Essay Sample on Abraham Lincoln: Contributions to US Economic, Political & Social Development

Introduction

Abraham Lincoln is a famous historical figure that served in the US presidency from 1861 to 1865. Lincoln's political ideologies and beliefs have a significant impact on the country's socio-economic development. However, his enlightenment ideas, opinions about race equality and slavery to some extent, shaped the American Civil Wars. This paper critically evaluates the contributions of Abraham Lincoln to the US economic, political, and social developments. Also, it determines the effects of his beliefs, and actions on the American way of life besides evaluating how other scholars have debated and analyzed his life. Lincoln's view about morality and human dignity paved ways for the abolition of slavery. His actions as the US president also contributed to the return of the Confederate States to the Union. Abraham Lincoln, therefore, is a prominent historical figure in the US history who ended the American Civil Wars, slavery, and racial discrimination by signing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

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Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in Kentucky. After his education, Lincoln served as a lawyer and later joined American politics in 1834 where he represented Illinois State in the legislature. His ideas and beliefs about social, economic, and political developments of the American people shaped the politics of the Whig Party. The rise of Lincoln from humble backgrounds to national politics, besides his achievements in the highest office, is of interest to many historians to many people. However, his leadership as the president of the US ended in 1865 when he was tragically and suddenly assassinated. Lincoln's eloquent support of democracy gives him an enduring legacy and a perception to be the greatest hero in the history of the US. A study in 1999 shows that 45% of US citizens regard Abraham Lincoln as the best and most exceptional leader of all the US presidents.

Lincoln spearheaded the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment that abolished slavery in America. According to Civil War Scholars, Lincoln's bold decision to abolish slavery was a critical policy that ultimately ended the civil wars and racial inequality. However, many historians have liked the end of the civil wars to the restoration of the Union, but the justification to defend this claim is not as apparent as the abolition of slavery. Hence, Lincoln's ideas about the morality of slavery saved the US from further conflicts between the Blacks and the Whites.

The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation that Lincoln advocated for in the 1860s strengthened his belief that the abolition of slavery was necessary to balance its moral scale in the US societies. During his address at Gettysburg, Lincoln announced to the American people and the whole world that the abolition of slavery was inevitable since it was the primary reason for the outbreak of the civil wars. He further persuaded the American citizens that racial justice and free movement of slaves would have prevented the death of so many people.

Lincoln believed in racial equality. However, the debate surrounding the analysis of his primary source documents by historians with different background knowledge differs on this idea. Many historians have interpreted Lincoln's series of primary documents and concluded that he believed racial equality was God-given. Lincoln further believes that slavery was immoral since no human law should be against the wish of the Almighty God on equality. Accordingly, his view is that the exploitation of Blacks deprived them of their rights, which is against God's desire.

Some historians, however, have debated and interpreted Lincoln as a leader that supported slavery. Such scholars argued that Lincoln acknowledged slavery as the law of the land and thus was not going to use force to change the situation. But since a significant proportion of his source documents emphasize that the Blacks and the Whites were equal in the view of God, then it is no doubt that Lincoln was advocating for race equality.

From historical contexts, many researchers agree that Lincoln initiated the reconstruction of the Union (the US) through policies that promoted reconciliation, race equality, and peaceful co-existence between the North and the South. However, the attitude of Lincoln towards the future existence of newly-freed slaves in the US has remained a controversial question among historians. While this aspect is a historical event that marked the start of nation-building, some historians have analyzed it as a Radical Reconstruction that is less sensitive to the rights of the White Unionists and the Southern Blacks. Early during the Civil War, Lincoln proposed an old idea of colonization as people were debating the future of slaves who were then in the United States. In this regard, Lincoln had a sense that the Blacks ought to leave the US to form their nation as a strategy to curb future civil wars.

Revisionists have analyzed Lincoln's support for colonization is an indication of his intention to deny the blacks full equality. This debate has attracted the attention of historians as they strive to analyze whether Lincoln abandoned his proposal for colonization and why he had such an idea. However, scholars that defended Lincoln from racism have debated that while he was a dedicated colonizationist at first, he later changed this belief as he transitioned from intolerance to moderation. Such historians, however, argued that Lincoln's support for colonization was a strategy to ease the fears underlying the consequences of emancipation at the North. Presumably, a proposal to resettle the blacks in a different nation was a strategy to calm the Whites who had fears that the African-Americans might flock to the North.

While Lincoln did not endorse colonization publicly, historians have interpreted that he supported this aspect to the very end. Such historians have analyzed April 1865 talk between General Butler Benjamin and Lincoln where he admitted that colonization was necessary to avert future race wars in the South. In this case, a recollection of these evidence from primary sources, according to the debate by such historians, shows that Lincoln was a White Supremacist who was not genuine in his ideas about racial equality and harmony in the US. However, Lincoln openly rejected the colonization of the South but scholars argued that he still faced a severe problem pertaining the relationship that would prevail between the former masters and the freed slaves, majority of whom were the Blacks. Scholars have also analyzed Lincoln's documents to predict the future of the African-Americans had he not be assassinated immediately after the Civil War. Some of the critical issues that historians have debated are questions as to whether Lincoln would have given the Blacks political rights, besides awarding them suffrage.

Lincoln's view is that it is absurd and immoral for anyone to pray to God to justify slavery. To him, there is no connection between religion and the exploitation of Blacks. Historians that have analyzed Lincoln's inaugural cites his view that both the Whites and the Blacks pray to the same God and read the same Bible. His belief that it was wrong and strange for some people to justify institutions like slavery by praying to God is influential since it changed people's attitudes towards the exploitation of African-Americans. He further believed God did not support slavery, and thus, nobody should go beyond it.

Lincoln played critical roles in enlightening people about their political rights and freedom. His political and economic ideas inspired many people, especially Blacks, which consequently led to the emergence of revolutionary movements. His enlightenment marked the start of Great Awakening in the South and the rise of the revivalist movements in the North. As such, many people started seeking correct Christian life, salvation, and abolitionism ideas that revolutionized American societies. The political class, on the other hand, started embracing participatory democracy since the views of Lincoln inspired them to change their leadership style and approach to the citizenry. Some of his contributions in this context are promoting industrial development, fighting for the constitution at a national level, the universality of freedom and the concentration of the national power. Even after the death of Lincoln, such ideas inspired the people, which led to rapid development in the post-Civil War America.

Conclusion

Conclusively, Lincoln's beliefs, actions, and leadership as the US president have a significant impact on the country's political, social, and economic developments. He enlightened Americans on universal freedom and democratic rights, which ultimately led to the Great Awakening. While the historical figure promoted racial equality in the US, other scholars have debated that he was a white supremacist that had an idea to colonize the South besides denying the newly-freed slaves absolute freedom. However, Lincoln played critical roles that enhanced racial equality, consolidation of the Confederate States, and signing of the Emancipation Proclamation that freed all the slaves.

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