The Figure Of Lincoln And A Reflection
...grasp and moral urgency
[and] great emotional power under firm artistic control" (Fehrenbacher 286). This quote only begins to explain how noteworthy and widely treasured the writings of Abraham Lincoln are to the American people. Lincoln's speech-making and writing abilities largely contributed to his position on the podium and in anthologies of literature all over the world, but it was the actions he took throughout his political career that placed him as one of the most significant figures in American history. Widely known for his efforts towards freeing the slaves and preserving the Union, Lincoln weathered a revolutionary term in office and brought a new meaning to freedom in America. Though his hatred for slavery erupted shortly before reaching his thirties, his late experience of that institution made him want to eradicate it no less; his remarkable actions to preserve the Union and liberate the slave give value to both his public addresses and private reflections.
Lincoln was traveling in New Orleans, observes one scholar, when he first witnessed barbaric treatment of Negroes. While watching a slave auction in 1831, he began to feel "unconquerable hate" towards this abomination. Here began the growth of his personal convictions against slavery. "[I]f I ever get a chance to hit that thing," he said to himself, "I'll hit it hard" (Johnson 30). Thomas points out that the next year, though, when running for the Illinois State Legislature, Lincoln declared that the most important thing to him was education, so that children would be prepared to make educated, moral decisions (Biography, 29). Though he lost that election, he was later elected in 1834. This time, he concentrated primarily on transportation and the export of goods from the fledgling state of Illinois (47). Throughout his early time in office, Lincoln kept quiet about his...
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