American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln vs Jefferson Davis - Essay Sample

Introduction

The American Civil war occurred between 1861-1865, and it is also known as a war between the states. The civil war was a great struggle that is known to have existed between two entities; the union and the Confederacy. Each of these sides had vital individuals who were powerful and are remembered for their impact during the civil era. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis became opposing presidents based on different reasons that they had. The two had different styles of command in their leadership as presidents. They both faced similar challenges as they tried to lead their nations to victory. The two men provided solutions that were, in most cases, alike. Their different ways of interpretations profoundly influenced Their responses to the similar problems that they faced even though they were both the leaders of the United States and hence used the same constitutional documents and Bill of Rights. Each man worked towards centralizing the control of their nation's war efforts. They massively impacted the subsequent development of the United States as well as the course of both the war. Some of the individuals known to have impacted the American civil war include President Abraham Lincoln and President Jefferson Davis. The backgrounds, political experiences, and leadership styles of Lincoln and Davis in civil war make it easier to evaluate their styles for strengths and weaknesses as well as giving proper explanations of how the styles contributed to each man's successes and failures during their respective presidencies.

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Background

Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis came from different backgrounds. The two men who are known to have led the United States into the civil war lived similar life while they were young. The two were born in Kentucky in log cabins, and they were only separated by few miles. Their similar beginnings were changed after they took different directions in life. For instance

Davis's family became prosperous after they moved while that of Lincoln did not. Davis managed to attend several schools since he was young while on the other hand, Lincoln only managed to attend formal school for a full year throughout his entire life. Davis is known to have a lot of knowledge about the federal government compared to Lincoln, who only managed to serve in congress for just one term.

Davis was sent to different schools for his studies, and he faced several challenges, such as sicknesses. His education exposed to the political arena, and he became politically active. He was also nominated for congress by democrats in 1845 and served as a House representative for a few months. He eventually resigned to serve in the Mexican war. Having been elected as a colonel for Mississippi, he greatly volunteered to provide leadership services.

During Mexican, War Davis served in the Army after graduating from West Point, which made him gain specific insights into several officer personalities based on Civil War, which was not meant for positive results for his country. Davis is known as a quick-tempered man who, in most cases, held grudges in the face of contrary evidence and onto opinions stubbornly.

Davis left the Army in the 1850s and acquired a leadership seat in the United States, where he served as a Senator, national politician who was highly respected, and secretary of the war. Even when things were against his wishes, he always ensured that he has remained loyal to Mississippi, which was his home state, and he mainly wanted command in the field. Davis got what he wanted, and he did not want to continue being the president of Confederate states since he felt that it needed many sacrifices to provide services which he regarded as a poor fit for his style of command. In most cases, Davis acted like a commanding general through using an authoritarian style, which was known to create a direct contrast to the wishes of the structure government and his people.

On the other hand, Lincoln did not have any substantial military experience. He was born in Kentucky in 1809. His father was a moderately prosperous farmer, and both of his parents were illiterate. Abraham spent most of his time on the farm when he was growing up, unlike Davis whose spent most of his life in school. After Lincoln's father moved to Indian, the family faced significant challenges since they lost land and property.

Lincoln's education was quite different from that of Davis because he only managed to go to school for less than one year. He got his first job in 1830 after his family moved to Illinois. He was eventually hired to help general store in New Salem since he was known to be a robust, cheerful but also a lazy person. Lincoln later joined a group of boys who invited and served in the militia with him. Lincoln got involved in politics in the years 1832, where he became the candidate of state of Legislature in Illinois.

Political Experiences

The political experiences of Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln are essential in this particular case. They were drastically different in their political experiences, education, and military experience. Davis was more qualified than Lincoln for the position of leadership in their nation. Both President Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln had great political experiences that profoundly impacted the state of civil war in America.

Jefferson Davis was a great commander in chief in the Mexican war regime and also a graduate from West Point. In a political context, Jefferson is known to have led more men in combat compared to most generals from both sides of the war. Davis compiled a record that was distinguished in the House of Senate and representatives by serving a secretary of war under Franklin Pierce, which gave him a lot of political experience. Davis's political records were found to be matching some men in the country when the civil war broke out.

