I have to say I'm a big fan, as Abraham Lincoln guided the United States through one of the most tumultuous periods in its history: the American Civil War. His unwavering commitment to the unity of the nation was instrumental in preserving the Union during this ordeal. Lincoln also played a major role in strengthening the power of the American federal government. During his tenure, he took bold steps to strengthen the authority of the central government and maintain the integrity of the Union. His belief in the primacy of the federal government over the states laid the foundations for a united country, and helped define the powers and responsibilities of modern American government.
In addition to his legislative and political achievements, Lincoln also left his mark on history through his talent for oratory and his ability to inspire people. His 1863 Gettysburg Address, delivered at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, has become one of the most famous speeches in American history. In a few powerful sentences, Lincoln captured the essence of democracy and commitment to America's founding ideals.
Finally, Lincoln's presidency laid the foundations for a nation on the road to reconciliation after the Civil War. His vision of a reunited and healed America was embodied in his efforts to heal divisions and promote reconciliation between North and South. Sadly, Lincoln did not have the opportunity to see this vision fully realized, as he was assassinated shortly after the end of the Civil War.
All in all, Abraham Lincoln left an indelible mark on the history of the United States. His achievements in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, strengthening the federal government and promoting post-Civil War reconciliation made him for me the greatest of American presidents.
Americans, do you agree with me that Lincoln is the greatest president in U. S. history?
Unquestionably. While there were other President who had defining accomplishments and were of undoubted historical importance, none was as decisive and significant as Lincoln, who not only saved the Union in its darkest hour, he defined its very nature.
Indeed, some years back a group of historians rated Lincoln and Churchill not just as great national leaders, but as the greatest leaders in all Western civilization. They earned the accolade - to be sure an accolade not without controversy - because they recurred to very wellsprings of Western civilization to define their statecraft and preserve their societies.
To some degree, this is an observation with a speculative cast. We can only imagine how the Western world would have looked had the United States not survived its civil war. (Ditto had Britain not stood alone and survived in 1940-41.) However, even in a contemporaneous context, Lincoln stands out.
At the time Lincoln became President, it was not just that the country was divided on the question of slavery - with all of its implications for how man viewed his fellow man. The country was, significantly, divided over its very nature. The question of whether or not it was single national community, or instead a confederation of separate and distinct communities, each with their own identity and, in extremis, sovereignty.
Lincoln answered the question not just through military victory - which by itself would not have been enduring - but by summoning the nation to the philosophical essentials of its birth. He defined the nation by common attachment to a specific creed - "a nation dedicated to a proposition" - and in the fullness of time defined the nation.
No President - not even Washington nor Jefferson - answered the question of what the United States was, and thus what it is now, as permanently and definitively. By summoning "the mystic chords of memory," i. e. to a keener sense of its animating principles, Lincoln turned the country into a nation. Something much more essential and elemental and thus enduring.
Not perfectly or completely to be sure. There is no perfection in this mortal veil of tears. However, it is undeniable that had their been no Lincoln, there would have been no America, and had there been no America, the history of Western civilization going forward - with all of its promise of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law - would have looked very different and likely would have taken a far darker turn.
You see, sometimes we agree 🤣 With all due respect to Monsieur De Washington he can't be compared to Lincoln , and I don't much like what he provoked in North America in 1754. 🤣
I don't think so. I think FDR was better and perhaps Washington.
Washington set the standard for the rest...
First, Washington left after 2 terms even though he could have won a third had he run. By leaving office voluntarily, he illustrated that the US was not going to be another de facto monarchy. He also illustrated the peaceful transition of power which has been a hallmark of the United States until Trump's loss in 2020 and Capitol Riots of 06 JAN 2021.
Second, Washington, as President and thus head of the Executive Branch of the US Federal Government, showed that the law would be enforced. This was critical to show that the new national government had teeth. (*) Specifically, Washington himself rode with the army to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion. Just as important as showing the Federal Government had teeth, he reinforced the fact that Congress makes the law of the land and that we are a nation of laws, not men.
