American History

Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth president of the United States at the time the country was in a crisis leading to secession of several states and later, civil war. This situation was truly going to be a test of his character, not only as the head of state, but as an individual.  He was a man who believed strongly in his beliefs and convictions and was ready to stand up for it provided it was of interest to the people. This was apparent even before he became president when he made endured a lot of trials and hardships in his life as well as making his stand of slavery known as his political career was on the rise (Wolf, 1959, pp. 93,99,112).  In addition, he was a down to earth leader, who never looked down on anyone.  He had the ability to entertain the crowd by cracking jokes and telling funny stories. He was a fair-minded lawyer who taught himself how to read and it was an amazing feat since he never had any formal schooling and was  self-educated  and yet, he came through as one of the greatest leaders America ever had and this was attributed mainly not only to his personal experiences but also to his deep spirituality.  These attributes had served him well all through his life.

Lincoln and the Bible
One of the books Lincoln read very often was the Bible.  He spent a lot of time reading the Bible and applying the word of God in every day life.  Lincoln, based on his own personal assessment, was a realist who viewed the Bible as a book that has the answer to just about everything one can ask about life, and therefore regarded it as the best gift God gave to man on earth.  It was all a matter of not merely reading it during church services, but to internalize it and live it. Even though he might have had trouble in taking the Bible as a literal truth, he had no problem in reading it. Lincolns deep understanding of the Scriptures, as a result of regularly reading it made many of his close friends consider him religious and in rare cases he was referred as Moses or Father Abraham in the Bible because of his seemingly patriarchal or fatherly personality which was akin to these biblical personalities.  It can be further inferred here that Lincoln was a religious man with deep spiritual convictions which meant in turn that he had a very close and meaningful relationship with God.  The Bible gave Lincoln not only a spiritual backbone, but moral integrity as well that made him very firm and unwavering in his convictions even if it was not popular, particularly on the issue of slavery.

His Political life
In 1858, when Lincoln was campaigning against Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas, he was criticized by Stephen that he was not that good in quoting the Bible but answered intelligently by saying that if the Creator (God) who is the father in heaven is perfect therefore even the creatures themselves are perfect too. In his speech, Lincoln said,

My friend has said to me that I am a poor hand to quote Scripture. I will try it again, however. It is said in one of the admonitions of the Lord,  As your Father in Heaven is perfect, be ye also perfect.  The Savior, I suppose, did not expect that any human creature could be perfect as the Father in Heaven but He said,  As your Father in Heaven is perfect, be ye also perfect.  He set that up as a standard, and he who did most towards reaching that standard, attained the highest degree of moral perfection. So I say in relation to the principle that all men are created equal, let it be as nearly reached as we can (Wolf, 1959, p. 7).

This was a clear sign that he was proficient in analyzing situations in relation to the Scriptures but not the same way as the early scholars were but instead acted upon them and made it part of his way of life.  He may not have memorized the entire Bible from cover to cover, but it was apparent that he understood every word of it and this formed the basis of his moral standards and convictions which would serve him well when he threw his hat in the political arena.

Public Speeches that entailed biblical references
In his public life as a politician, the Bible was his guide and he would apply Scripture in a given situation when it was called for. Lincoln firmly believed that despite being as old as time, the words in the Bible still carried relevance and it is truly eternal. According to Shaw (1901), Lincoln responded to accusations using the bible scriptures, for instance when he was accused for appointing Alexander McClure, Republican Pennsylvania leader, who was opposing his second time bid he responded to the critics that, despite the fact that Alexander McClure was opposed to his second bid, the Bible gave him the scriptural authority to appoint him for the position hence silencing his critics (45). He gave an example with the lord at Mt. Sinai when Aaron wronged God by worshiping false gods and goddesses and was again commissioned by the Lord (Exodus 3230-34, New American Bible).  Based on this biblical account his appointment of McClure was justified as Lincoln had the moral conviction to do so. Lincoln understanding on the Bible was so thorough that his opponents had hard time attacking him on moral grounds. He responded tactfully and referred to the chapters in the Bible to defend his actions either politically or socially (Sandburg, 1939, p. 65).

Biblical reference during the Second Inaugural Speech
Lincoln second inaugural speech made a lot of impact to the people of America, he began by expressing his concern on malice towards one another be it black or white, slave or free.  He invoked Gods name several times and this goes to show that Lincoln acknowledged a being more powerful than he was and wished to underscore God s fairness to man and God s ability to make people realize right from wrong. Lincoln was also keen to give people hope in life and encouraged everyone to continue working hard in order to achieve the American dream (Lincoln,  Second Inaugural Address,  1864  Schwartz, 2002, p. 165).

Schwartz further adds that his biblical quotes were so inspirational and reflected greatly to the people, during the second inaugural speech, he expressed his concern to the poor, vulnerable, widows, orphans and the his desire to see a peaceful state that was full of prosperity. His speech inspired the majority who were feeling hopeless and oppressed in society.  He gave hope to the slaves who were being mistreated by their masters in the South and was more concerned with the welfare of every individual in the society (166) and Lincoln had the Bible as his basis in freeing people not only from oppression but also from their misery and he was hoping that this would come back once order was restored in the Union and it came at the time when the Union forces were winning in the civil war.  Even though he never invoked the chapter or verse from the Scripture, it was not important as far as he was concerned and what mattered the most was that he was able to make the word of God relevant to the realities they faced (Lincoln,  Second Inaugural Address,  1864).

