Abraham Lincoln Presidential Profile
Major Conflict of this administration
- In 1864, Lincoln faced many challenges to his presidency. The civil war was now in its fourth year, and many were questioning if the South could ever be fully conquered militarily. Lincoln's election was a primary reason the war broke out. - The two main challenges of Lincoln's presidency were the issue of slavery and the beginning of the civil war. These two issues are closely related and revolve around each other. Lincoln's presidency was in the midst of the civil war and was the president who had to deal with the secession of the south and the controversy over if slaves should be free. This led to the start of the war. The civil war left a long-lasting impact on American history, especially on this era and president. Lincoln was seen as a hero who helped the union in defeating the seceding south and a president who fought to end slavery.
Major Economic Issue(s) of the Administration or Major Economic Decision(s) made by the Administration
- Instituted the Income Tax - Issued the First Paper Currency for American Use - Approved the Reinstatement of a National Bank
Major inventions and/or technological changes that occurred within this era.
- Invention of the telegraph to aid in managing war & telegraph keys - Device that lifted boats over shoals - Only US president to hold a patent because of the device above - Inventions during this time were to improve technology in the shipping industry
Vice President(s)
1st term: Hannibal Hamlin 2nd term: Andrew Johnson
Opponent(s) by term
1st term: John C. Breckinridge 2nd term: George B. McClellan
Dates of the term or terms of office
1st term: March 4, 1861 - April 15, 1865 2nd term: 42 days
President's full name
Abraham Lincoln
Issues prominent in each election
Election of 1860: Secession; the relationship between the federal government, states, and territories; and slavery and abolition. Election of 1864: During the American Civil War
Major Supreme Court Cases
Ex Parte Vallandigham (1863) - Former congressman (Clement L. Vallandigham) was tried for military tribunal by General Ambrose Burnside after an incendiary speech at Mount Vernon. Vallandigham was found guilty for the charges. Ex parte Metzger was used as a precedent - The Supreme Court decided that it had no jurisdiction to hear appeals from a military commission that had sentenced a candidate to life in prison for an inflammatory speech. They missed an opportunity to set an important precedent on behalf of freedom of speech
State in which Abraham Lincoln was born and State from which he ran for President
He was born in Larue County, Kentucky, and ran for President in Illinois.
Major domestic/political happenings during this presidential administration
Homestead Act - Provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. Claimants were required to "improve" the plot by building a dwelling and cultivating the land. In order to get this land, they had to pay a small fee. Morrill Act - Act Donating public lands to the several States and [Territories] which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the Mechanic arts" marked the first federal aid to higher education. Emancipation Proclamation - Executive order by Lincoln that proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million slaves under Confederate control. It did not free slaves in the Union border states, because that could anger them and prompt their secession.
Educational and Occupational background
Lincoln mainly self-educated his formal schooling was intermittent, limited to three brief periods in local schools, which aggregated to less than twelve months. He worked in the village of New Salem as a boatman, store clerk, surveyor, and militia soldier during the Black Hawk War, and became a lawyer in Illinois. He was elected to the Illinois Legislature as a member of the Whig Party in 1834 and was reelected in 1836, 1838, 1840, and 1844.
Political party
National Union Party (Republican Party/Whig Party)
Major social events, social happenings, or social movements that occurred during the time of this administration.
Reconstruction Era - Period after the American Civil War from 1865 to 1877, during which the United States grappled with the challenges of reintegrating into the Union the states that had seceded and determined the legal status of African Americans. Emancipation Proclamation - Executive order by Lincoln that proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million slaves under Confederate control. It did not free slaves in the Union border states, because that could anger them and prompt their secession.
Major Foreign Policy Decisions made during this period by the U.S.
The Blockade of Confederate Ports - Designed to prevent the export of cotton and the smuggling of war materiel into the Confederacy.