(*) Previously, the United States national government operated under the Articles of Confederation and it was weak because it was a confederation. It's the same reason that the EU is a tad weak. When the leaders of the United States met to talk about how to fix the Articles of Confederation, they eventually decided that they should be scrapped. They decided that the new national government needed to be stronger and so they went with a federation instead of a confederation. It was not feasible back then for the US to have a unitary national government like France does.
FDR was important for addressing two existential crises:
1. The Great Depression. The GOP was worthless the previous 3+ years having done nothing between the onset of the Great Depression in Autumn 1929 and FDR's inauguration in March 1933. Their belief in being government being hands-off caused countless people to suffer.
2. World War 2 including authorizing the development of the atomic bomb.
While I do believe Lincoln was a very good President, I think he could have been better. Had he had a full second term instead of only a month in his second term before he was assassinated, he might have been greater or perhaps even worse.
For one thing, the US Civil War went on too long. The US Civil War began on 12 APR 1861 about 1 month after Lincoln was inaugurated. It didn't end until 1865 (legally, 1866). For all intents and purposes, the war effectively ended when Robert E. Lee, Confederate General, surrendered to Ulysses Grant in early April 1865 about a week before Lincoln was assassinated.
The war went on too long because Lincoln kept the incompetent George McClellan as Commander of the Union Army until November 1862. After a vacancy of 4 months and another, he selected Henry Halleck as Commander. Again, problems. It wasn't until Lincoln appointed Ulysses Grant as Commander in March 1864 that the war changed. The Civil War, which had dragged on for 3 years would end a little over 1 year later once Lincoln chose the right man for the job.
Furthermore, the Emancipation Proclamation should have occurred earlier than 01 JAN 1863. Ideally, Lincoln would have issued it immediately after the war started.
@abc3643 nope. Brave American soldiers are why. FDR was a communist wannabe tried to shred the constitution by his court packing scheme which was stopped and by implementing various unconstitutional government programs still in effect to this day.
Well, that depends on how you look at it. Considering the outcomes, it's hard to argue that he isn't at least in the top three, but he also greatly benefits from having been flanked by two of the worst presidents in US history (Johnson and Buchanan). This makes it pretty easy to surmise that anyone else at the time probably wouldn't have done as good of a job, but it would also be completely disengenuois to believe he did everything right, both within his administration and the management of the war. Fortunately, and in stark contrast to modern trends, he was very adaptive and willing to admit and correct mistakes, so all of that said, I'd put him very high on the list with really only Washington (who also presided over a much smaller rebellion) is really comparable. Something that makes these two stand out is that they had every opportunity to fundamentally change the government and exploit situations to seize power, but refused to. That flat out does not happen today, and in fact the opposite has been the norm ever since Lincoln's death.
Honestly, it’s probably a tie between Lincoln in Washington the reason Washington is considered to be the greatest president and Lincoln to be a close second and this is arguable. Is due to the fact that Washington not only was a great general, but you himself had amazing character. When Benjamin West came to King George the third and told King George that Washington was going to resign King George said. “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world." Washington was so popular that he could have literally become the king of America if you wanted to, but all he did was service 2 terms. Which set a precedent for other presidents to follow the only one that did not follow the Washington two-term president was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Frankly the entire world was shocked when the Washington stepped down from the presidency.
Buddy, which one is better Washington or Lincoln debate has been going on for at least half a century if not more they would definitely be in the S class ranking as far as president go
We are going to have to disagree that strengthening government power via the bureaucratic state is a good thing. Government exists to grow itself and reward its members at the expense of everyone else, which is not a benefit as far as I am concerned. Lincoln was also famous for running a heavy handed police state which suspended the previously enjoyed right to a fair trial and bodily sovereignty. This terrifying precedent has been abused frequently by the US government ever since as it finds doing so convenient to its agenda of growing its power and enriching its members. He let General McLellan hide in camp for 3 out of the 5 years of war, causing a great deal of unnecessary death and destruction to prolong government contracts instead of replacing him right away and crushing the numerically and technologically inferior rebels as soon as possible. As proud as I am of the first Republican president for taking Democrats' slaves away, I still do not agree that an expensive and overpowered member enrichment and favor distribution machine distribution system is a credit to his name, nor is a weaponized police system and the stomping of political enemies civil rights for the convenience of the powerful.
