Essay --

Abraham Lincoln was an important figure who rose from being an uneducated man, to becoming the 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln is also known for his determination towards ending slavery. One of Abraham Lincoln’s political accomplishments was issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Before his presidency, Lincoln was not that knowledgeable about the military because he never really had a proper education when he was small. However, Lincoln’s entire presidency basically took place during the war. On January 1st ,1863, President Abraham Lincoln walked into his office and spotted a document on his desk which was given the name â€Å"Emancipation Proclamation†. The Emancipation Proclamation declared freedom for the slaves in the southern states that were currently fighting against the United States. Lincoln was the one who wrote the first four pages of the original Emancipation Proclamation.He had no doubts of signing this document because he was much alerted about how important it was to be signed. As Lincoln signed this document, he stated, †I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper.† Lincoln’s main goal during his presidency was to keep the United States unified. When word got out in the newspapers that the Proclamation was signed,everyone was excited.Henry Turner, a church minister who waited with a crowd of people at a newspaper office, described what he witnessed when everyone read the paper. He stated that â€Å"When people saw me coming with the paper in my hand, they raised a shouting cheer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ I started to read the proclamation [but ] I was out of breath and could not read. Mr. Hinton to whom I handed the paper read it with great force and clearness†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Men... ...h amendment banned slavery in any place in the United States.So,everyone had freedom.The fourteenth amendment in 1868 made it legal deny any citizen’s life,liberty, or property unless the law allowed it . Also,this amendment stated that every citizen has equal security under the law. And finally, the fifteenth amendment stated that it was against the law to forbid any one’s rights to vote due to their race, color or previous enslavement . All in all, The Emancipation Proclamation was the first step towards freedom. Abraham Lincoln certainly played a big role in letting the United States a slave free environment. Lincoln was a very determined man who believe that slavery was wrong. All of his determination paid off when congress passed three amendments to make sure of the rights of the African Americans. Lincoln is a dynamic figure who was constantly persistent.