Abraham Lincoln (Brothers No More)

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – March 2, 1882) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 to 1869. He led the United States during the Civil War, a war that the Union lost. Lincoln is a controversial figure in American history, with some blaming him for all the problems that plagued the U.S. in the next two centuries, and others saying that he did the best he could considering the circumstances.

Early Life
See here.

Political Career
See here.

President of the United States
Lincoln was the Republican nominee in the 1860 presidential election, becoming president with a sweep of the Northern states. Fears that he would try to limit the expansion of slavery or try to abolish it altogether led 11 Southern states to secede from the Union and form the Confederate States of America. Lincoln initially tried to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict, but those hopes became dashed when the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter.

For the next four years, the Civil War raged on. President Lincoln commanded the Union forces and tried to win a quick victory at first. When immediate success did not come, the president knew he was in for a long struggle. He cycled through many generals, unable to find a competent commander who was able to take advantage of the South's mistakes.

In 1863, the war was firmly turning to the Confederacy's favor. The South won several major battles, and their chances improved so much that France decided to join the war on their side. France's fleet was able to end the Union blockade of the South.

Lincoln continually squeezed as much manpower as he could out of his country and enacted many wartime policies that some said were "tyrannical." His chances of winning the 1864 election remained strong, as the public knew that continuity of leadership during the war was a must. The U.S. still had a legitimate chance of winning by 1864, but as losses rolled in that chance greatly diminished. By the time of the election, the war effort was looking so desperate that Lincoln almost lost the election to George B. McClellan. If the war had been held even a month later, he probably would have lost.

At his second inauguration, the president promised to fight until the Union could fight no more. However, the Battle of Alexandria one month later crippled the remaining Union armies and forced a final surrender. Lincoln had lost the South, and he was widely blamed for the defeat.

With himself and his party disgraced, Lincoln tried to find a way to heal the country and move on from the war. He soon found that every action he took was unpopular. The people were unwilling to tolerate him any more. The Democrats took control of Congress in the landslide 1866 midterm elections, and Lincoln was unable to get any of his agenda passed.

Effectively a lame-duck, Lincoln didn't do much for the last two years of his presidency except sign procedural papers. He rarely appeared in public, for that would result in constant jeering from the audience. When he left the White House, he would find posters hung in many shop windows that depicted him with a noose drawn around his neck. He couldn't even attend plays without suffering (metaphorical) shots from the audience or even the actors on stage. All of this sent the president into a deep depression. He considered resigning his office and letting the Democrat Andrew Johnson take over, but was convinced to see the rest of his term out by Republican leadership.

Lincoln did not do any campaigning for the Republicans in 1868, though he privately supported the candidate Benjamin Wade. He was unsurprised when the Democrats won in a landslide and left office with a sense of both shame and relief.

Post-Presidency
Abraham Lincoln was happy to finally return to his home state to live out the rest of his days, but he was unable to find peace even there. Though he was initially received warmly by the people of his home town, he soon found that he could not escape the public scorn that he had experienced in Washington. Almost every day he woke up to find a traveler or two outside his house, shouting about how he had failed the country. Lincoln found himself needing to get away, and took a trip to Canada in 1871. There he spoke at a few events, where he was met with more curiosity than scorn. Even that was a refreshing change.

Lincoln briefly returned to the U.S. in 1872, but found that his public image had yet to improve. He supported the Republican Party until it finally died before the 1872 election. The former president never joined any of the Republican successor parties, though he did support some of their candidates.

In 1873 Lincoln went on a tour of Europe, beginning in the U.K. He met with some dignitaries and delivered a few brief speeches. He completed his trip in France and Germany before returning home for good in 1874.

The public shaming slowly died down, and Lincoln was happy to get some peace. He still advocated for the final abolition of slavery in the U.S., a position he passed on to the candidates of the National and American Parties. While most of the public was outraged at President Pendleton's meeting with C.S. President Jackson in 1876, Lincoln was indifferent. He actually supported reconciliation with the South, though he also acknowledged that it was probably too soon for the people to forgive them.

Lincoln's physical and mental health slowly deteriorated over last years of his life. As the U.S. people came back around to strongly oppose the Confederacy, Lincoln's reputation finally saw a bit of a rebound. By 1880 he could finally make speeches in America without the audience endlessly booing him. His wife tried to get him to stay home, as his health worsened by the day. However, he felt that he needed the vindication of appearing in public as a popular figure.

In March 1882, Lincoln had scheduled an appearance in Chicago. Shortly after he arrived, he suffered a serious fall and was unable to give the speech. His condition rapidly worsened, and he passed early in the morning on March 2nd. He was 73 years old.

Lincoln was honored with a state funeral, attended by many former Republicans and even many Democrats. Newspapers remembered him as a good man, but one who was ultimately not big enough to fill the position he was placed in. When the National American Party finally won control of the White House in 1884, Lincoln was honored further and made into a figure of resistance against the South.

Legacy
Abraham Lincoln was loved by some but hated by many. His supporters saw him as a good man who failed when such massive pressure was placed upon him. His critics saw him as an incompetent tyrant who led to the demise of American and all the issues that followed.

Lincoln was universally reviled in the North in the years immediately following his presidency, to the point that he had to leave the country. His reputation rebounded in the final years of his life, though many detractors remained. His death caused a brief period of nostalgia for the years before the war, when people were hopeful that the Republican Party could end slavery and unify the country once and for all. The National American Party hailed him as a misunderstood hero for most of 1880's and 90's, although he was later dropped from party imagery. People in the early 20th Century continued to debate his merits and whether any man could have won the war if placed in his shoes. The rise of the socialist American government prior to World War II complicated his image even further. He was mostly ignored in the North during that time period, disliked along with all the presidents of the old Union. In the modern age he is usually seen as a good president with strong morals who ultimately failed when it mattered most. If he had been president in peace time, most thought he could've been one of the great American presidents. Instead, he is often ranked in the 20's or lower on historical rankings of U.S. presidents.

In the South he was hated during the war and in the years following it. In the 20th Century, he took on a different image in the South, that of a noble warrior who simply fought for the wrong side. That largely remains his image in the Confederacy to this day.