded from the Union, which would have meant that the Civil War might not of had occurred. Despite the fact that it would mean that many lives were saved, it means that the north and the south would never of had settled their differences on slavery, which would have meant that the 13th Amendment would not of had been passed. Without the 13th Amendment, slavery might not have been abolished. Not only that, but after the Civil War, the nation became more unified, in a sense, than before the Civil War.
The Strobridge Lith. Co., Cincinnati.”Abraham Lincoln and his Emancipation Proclamation.” c1888. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.