Abraham Lincoln – a president’s perspective:

President Abraham Lincoln is best known as president for two documents, the “Gettysburg’s Address” and the “Emancipation Proclamation”. The Gettysburg’s Address was delivered on ? November 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued approximately one year before on September 22nd, 1862. Both documents will forever be remembered because they changed American history.
The Gettysburg’s Address, the shorter of the two, was written almost as a eulogy for those soldiers both North and South who died in the July battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The reason why this simple speech will always be remembered as one of the great speeches of all times is because of its simplicity and its sincerity. Lincoln was able to put forward his own view of why soldiers had to die and why they would be remembered forever.
The closing of the Gettysburg’s Address offers the famous line “That government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” He asks listeners and readers to remember the sacrifice so that these words will remain forever true. His words are basically a promise to the dead. The Emancipation Proclamation is more of an administrative decree, its purpose was to “forever free” any person held in slavery in the United States. Lincoln takes full responsibility for this action and in fact mentions himself by name in the document. It is a monumental document because with this document the South cannot surrender on any condition. The gravity of his actions by issuing this decree was not lost on Lincoln. The final passage which said, “And upon this act, sincerely believe to be an active justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favour of Almighty God.”
Abraham Lincoln’s feelings were rather personal, but no one could accuse his judgment of being selfish. For this reason, Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States is thought to be the best president of all times by most historians.