Several Other Candidates Besides Abraham Lincoln example essay topic

Abraham Lincoln agreed with other presidential candidates of his period; he felt that it was undignified to campaign actively. During his election campaign, he stayed quietly in Springfield for the most part. But his followers more than made up for his inactivity. It cannot be said that nothing happened during his campaign though.

One very important thing happened between he and his biggest political rival, Stephen A. Douglas, shortly before his campaign started. The issue between them was slavery. Douglas believed in popular sovereignty. He believed that the population of the new territories should vote on whether or not there should be slavery in their area, and he also believed that the territories were by nature unsuited to the slave economy, and that no legislative action was needed to keep slavery out.

Lincoln disagreed with this belief. Lincoln insisted that the territories must be kept free, he further said, because "new free states' were "places for poor people to go and better their condition. ' The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 were a series of debates in several places around the country, in which they both raced for a position in Congress. Although Lincoln failed to get the position, he gained sufficient popularity for the presidential candidacy in 1860. During his campaign, he was known as the Rail splitter. This nickname, remembering the days in which Lincoln had split rails for fences, helped make him even better known to the delegates.

Another nickname he was well known by was Honest Abe. Lincoln made several important addresses at Cooper Union in New York City in early 1860. These addresses and others made in New England made a strong impression on many influential eastern Republicans. In the election of 1864, many people condemned Lincoln for supporting General Grant, dubbed the butcher, who suffered thousands of casualties in the South. He was reluctantly nominated.

As the summer wore on, his popularity dwindled, and in August he was quoted saying it seems exceedingly probable that this administration will not be re-elected. Suddenly, the military situation changed. Many key battles were won in the South, and many discouraged Northerners got faith again. These victories helped Lincoln win re-election. Election of 1860: Popular Vote-Lincoln-1,865,593 Other-2,823,975 Electoral Votes-Lincoln-180 Breckinridge-72 Bell-39 Douglas-12 Election of 1864: Popular Vote-Lincoln-2,206,938 McClellan-1,803,787 Electoral Votes-Lincoln-212 McClellan-21 In the election of 1861, there were several important ideas that Abraham Lincoln had.

He was the first President elected by the Republican Party. Probably the biggest idea he had, and probably the biggest issue in the election was that of slavery. Ever since he heard about slavery when he was young, he was against it, and thought it immoral. When he was first elected to Congress in 1834, he proposed a law that said that the government should buy 7 all of the slaves in the District of Columbia and set them free. Even though it did not pass, it clearly showed how Lincoln felt about slavery, and people's rights.

Lincoln had very high morals, which led to his beliefs. These morals were first really evident when he insisted that a funeral service be performed over his mother when she died, during his chlidhood. He was a great speaker from the time he was a boy, which can easily be deduced from such speeches as his Gettysburg address. This asset helped him win the election. Lincoln also had a lot of integrity, which helped earn him the nickname "Honest Abe.

' The biggest issue in both of his elections was the abolishment of slavery, which he felt very strongly about, and which never really changed. It was this issue, that sparked secession of the South, and the start of the Civil war. Since his second election took place during the Civil War, his issues and beliefs were basically the same during his second election as well as his first. In the election of 1860, there were several people running against Lincoln. Among the more prominent ones was Senator William H. Seward of New York. He was in the Whig, and then in the Republican parties, and he also was an antislavery activist.

After the Whig party collapsed, he joined the Republican Party, but twice failed to be nominated for President. He was appointed the Secretary of State by Lincoln once he took office. Senator Salmon P. Chase of Ohio lacked the support of his own state. He also was a member of the Republican Party, and was an antislavery activist. For the Democratic Party, the nominee was Senator Douglas, the nation's leading Democratic. He was also an antislavery activist, and his beliefs angered the proslavery wing of the Democrats, so therefore the Democratic Party split into two factions, which helped Lincoln a lot.

Senator John Bell was a member of the Constitutional Union Party, and was at first against secession, but later encouraged it. He owned slaves, but discouraged the spread of slavery. In the election of 1964, the Republican Party was hesitant to nominate Lincoln for reelection for supporting General Grant, the butcher. Former Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee was nominated for Vice-President. The Democrats nominated General George B. McClellan as their candidate. He was also a strong Unionist, and was against slavery, and in favor of the Union being saved.

The Radical Republicans nominated General John C. Fr mont, but he dropped out of the race a month before the election. He was also against slavery, but was more interested in keeping his fortune and in his business affairs. 1861 (April 12) -The Civil War began. 1861 (April 27) -Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports. 1861 (July 21) -Confederate forces won the first Battle of Bull Run. 1862 (April 6-7) -Union troops won the Battle of Shiloh.

1862 (April 16) -Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia. 1862 (May 20) -Congress approved the Homestead Act 1862 (Sept. 17) -Union forces won the Battle of Antietam. 1862 (Sept. 22) -Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation of emancipation. 1862 (Dec. 13) -The Union suffered a terrible defeat at Fredericksburg.