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Like most people who went to public schools in this country I originally thought Lincoln was a great President as well.
Then I learned what America actually was, what freedom is, and how liberty actually works.
When you know theses things its very clear cut that Lincoln's goal of "persevering the union" was antithetical to the whole propose of the union to preserve the rights of the people and their states as declined in the declaration.
Yes as it happens, the 13 original States didn't just fight a war against 1 involuntary union declaring explicitly the impossibility of such a thing being legitimate only to turn around a few years later to create anther-one.
So Lincoln's legal and historical argument for what he was doing was utter nonsense. Indeed decades earlier Lincoln had proclaimed support for the very same inalienably right of revolution. This of course in the context of protecting what he saw as ideological interest against a supposed southern threat. At least at that time you might say Lincoln believed in Democracy. He certantly didn't when 11 southern States voted themselfs out of the union the same way they voted themselfs in.
Lincoln like many politicians today was liar and a power hungry ideologue. His offense at the idea of having been "robed" the right to rule the 11 southern states with his policy choice by their revolutions led him to ignore their rights and wage a war that cost at least 600,000 American lives.(the equivalent of 6+ million today)
In his act Lincoln ended what was until a voluntary union of the states for the propose of their mutual interest and transformed the united States into an involuntary empire.
Not at all! If he was so great, he wouldn't have been whacked. Lincoln was sentencing people to death without due process, and he was a racist. He wanted to send all the freed slaves to Belize, which I imagine would be viewed as a bad thing to most people.
I think Nixon was the greatest, honestly. We got so many new programs and agencies under him. He was cracking down on smoking and we also had so many historic achievements, like the Moon Landing and end of the Vietnam War. And he gave the Indians a shitton of land, and he didn't believe in policing the world. He was super intelligent, didn't give a shit about political correctness, and he could really relate to the average American. He was like Trump in a lot of ways, except he was much more professional.
As far as Lincoln is concerned, it's true that he was assassinated, but that shouldn't be taken as an indication of his status as a great president. Lincoln's assassination was the result of an isolated act committed , and this does not call into question his overall achievements and legacy.
As for the charge that Lincoln sentenced people to death without a fair trial, it's important to note that during the American Civil War, he was faced with extraordinary circumstances where extraordinary measures were necessary to preserve the Union and end slavery. It's true that some of Lincoln's war measures may have been controversial, but they were often motivated by the need to keep the nation intact.
Moreover, to claim that Lincoln was racist because of his idea to move freed slaves to Belize is an oversimplification of his position. At the time, many debates were underway on how to handle the issue of former slaves and their integration into society. Lincoln's proposals for the removal of freed slaves were exploratory and ultimately not implemented.
Now to Nixon. Although Nixon achieved some notable accomplishments, it's important to note that his tenure was also marked by major political controversies and scandals, most notably the Watergate scandal that led to his resignation. This casts a shadow over the assessment of his presidency as "the greatest".
Moreover, mentioning that Nixon gave Native Americans a large amount of land is an isolated fact that should not obscure other aspects of his policy. It's essential to consider the broader context and evaluate his policies and actions as a whole.
Finally, to compare Nixon to Trump by calling them both similar, except that Nixon was more professional, can be disputed. The Nixon and Trump presidencies were very different in many respects, both in terms of leadership style and policies implemented. Assessments of their effectiveness as presidents vary considerably according to point of view and historical interpretation.