Lincolns Letter to Mrs. Bixby
His desire to ensure that everyone lived happily and harmoniously was also extended even to those who had lost loved ones in the civil war and this was underscored when he wrote a letter to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, who was said to have lost all of her five sons during the civil war though it later turned out that only two of her sons were killed (Murphy, 1992, pp. 112-113).

The letter was brief and emotional.  Lincoln was a passionate leader and loved expressing himself in a more philosophical and religious manner to drive emotions of the people home in the letter he consoled the Mrs. Bixby and prayed for further consolation from God.   This was apparent in the last paragraph of the letter that stated

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom (Lincoln,  Letter to Mrs. Bixby,  1864).

In the last paragraph, he acknowledged the costly sacrifice of Mrs. Bixby s sons to the Union and showed his deep concern and pain towards the death of her sons. The letter portrayed him for being caring, religious, patriotic and understanding leader, but at the same time humble as he acknowledged that although he was the most powerful man in the world as President of the United States, he was humble enough to acknowledge that his powers were limited especially in comforting the bereaved and entrusted it all to God whom he acknowledged as superior to any man in this regard.

Leadership of Abraham Lincoln
There were numerous reasons to justify that Abraham Lincoln was an effective leader and inspirational president in the entire history of the United States. This could be seen in his actions, character and in his speeches. He was a visionary who believed that the future could be better and the present was the foundation for a better tomorrow, even though he had a humble background of being a farmer he did not intended to be a farmer for life but desired for better life (Williams, Pederson and Marsala, 1994, pp. xii, xiii).

The most common trait all good leaders possess is communication and this could also be said to be the reason why Lincoln was a social leader who spent time cracking jokes and telling hilarious stories to his supporters to break the tension and when things were getting too serious and there was a need to lighten the mood in an otherwise tense atmosphere. A good leader must also be eloquent in expressing hisher idea to the people, and Lincoln remained focused and was too keen to cite relevant examples both in crisis and peace, especially during the civil war period and emerged to be a perfect communicator during his presidency.

During his public address at Gettysburg, he delivered one of the best speeches in the history of America, he carefully crafted his speech and in a just two to three minutes he could come up with a very powerful speech concerning eminent issues such as inequality among the people or racial discrimination.  During Gettysburg s address, he invoked the feeling for the people by redefining for them the principles behind the attainment of independence in America and reminded them that it was based on equality. True to form, Lincolns religious convictions showed in his speech he said that people are equal before God despite the color difference or origin and requested the people to embrace peace and promote freedom in order to have a unified Nation and reminded everyone that American democracy shall never die so as long as the people remain vigilant and remain firm in their conviction to God (Lincoln,  Gettysburg Address,  1863).

Positive Qualities of Abraham Lincoln
Not all leaders posses good qualities that can be admired or emulated in the society, one of the best qualities of Abraham Lincoln was his desire to succeed and persevere during the ups and downs he faced in his life. He was a persistent and a hopeful person who counted failures as experience for instance he failed in business at an early age of 22 missed the State Assembly one year later tried and failed again in business two years later suffered a nervous breakdown at age 27 defeated several times in electoral campaigns yet managed to win and his ultimate victory came when he was elected President of the United States at age of 51.  All these showed that Lincoln never gave up.  He never allowed his failures to pull him down to the point of feeling inferior and worthless.  Instead, he turned these setbacks into advantages.

Upon closer analysis, Lincoln was willing to risk failure and never lost hope despite numerous failures, he was a focused leader who believed that success took time and was not instantaneous. When other individuals would give up in the face of adversity and setbacks, his persistence made him stronger and wiser until he attained final victory. He believed that  one must believe in himself and must possess the courage to face obstacles, and Lincoln had proven that time and time again to the very end of his life.

Conclusion
Abraham Lincoln emerged to be one of the greatest leaders in the history of the United States.  He not only led but served as an inspiration to the poor, orphans, widows, oppressed and hopeless people. Indeed, he was a respected leader as a result of his positive values that he adored dearly and believed were more practical in life than ever. His courage in life and patience portrayed him as a leader of hope and inspirational leader who could comfort and care for the people who were vulnerable in the society. Lincoln was a down to earth person who took his time talking to the minors in the society and spend good hours reading and understanding the concepts that were used in the Bible.

His love for the Bible was realized at his early stages in life when he could spend a lot of time reading it and attending Sunday school where he could listen to the teachings and learn on his own through constant reading. This helped him to address issues that were relevant during his administration especially when criticized for making appointments like the appointment of Alexander, whom he defended using the Scripture as his basis. Even though he was a humble leader, he was very patriotic to the nation and defended the rights of the citizens by promoting peace and defending the fundamental rights and freedom of the people especially the slaves.  It was his moral conviction, grounded in Scripture that made him sign the Emancipation Proclamation which was probably the most significant thing he did as this proclamation all but abolished slavery as it was consistent with Lincolns beliefs that slavery, no matter how the southeners justified its existence, there was no denying it was still wrong.

In the final analysis, President Lincoln proved to be a capable leader which stemmed from a combination of his humility, common sense and deep religious convictions and these three elements had served him well all through his life and even more when he became president.  Throughout his life, he endured hardships and yet he persevered and never gave up and his faith was what kept him going despite these setbacks.  He believed in God so much and trusted Him and in return, his patience and perseverance were rewarded.