1863 (Jan. 1) -Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. 1863 (July 1-3) -Union armies won the Battle of Gettysburg. 1863 (July 4) -Vicksburg, Mississippi, fell to Union forces. 1863 (Nov. 19) -Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, his most famous speech. 1864 (March 9) -Grant took command of all Union armies. 1864 (Sept.

2) -Sherman's army captured Atlanta, Georgia. 1865 (April 9) -The Civil War ended. The majority of Lincoln's administration was spent with dealing with domestic matters, particularly the Civil War. However, there were a few foreign or foreign-related events that took place. 1861-Secretary of State Seward suggests to Lincoln that the United States could be unified by provoking several European nations to war. Lincoln quietly ignored this idea.

1861 (November) -Captain Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy stopped the British ship Trent and captures two Confederate commissioners, james M. Mason and John Slidell. The British were furious, and demanded the return of the men, and readied for war. The U.S. apologized and released them. This avoided an impossible war.

There were only about two key foreign events that took place during Abraham Lincoln's administration, probably because the domestic issues were so important, and the Civil War occupied all of the President's time. Saving the Union was much more important than any foreign events that were taking place. The biggest foreign even that happened while he was in office was the Trent Affair. This affair involved the doctrine of freedom of the seas, and very nearly started war between Great Britain and the United States. On November 8, 1861, Captain Charles Wilkes, on board the Union ship San Jacinto, boarded the British boat, Trent, and captured two Confederate commissioners, James Murray Mason, and John Slidell. When asked what they were doing, they revealed that they were attempting to seek the support of France and England for the Confederacy's cause.

While these captures aroused rejoicing in the North, it raised protest throughout Britain. The citizens were outraged, and proposed war. The British demanded a formal apology and the release of the two captives. On December 26, to avoid armed conflict, Secretary of State William Seward said that Wilkes had been wrong for not bringing the Trent into port for adjudication. Therefore, America's policy for freedom of the seas was violated, therefore, the commissioners were released, and a foreign policy was made. Another foreign event that occurred was when, in 1861, Secretary of State William Seward suggested to Lincoln that the United States could once again be unified if they provoked several European nations to war.

Realizing how ridiculous of an idea this was, the president merely ignored it. In the election of 1860, there were several other candidates besides Abraham Lincoln. First was Senator William H. Seward of New York, U.S. politician, an antislavery activist in the Whig and Republican parties before the American Civil War and secretary of state from 1861 to 1869. He is also remembered for the purchase of Alaska in 1867. It was referred to at that time as Seward's Folly. Another candidate in this election was Senator Salmon P. Chase of Ohio.

He was a lawyer and politician, as well as an antislavery leader before the U.S. Civil War. From 1861 to 1864, he was the Secretary of the Treasury in President Abraham Lincoln's wartime Cabinet. From 1865 to 1873, he was the sixth chief justice of the United States, and a repeated seeker of the presidency. The third candidate was Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois. Douglas was a U.S. politician, a leader of the Democratic Party, and orator who espoused the cause of popular sovereignty in relation to the issue of slavery in the territories before the American Civil War, 1861-1865. He was re-elected senator from Illinois in 1858 after a series of eloquent debates with the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln.

The final candidate was Senator John Bell of Tennessee, a member of the Constitutional Union Party. He was an American politician and nominee for president on the eve of the Civil War. Although a large slaveholder, Bell opposed efforts to expand slavery to the U.S. territories. He initially opposed secession; however, following Pres.

Abraham Lincoln's call for troops, he openly advocated resistance and henceforth classed himself a rebel. In the election of 1864, there were two other candidates. The Democrats chose General George B. McClellan. He was a general who skillfully reorganized Union forces in the first year of the Civil War, but was widely criticized for repeatedly failing to press his advantage over Confederate troops.

Although a states' rights Democrat, he was nevertheless a staunch Unionist. In 1864 McClellan was nominated for the presidency by the Democratic Party, though he repudiated its platform, denouncing the war as a failure. The other candidate was General John C. Fr mont, nominated for the Radical Republican Party. He was a mapmaker and explorer of the Far West, as well as an important figure in the U.S. conquest and development of California. Fr mont served unsuccessfully as a Union officer in the American Civil War, and he resigned from the army in 1862, a second time. Still popular, he was considered for the presidential nomination again in 1864, but withdrew to avoid dividing the party.

In the election of 1860, there were several parties that had nominees. First and foremost was the Republican Party. The Republican Party traditionally stands for limited government and low taxes. The convention that formally launched the party was held in July 1854 at Jackson, Michigan, when a group of former Whigs, Democrats, and Free-Soilers adopted the name Republican. Members place the national interest above sectional interest and states rights, and members were firmly linked in opposition to slavery.

They believed that Congress had the power to abolish slavery, and should do so. The party quickly displaced the Whigs in the North, and became the main opposition to the Democrats, and in 1856, their first Presidential nominee, John C. Fr mont, lost the race. In 1860, their second candidate, Abraham Lincoln, won the election. Two other parties in the election were the Northern and Southern factions of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has historically represented organized labor, minorities, and progressive reformers.

