Abraham Lincoln: Leadership Analysis of America's 16th President

Background and Rise to Power

Abraham Lincoln came from humble origins. He was not born into a wealthy aristocratic family like so many of this nation's presidents; rather, he was born on a Kentucky farm in 1809 and was largely self-educated. He had few books to guide him, but after learning to read he used the Bible as his main reference, and it instilled in him a sense of ethics and moral rightness that he often relied upon to influence others. He had a remarkable memory and could recall Scripture or stories at will, regaling audiences in a folksy, down-to-earth manner that was also typically insightful and logical. Lincoln advanced in his career by teaching himself the law and eventually starting his own law firm with a partner, William Herndon, in 1840.

Following his work as a lawyer in Illinois, Lincoln moved into politics, becoming a U.S. Representative in 1847. In Congress, he made a name for himself by challenging President Polk on the matter of the Mexican-American War. Lincoln did not spend much time in Congress, however, and soon returned home to practice law. He always had an eye on returning to office, and he tried repeatedly until the time was finally ripe for a shot at the White House.

For the most part, Lincoln did not adopt many controversial positions in his private or public life. At a time when the nation was inflamed with hot rhetoric from many different political, religious, and social viewpoints, Lincoln sought to maintain a balanced perspective. He did not want to inflame circumstances, and as a lawyer he understood the importance of maintaining logic and order at all times. However, as he would show in his later political career in the 1860s, he sometimes used more force than others in his position might have used. Lincoln had a vision and a mission he felt compelled to pursue. As a leader of a nation, he believed he had to make difficult decisions that would directly affect the country's future.

Lincoln became the 16th U.S. President — and the first Republican president — in 1861. He inherited a divided nation, torn over the issues of slavery, states' rights, and westward expansion, yet he achieved much during his time in office. He led the Union to victory in the Civil War, conditionally emancipated enslaved people throughout the South, and called for peaceful and fair reconstruction when the war was over. Yet he also faced numerous challenges and experienced failure. He was ultimately unable to build a coalition to bring his grand vision to fruition, as radical Republicans objected to his reconstruction plans. He also did not fully abolish slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation alone — but he did push Congress to amend the Constitution so as to end the institution once and for all. At the same time, Lincoln was ambitious, perhaps to a fault; he did not hesitate to violate parts of the Constitution during the War in order to see the Union prevail (Goodwin, 2006). Over the course of his presidency, he faced several hurdles — including lack of popular support and lack of unity — and sometimes acted questionably, but in the end he always held fast to a vision and mission to keep the nation together.

Leadership Successes

One of Lincoln's greatest successes was simply the fact that he won election in the first place in 1860. Up until his presidential run, Lincoln had enjoyed only moderate success as a politician; he had lost his most recent bid for a U.S. Senate seat. However, he did not let this failure prevent him from continuing his pursuit of office. Instead, he used his freedom to give speeches and tours across the nation, speaking often on behalf of other politicians and thereby building a base of political support for himself. Moreover, he avoided the traps that other speakers fell into at the time. As Burlingame (2020) points out, Lincoln's "style avoided the wordy moral rhetoric of the abolitionists in favor of clear and simple logic." In so doing, he also avoided offending any of the various factions around the nation. The country was already torn on the matter of slavery, and with states looking to gain influence in the western territories, it mattered enormously how a politician viewed the issue. Lincoln never ventured into moralizing; he used a sensible, logical approach to the problem, which prevented him from being branded as an abolitionist — which would have caused one half of the nation to hate him — or as pro-slavery — which would have caused the other half to hate him. He also built a more national name for himself as a speaker and politician, which helped him when he ran for president in 1860. But most importantly during this time, Lincoln "had established a solid group of campaign managers and supporters who came to the Republican convention prepared to deal, maneuver, and line up votes for Lincoln" (Burlingame, 2020). In other words, he had identified the deficiencies that caused him to lose his Senate race, and over the following year he had built up support that would enable him to win the presidency.

Lincoln also managed to fly under the radar in the lead-up to the nomination. The front runner was William Seward, and as front runner, Seward served as the main lightning rod for criticism from opponents. No one paid much attention to Lincoln because he was not seen as a real contender. Rather than announce himself loudly and draw attention, Lincoln bided his time and waited for Seward's star to dim. He also held an ace: he knew that Seward would be unlikely to carry Indiana and Pennsylvania in the general election, meaning Republicans needed another candidate if they wanted to win the White House. That is when Lincoln suddenly became the best option. Delegates gathered around him at the convention and, finding nothing particularly controversial about him, gave him the nomination (Burlingame, 2020). This was Lincoln's first great success as a leader: it showed that he could maintain poise and confidence even as others appeared to be making headway. He had a plan and stuck to it, knowing that in time it would pay off — and it did.

