Thoughts on executive order, Abraham Lincoln and the actions he took during his presidency.

LINCOLN

Abraham Lincoln is probably one of the most popular presidents of all time, but is what we learned in grade school about the tall skinny man in the big top hat that freed the slaves all that there is to be said about this iconic figure. When we dig deeper and shed light on areas of Lincoln’s presidency overlooked by your average history class we find out Lincoln’s real motives and how abolishing slavery was  arguably a mere tactic to bring an end to the war. In the movie we watched in class it does not highlight the effects that abolishing slavery had on the war. The movie was given a feeling of urgency to draw in the audience.

                As a citizen of the United States, I would personally like to see our president use executive order as little as possible, However, there are times when it is necessary to do so. President Abraham Lincoln, for his time used an average amount of executive orders.  A lot of people during Lincoln’s presidency claimed he abused his executive powers. I believe that the only time people complain about such abuses of power is when it affects that person in a negative way.   Some of your most publicly supported presidents could be labeled “executive power abusers”, but most of their uses of that power are shrouded by events such as early 20^th century imperialism, economic booms, world wars and even extreme economic decline. When the executive order is something that the people support and benefits them no one calls the president a tyrant, but when it is not supported by the public all hell breaks loose.  And this is where we get back to Lincoln. He used his executive power to put in affect of the Emancipation Proclamation and pave the road for the complete abolishment of slavery in the entire country, something that seemed unimaginable to a good chunk of the population. Therefor he was crucified on a political cross by the supporters of slavery.  The general public also didn’t realize the affect the Emancipation Proclamation would have on crippling the South’s economy.  It’s no different than our president today and his healthcare program. It scares people, just as freed slaves scared people 150 years ago.

                So there’s my rant about Lincoln and executive power. Basically what I’m trying to say I believe executive powers should be respected and backed by the peoples opinion. I believe Lincoln was under a lot of pressure to end the war and he saw that the war was a good way to cloak the passing of the 13^th amendment and gain the support to end slavery. I am still torn what to think about Lincoln. He did some shady under the table stuff, but there’s no denying the man got stuff done and that’s why I think he is still regarded as one of Americas best presidents.