Abraham Lincoln's quotes are among the most famous quotes in the world. His faith in the righteousness of his pro-Union policies kept the Union alive during the darkest days of the Civil War. He was a charismatic, moral leader who had a broad strategic vision of his goal reuniting the nation like it was before the war started; later, freeing the slaves became a second goal. He had great political skill in settling disputes among his Cabinet members and generals, especially when they were dealing with adverse circumstances.
His leadership style was at the same time shrewd and disarming. He could handle the most outspoken of his opponents in a classic diplomatic manner. He came from a humble background but, over the years, he grew into a master politician who made no unnecessary enemies.
He had a great method of telling stories in an effort to manipulate people into seeing things his way. Lincoln's "story telling technique" was his most distinct and creative leadership method in comparison to other presidents.
For much of the Civil War, Lincoln was forced to serve as both commander in chief and chief of staff. This was because when the Civil War began the USA had no organization of high command suited to the vast size of the war operations. Lincoln supplied a good deal of the strategic thinking for the nation's armies despite his lack of technical military knowledge; Lincoln made his fair share of mistakes including an early-on inability to pick the right man to head the armies.
Also, some were fooled by Lincoln's reputation for granting clemency to soldiers and thus felt him too tenderhearted to wage the kind of war necessary to defeat the South. This is not the correct way to analyze Lincoln. He could be plenty tough when it came to plans to defeat the Confederacy. Let the plan for making the Blockade effective be pushed forward with all possible despatch [ sic ]. Butlerbe constantly drilled, disciplined, and instructed without more for the present.
Let Baltimore be held, as now, with a gentle, but firm, and certain hand. Let the forces in Western Virginia act, till further orders, according to instructions, or orders from Gen. Fremont push forward his organization, and opperations [ sic ] in the West as rapidly as possible, giving rather special attention to Missouri. Let the three months forces, who decline to enter the longer service, be discharged as rapidly as circumstances will permit. July 27, When the foregoing shall have been substantially attended to 1.
Let Manassas junction, or some point on one or other of the railroads near it; ; and Strasburg, be seized, and permanently held, with an open line from Washington to Manassas; and and [ sic ] open line from Harper's Ferry to Strasburgthe military men to find the way of doing these.
McClellan's; and will, at once devote all my efforts to your views, and his. McClellan's letter to you. For my own views, I have not offered, and do not now offer them as orders; and while I am glad to have them respectfully considered, I would blame you to follow them contrary to your own clear judgmentunless I should put them in the form of orders.
As to Gen. McClellan's views, you understand your duty in regard to them better than I do. With this preliminary, I state my general idea of this war to be that we have the greater numbers, and the enemy has the greater facility of concentrating forces upon points of collision; that we must fail, unless we can find some way of making our advantage an over-match for his ; and that this can only be done by menacing him with superior forces at different points, at the same time; so that we can safely attack, one, or both, if he makes no change; and if he weakens one to strengthen the other, forbear to attack the strengthened one, but seize, and hold the weakened one, gaining so much.
To illustrate, suppose last summer, when Winchester ran away to re-inforce [ sic ] Mannassas [ sic ], we had forborne to attack Mannassas [ sic ], but had seized and held Winchester.
I mention this to illustrate, and not to criticise [ sic ]. I did not lose confidence in McDowell, and I think less harshly of Patterson than some others seem to. In application of the general rule I am suggesting, every particular case will have its modifying circumstances, among which the most constantly present, and most difficult to meet, will be the want of perfect knowledge of the enemies' movements.
This had it's part in the Bull-Run case; but worse, in that case, was the expiration of the terms of the three months men. If the enemy shall concentrate at Bowling-Green, do not retire from his front; yet do not fight him there, either, but seize Columbus and East Tennessee, one or both, left exposed by the concentration at Bowling Green.
It is matter of no small anxiety to me and one which I am sure you will not over-look, that the East Tennessee line, is so long, and over so bad a road. Yours very truly A. This decision altered the arithmetic of war much more heavily in the North's favor. The decision was one of Lincoln's boldest moves of the war as it might appear to some that the president was getting desperate to win.
Also, by the middle of , Lincoln had decided on another important piece of strategy. Fight him when opportunity offers. Lincoln's skill as commander in chief was excellent. He faced an enormous task, and he did not shrink from it as many men would have done. By , after Ulysses S. In doing so, Lincoln maintained that the President was one of three "coordinate" departments of government, not in any way subordinate to Congress or the courts.
Moreover, he demonstrated that the President had a special duty that went beyond the duty of Congress and the courts, a duty that required constant executive action in times of crisis. While the other branches of government are required to support the Constitution, Lincoln's actions pointed to the notion that the President alone is sworn to preserve, protect, and defend it.
In times of war, this power makes the President literally responsible for the well-being and survival of the nation. Lincoln's legacy of executive authority did not last beyond his death, and over the next forty years both Congress and the courts overshadowed the White House in power and influence.
Still, the most lasting accomplishments attributed to Lincoln are the preservation of the Union, the vindication of democracy, and the death of slavery, all accomplished by the ways in which he handled the crisis that most certainly would have ended differently with a lesser man in office. His great achievement, historians tell us, was his ability to energize and mobilize the nation by appealing to its best ideals while acting "with malice towards none" in the pursuit of a more perfect, more just, and more enduring Union.
No President in American history ever faced a greater crisis and no President ever accomplished as much. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield Chester A. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Help inform the discussion Support the Miller Center. Lincoln The Lincolns in the White House. Lincoln Preserving the Union.
Lincoln Portraits of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln Getting Re-elected, Lincoln Assassination of the President. Lincoln The Lincoln Rocker. Lincoln Mourning President Lincoln. Lincoln Remembering Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln Henry Ford and Abraham Lincoln. Donna R. Civil War , by Donna R. Braden , Abraham Lincoln , presidents.
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