Personality of Abraham Lincoln Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Personality of Abraham Lincoln - Essay Example In the last part, the paper will discuss the different methods of assessing personality and the related results. Personality of Abraham Lincoln Introduction Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States and led the country to victory during the American Civil War (Sandburg, 2002). He contributed immensely towards ending slavery in America. He was a lawyer by profession before he was elected as President. He had previously served as Illinois State legislator and a member of the House of Representatives (Sandburg, 2002). His Presidency was marked with abolition of slavery, neutralization of the war in United Kingdom and defeat of secessionists. He is regarded as one of the most remembered Presidents in US history (Sandburg, 2002). Abraham Lincoln was born on 12 February 1809 in Southeast Hardin County. His father was Thomas Lincoln and his mother was Nancy Hanks. Though his parents were not educated, they were respected and affluent citizens of Kentucky back country. The family was forced to move to Indiana in 1816 (Sandburg, 2002). His mother later died from milk sickness when he was nine years. His father remarried Sarah Bush who Lincoln embraced as his mother. Surprisingly, Lincoln did not relate well with his father. Lincoln had only 18 months of formal education but he was a keen reader and writer. He married in 1842 and later had four sons whereby only one survived to adulthood. (Sandburg, 2002). Lincoln started his political career by vying for Illinois General Assembly position in 1832 which he lost and joined the military during the Black Hawk war. In 1834, he was elected a State legislature and was influenced by the England law hence he joined law school. He was admitted to the bar in 1837 and moved to establish start practicing law in Springfield (Sandburg, 2002). He once labeled slavery as inhumanity which was based on bad policies when he was the leader of the Illinois Whig Party. He joined Republican Party in 1860 and was endorsed to r un for the presidency which he won with landslide victory later in the same year. After his win, secessionist’s movements sprung (Sandburg, 2002). His major goal was abolishment of slavery which he accomplished in 1862 by signing â€Å"emancipation proclamation† law. After the war, he initiated reconstruction of America by signing â€Å"homestead Act in 1862† where government land was sold to the poor citizens at low prices (Sandburg, 2002). Legal tender act of 1862 also created the first currency of US while the National banking Act of 1863 and 1865 formed the sound financial system which ensured economic growth and stability. He was assassinated by Confederate spy on 14th April 1965 and was pronounced dead the following day (Sandburg, 2002). Abraham Lincoln was friendly to other people since he trusted them. Lincoln has strong appreciation for the motivation of others. Lincoln was also honest hence this trait my have been influenced by his previous service to the country during the Black Hawk war. He maintained that integrity and truth was the basis of good character. Lincoln was also charitable since he occasionally purchased books for Phi Alpha Society hence this trait may have been influenced by his understanding of the sufferings of Americans during slavery time (Sandburg, 2002). Lincoln was a good listener hence this trait may have been influenced by his love for writing and reading. Each visitor to the White House was welcomed with appreciation and