After defeating Seward to win the Republican nomination, Lincoln faced a fractured Democratic Party in the general election. The Democrats were divided: if they ran on a pro-slavery platform, no one in the North would vote for them; if they ignored slavery, no one in the South would vote for them. Stephen Douglas tried to convince the Party to run a middle-of-the-road platform to win votes in both regions. But Lincoln still had to show that he was worth a vote from northerners — and really only northerners, since he was not on the ballot in any southern state. He therefore supported the branding of himself as "Honest Abe" and chose an issue that was relatively uncontroversial to rally people behind: the Homestead Act. This was an act that would give 160 acres of federal land to anyone who agreed to farm it, helping spur settlement of the western territories and giving Lincoln broad enough appeal to muscle his way through the general election. The other candidates failed to find an issue that would not be divisive; Lincoln settled on one that almost everyone could get behind — an incentive. By promising free acreage to settlers, he all but ensured that he would have enough popularity among a significant portion of the population. He carried almost all of the northern states and won the White House.

Once in office, however, he had to prove himself. He did that by identifying his mission and vision for the country and pursuing them vigorously. While true national popularity would have been impossible in such a divided country, he had to prove he could hold the Union together — and he did so rather cunningly. He appealed to the moral consciousness of the nation once the war with the South was underway. Whereas the main issue was really one of states' rights, Lincoln decided to refocus the nation's attention on the issue of slavery, which until then he had avoided because of its contentiousness. Now, in order to win the heart of the nation, he had to change the nature of what the fight was about. He issued his Emancipation Proclamation in order to give the war a moral tone: it would from that point on be a war about ending slavery and bringing equality to the United States.

His emancipation of enslaved people during the Civil War was indeed a game changer, because it meant that England could not in good conscience support the South. Up until then, the South had been hoping England would support its cause for independence (Foote, 1958). But England had abolished slavery within its own empire and could not come to the aid of a state that still maintained the institution. By refocusing the war on slavery, Lincoln effectively prevented the South from obtaining a major ally across the Atlantic. More than that, he effectively began dismantling slavery by freeing those enslaved in Confederate states still fighting the Union. Many expressed deep gratitude for the Proclamation. One individual, whose own family was freed thanks to Lincoln's intervention, wrote to him: "When you are dead and in Heaven, in a thousand years that action of yours will make the Angels sing your praises" (Johnson, 1863). Such was the impact of Lincoln's Proclamation that it became one of the defining moments of his legacy.

After the war, Lincoln still had to prove that his vision for the nation made sense, and he did so in his Second Inaugural Address. In this speech, Lincoln showed that the driving force of America had to be love and forgiveness — not bitterness, hatred, envy, or wrath. Few presidential speeches have been as eloquent and forceful. It laid out the blueprints for America's redemption after the bloody Civil War, and in it Lincoln showed himself as a transcendent, transformational leader — laying out his vision and encouraging everyone to embrace it. His Second Inaugural resounds with magnanimity, and if he lacked this quality in some ways during the war — for instance, by denying people their right to due process — he tried to make up for it with this sweeping address to the nation upon being sworn in for a second term.

Conclusion

Perhaps Lincoln realized at the end that he had been too quick to provoke a war with the South; perhaps he wished the matter had been resolved through legal means after so many years of fighting. But whatever inner thoughts and feelings he had on the subject, Lincoln told the nation squarely what he now wanted to do: join hands with the defeated southern states and welcome them back to the Union without ill will. He did not want to lay conditions upon them or humiliate them further. The South had surrendered, and his mission was accomplished. He had led the nation through many challenges and had forever changed the landscape of the country. But when he was sworn in for a second time, a new Lincoln and a new leader emerged — one who may have seen the limitations and failures of his first term and resolved to do better. He was certainly more direct, heartfelt, and ethical in how he viewed his new mission and vision for the country. He wanted a country that could enjoy peace. He wanted a country no longer gripped by impassioned voices calling for more pain. He chose to be an authentic leader at that moment — putting a set of clear values forward, values he had learned as a child reading the Scriptures from one of the only books he possessed in his humble Kentucky home. In the end, Lincoln stepped away from ambition and returned to his humble roots, leading as a man of conscience and conviction.

References

Burlingame, M. (2020). Abraham Lincoln: Campaigns and elections. Retrieved from https://millercenter.org/president/lincoln/campaigns-and-elections

DiLorenzo, T. (2002). The Real Lincoln. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Foote, S. (1958). The Civil War: Ft. Sumter to Perryville. New York: Random House.

Goodwin, D. K. (2006). My whole soul is in it. Smithsonian, 36(10), 58.

Guelzo, A. C. (2000). Lincoln and the abolitionists. The Wilson Quarterly, 24(4), 58–70.

Jefferson, T. (1774). Thomas Jefferson to Virginia Delegates to the Continental Congress, August 1774: A summary view of the rights of British America; instructions [Manuscript/Mixed Material]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,

Johnson, H. (1863). Letter to Lincoln. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/nonjavatext_emancipation.html

Lincoln, A. (1865). 2nd Inaugural. Retrieved from