In conclusion, it is important to take a balanced view of history and evaluate presidents according to the totality of their actions and legacies, avoiding focusing solely on certain isolated aspects. Opinions on the presidents vary and are subject to debate, but Lincoln, in particular, is widely recognized for his central role in preserving the Union and abolishing slavery, giving him an important place in American history.
I'm not necessarily opposed to the policy myself, but I'm saying that other people might be.
I wrote a 20 page paper on Nixon in college.
Of course the two had many differences, policy-wise, but they both despised the media, didn't give a shit about political correctness and knew how to relate to the average American. Nixon was certainly a lot more well spoken though, despite being socially awkward and certainly a lot less ignorant.
That's interesting. You're saying you should look at all aspects, yet in your original question, you came to your conclusion based solely on the good things you thought Lincoln did. Many historians are now starting to question Lincoln.
And yes, while it is true that many of Nixon's policies were the ideas of his advisors and contradicted his personal beliefs, I think it's important to look at the bigger picture. I don't think that one scandal should nullify the many good things he did, and it's a shame that so many people only know him for Watergate, and that the scandal has overshadowed the many GOOD things he did for our country.
That's not JFK's fault, nor was it Nixon's ambition. They did land on the moon under Nixon's presidency. Fact. It's like laying flowers at the feet of the successor to a great leader for an undeserved accolade. Nixon had his own achievements to stand on, scandal aside. There is no need to give him credit where it elsewhere belongs. I agree with you substantially. I'm just clarifying where accolades should be awarded, in my opinion. 😊👍
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He did have to take some liberties with the Constitution to fix things. The next Republican President will have to as well. Some of my favorites are: Washington, Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, Reagan and (brace yourself) Trump.
Washington , Lincoln , Reagan , but my god , please you can't put mister Trump in this list. None of the last American presidents ( Obama , Trump , Biden ) deserve to be named among the greatest.
18.6K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.
Sure. He also bent a lot of laws with the “war powers” act. Like nearly locking up the scotus justices. Martial law, etc. But unprecedented times.
FDR is my fave for economic reasons, which I’m a fan of. But he also locked up japs on western coast. I did read he locked some germans up. Not many, just some iffy ones with ties to the Nazis. Still pretty racist. And he didn’t allow blacks to serve alongside whites or be officers etc. He actually said, “Maybe we should have bands playing on the ships. Their people are good at that.” Eeeshh…
Never revere legends. But you can admire flawed people.
Nope. The honor goes to George Washington. The pressure of being the first president set the precedent for all future non-monarchs. He showed incredible restraint of authority and showed fidelity to the Constitution. His decision to step down from power, this establishing a two-term limit, is foundational to the American idea. Lincoln was obviously a great leader, but his expansion of federal power goes against the American idea and put us on a path to the bloated, extra-constitutional federal bureaucracy that is today destroying everything that was ever good about the USA.
There are several candidates for greatest US President... Washington who led the Revolution from England; FDR, who led the country out of the Depression and through World War 2; Eisenhower, who created the Interstate Highway System, and others. But Lincoln tops the list, reuniting the country in the Civil War, emancipating the slaves, and the first to be assassinated.
Washington. If he had failed, the experiment would have failed.
Lincoln is a tough one for me. I like that he saved the republic, but he did stray outside the limits of the Constitution at times. Still would probably make him #2 overall.
I can agree. He was the president that kept the country together in our darkest times. Literally the country would have become like Europe with different country states if he had not lead properly there would be no United States
Who cares if people agree. That’s the nature of an opinion. And these days, EVERYONE has an opinion, and EVERYONE feels the need to share their opinion.
I think that is a very realistic take. It is not given to all politicians to achieve international recognition and to be a light on the hill but he certainly was.
No president was great. They were all idiots. But some where less of idiots than others. None of them are nothing look up too or write home about. People that were not in positions of power like that generally are more upstanding people.
I think he is one of our top presidents but I would rank George Washington higher because he lead the nation to independence and didn’t take power for himself.
I would rank Washington number 1 and Lincoln number 2.
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