We like to think that all of our presidents of the United States were really great men, and to be sure, managing the amazing work of the presidency takes a special kind of person. One of the most "unique" and great things about the American government system is the concept of citizen leadership. This is the idea of an ordinary citizen getting up and running for a while and then going back to private life.
But of the few men who have held that position, few stand out for their great achievements and leadership in a time that changed the world forever. And one of these really great presidents was Abraham Lincoln. More than just any other president, Lincoln had to deal with an internal civil war that involved more than shouting and calling out names. This was a conflict that could spread across the country during the outbreak that would lead to the emergence of a number of weak independent states instead of the powerful nation we know as America today.
It was Lincoln's leadership, his commitment to principles and strong morals that enabled the United States to find its way into that war and begin a healing process that would eventually lead the nation back to unity. Lincoln's term of office from 1860 until his death was a major challenge. Had he struggled to cope with the southern effort to succeed the union and his ability to retain those states as part of the American state, he would have been praised as a very great American.
One of the lesser-known leadership styles Lincoln used to benefit from his presidency was his appointment of nationally capable people from opposition political parties to be part of his cabinet. Lincoln felt that he needed to have close advisers from one side to the other so that his presidency would not be American and one-sided. By rallying members of “loyal opponents” in his loyal internal circles, Lincoln always knew both sides of every issue, that made him a powerful leader.
But that’s not even his biggest job or the one we miss him the most. His bold and unchanging opposition to slavery is his greatest contribution to American history and to world history. Determined to put everything in order to stop this pagan social sin, Lincoln made a stand, against the popular view of the time in many cases that he would be the figure to end slavery.
It was not a stand that came at no cost. The civil war was one of the most bloody and costly in the history of the nation, if there was no other cause than all the casualties; both sides were wounded Americans. It would take decades to repair the damage done by that terrible war. The divisions between north and south continued for decades and are still part of our national identity in this country.
But the result was what Lincoln wanted as his legacy. By issuing a Proclamation of Liberation to end the abolition of slavery, Lincoln followed that by passing the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments that made it possible for permanent freedom to be fought for and fought for in the Civil War.
The freedom that many black Americans experienced in that war kept the memory of Abraham Lincoln as one of our greatest presidents in the hearts and minds of all Americans. Surprisingly, the memorial that honors him in the Washington shopping mall is one of the most revered places in the nation and thousands flock to it every year to pay homage to this great president who made freedom and liberty a reality for all Americans, not just a few. And his face on Mount Rushmore deserves it, so the very mountain itself shouts, this is one of the greatest leaders in the history of this great world.
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