On the other hand, the union was led by Abraham Lincoln. Being a lawyer gave him much experience as a military to the White House. Lincoln got a chance of serving in the House of Representatives for one term and four terms in Illinois State Legislature. All these were political platforms that exposed him to various political events making him gain political experiences.

These two men appeared to be incredibly unsuitable about government leadership into the war, but later on, the war proved itself otherwise. Both the two men were from different backgrounds; hence they brought different weaknesses and strengths into the office. None of them was interested in starting a war, but when it began, they had different ways to face and deal with a multitude of problems through using their political experience that they had. For instance, Lincoln faced difficulty in his first year in the office since he was unfamiliar with his job.

Most of Americans in 1860 were equally unprepared to face war. Lincoln was not fully politically equipped, and he is regarded as blind, who led other blind people in America in the context of the Civil war. He also lacked military experience when he was getting into the political arena and shockingly unprepared for what he was about to face in the world of politics. Unlike Davis, Lincoln did not look like a commander in chief, but certain signs showed how Lincoln had the makings of being a fine commander-in-chief.

Despite that Lincoln had limited experience in his political leadership, he received much support from people who were always there to fight for him, and they all stood by him throughout the war era. Lincoln was highly interested in learning the business of war and as well as testing new weapons, especially in the White house. He also worked hard towards checking out on a military strategy that was acquired from the Library of Congress. Lincoln developed a compelling strategic vision that would be significantly effective in armed forces union through emphasizing attacks at specific points located along Confederacy's lines in a simultaneous manner, which would have better stretched the confederate resources towards the breaking point.

Leadership Styles

Lincoln had minimal formal education compared to that of Davis acquired from West Point. They played the role of commander in chief in their leadership based on the constitution. However, Lincoln embraced the leadership style that only made him believe in prerogative in the preservation of a republican government, which was mainly limited by the will of people. Lincoln was a self-educated lawyer, and he mainly persuaded his people always to see his point of view instead of using force upon them.

Lincoln's national political experience only allowed him to serve for one term in congress. He mainly used common sense and a homespun humor point of view to empathize with people and convincing the audience to agree with him. In this context, Lincoln was able to build a consensus while Davis did not.

Both presidents realized that the concentration of powers based on the central government during the civil war era creates a capable war machine and make it more cohesive both at home and in the field. Both Lincoln and Davis worked hard towards steering their respective nation's war efforts through the use of similar measures and also made several similar decisions. Being critical leaders during the American civil war era, they had a lot of impacts on the occurrence of the war and development of the United States.

The federalized nature made work easier for Lincoln due to the Union government when compared to the emphasis of the rights of the state in the south did to Davis. Both Davis and Abraham's political enemies considered them moderate and hence fought ferociously in most cases through using the same domestic political foes. The Southerner fire eaters highly feared Davis since he was at heart a unionist. On the other hand, Lincoln used this opportunity to keep radicals in his republican party. He used his much time and energy to achieve this. They differed in their career goals, and at the same time, they shared some experiences.

Lincoln acquired leadership skills through various political campaigns that took place in Salem after the Black Hawk wars. After his initial venture into the world of politics, Lincoln partnered with a general store where he started running it. He was left with debts after the partnership failed but was later made to pay it as he became a congressman in 1847.

Lincoln acquired political experiences when he was elected to serve for four consecutive terms for the State of Legislature. Unlike Davis, who lacked proper experience in political matters, Lincoln was regarded as a leader for internal improvements such as canals. Lincoln worked harder to gain more knowledge through studying law and was capable of running a congress for four terms, although he was not nominated. Unlike Davis, Lincoln used the union strategy even though he had not acquired formal military education.

Evaluation of their Styles for Strengths and Weaknesses

Lincoln and Davis used leadership styles as presidents who can determine their strengths and weaknesses during the civil war. The north was regarded as large and powerful hence it was easier to invade the south due to their large population. Lincoln being the civil war leader from the north he had weakness since his people were not familiar with the land, and due to bad leadership, they would not work in unity.

Lincoln had promoted internal development; hence the north had more railway roads than the south, which made it easier to invade the south. The styles in the south with Davis as their leader showed their strengths and weaknesses as well. The south had proper military training. Strengths are that the south had good leadership due to the lack of African Americans in their navy and Army. Their weakness was that they did not have a big navy, and also their Army contained...