The party's traditional symbol is the donkey, and its theme song, since the 1930's, has been "Happy Days Are Here Again. ' This faction, first recognized in 1792, was not officially known as the Democratic Party until the presidency of Andrew Jackson in the 1830's, when it got its present name. Jefferson had established the party on the principle of popular government, but its early Presidents were aristocrats. During the 1840's and 50's, the party began to experience internal turmoil over the issue of slavery. The Southern Democrats were led by Jefferson Davis, and insisted on the protection of slavery in all territories, and the Northern Democrats were led by Stephen Douglas, and they supported popular sovereignty, in which settlers in a territory could vote and ban slavery. The fourth party in the election of 1860 was called the Constitutional Union Party, and nominated Senator John Bell of Tennessee.

They sought to rally support for the Union and Constitution without regard to sectional issues. It was formed in 1859 by former Whig Party members, and former members of the Know-Nothing Party. After losing the election of 1860, it collapsed by the start of the Civil War. In the election of 1864, the parties were the Democratic, Republicans, and the Radical Republicans. The Radical Republicans were committed to freedom of the slaves, and later to the equal treatment and enfranchisement of the freed slaves Presidential Quotes Stand with anybody that stand right. Stand with him wh 8 ile he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.

The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but cannot do, at all, or cannot so well do, for themselves-in their separate and individual capacities. Nothing new here, except my marrying, which to me, is matter of profound wonder. As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy. Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history.

We will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. If we do not make common cause to save the good old ship of the Union on this voyage, nobody will have a chance to pilot her on another voyage.

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. Property is the fruit of labor-property is desirable-is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich, shows that other may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built.

In the election of 1864, Lincoln was re-elected for several reasons. He was mainly re-elected because of his many great qualities, because of his success with the Civil War, and because it would be pretty stupid to elect a brand new president in the middle of a big war. He was a very talented speaker, a great military strategist, and a very smart person, all reasons for his getting re-elected. Whether or not he was planning on running for a third term, he was unable to because he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theatre just 5 days after General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. The biggest use of Constitutional power in Lincoln's administration was at the start of the Civil War, when he called out the militia to suppress the insurrection, he proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports, and expanded the army beyond the limit set by law. Since Southern sympathizers living in the North were obstructing the war effort, he gave the army the fight to suspend the privilege of habeas corpus in areas where these Southern sympathizers were active.

Lincoln ordered the spending of federal funds without waiting for congressional appropriations. He believed that these actions where within the war powers granted to the President by the Constitution, and was prepared to justify his acts when Congress met for the first time in his administration, in July, 1861. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney criticized his suspension of habeas corpus. Lincoln's response to this criticism was one that nobody then or afterward ever could answer. He said are all the laws but one to go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces lest that one be violated? Thus, his actions were justified, and Constitutional.

Abraham Lincoln's vice-president for his first term, from 1860-1864, was Hannibal Hamlin. Hannibal practiced law for a while, and then started with politics as an antislavery Jacksonian Democrat. He served in the Maine state legislature from 1836-1840. In 1842, he was elected to Congress, as well as in 1844. He was in the senate from 1848-1856, and he took an antislavery position on sectional issues, and then he left the Democratic Party in 1856 because it endorsed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. That same year, he was elected governor of Maine, their first Republican governor, but chose to return to the senate in 1857.

In 1860, he was nominated for vice president by the Republican national convention because they believed that as an Easterner and former Democrat, he would do a good job of balancing Lincoln's nomination. He favored radical emancipation measure and pushed for the arming of blacks. After failing to be renominated in 1864, he went on to other things. Abraham Lincoln's vice president for his second term was Andrew Johnson. Johnson became the 17th president, after Lincoln was assisi nated in 1865. He had very lenient Reconstruction policies toward the South, and they irritated the Radical Republicans in Congress and led to his political failure.

Johnson had a lot of political experience prior to becoming vice president. From the time he was 21, when he organized a workingman's party that elected him first alderman, and then mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee, where he grew up without much formal schooling, he was into politics. He spent eight years in the state legislature, from 1835-1843, and he joined Andrew Jackson's states rights Democratic Party. He was in Congress from 1843-1853, and then served as governor of Tennessee from 1853-1857. In 1860, he broke from his party when he opposed secession. When Tennessee seceded in 1861, he was the only Southern senator that refused to join the Confederacy.

He was selected to run for vice president on Lincoln's successful bid for re-election in 1864. After looking at the ratings of the Presidents, I have decided that Abraham Lincoln's placement at second below George Washington is completely justified and fair. Abraham Lincoln was an absolutely outstanding President, and is better than all of the Presidents except for Washington, of course. Lincoln was president during a very tough time for our nation, a time filled with turmoil and internal conflict, a time that many of the presidents probably would not have been able to handle as well as Lincoln did. He basically saved our nation, because if the Civil War had been lost, it is beyond almost anybody's imagination what our country would be like now, if it even still existed. Nobody can imagine still having slavery, and it is even more evident today how cruel and horrible slavery was, and what a great job Lincoln did at ridding the country of that disgusting practice.

Yes, I think Lincoln more than earned his place at the top of the list.