Opinion+Question+5


 * Evaluate the leadership role of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. What were his strengths? What problems did he have during this era? Overall, was his leadership effective? Why or why not?**

During the Civil War, Abraham had a big role on the Union side. Since the president is at the top of the military, he made all the decisions. It was generals jobs to make plans, but the President was the one that approved them. Some of Lincoln's strong points were that he knew some what of what the South would probably do. He was able to tell the generals what would probably be the best to defeat the South. These predictions weren't always right, but at some battles, they were very useful. Lincoln also knew of things that he could do to try and end the war, or to change the outcome of the war. When he put out the Emancipation Proclamation, he knew that that would make the South mad, and effect their war plan and supply line, but it would make the border states stay in the Union. As well as strong points, Lincoln also had some weaknesses. He often didn't know when enough was enough. At Fredricksburg, when Burnside Kept charging at the South 14 different times, Lincoln wanted him to get a victory, but he didn't realize that this was not the right time or place to do that. People say that that was Burnside's choice, and in a way it was, but the way Lincoln told him to get a victory would have made me go back a lot of times to try and get a victory. Lincoln also wasn't the best at finding a general he could trust. If he hadn't had so many generals come and go, it could have changed the outcome of the war, or even make it a shorter war. When he finally stuck with Grant, the war had a turning point for the North. Overall, I think that Lincoln was a good leader with weaknesses instead of a bad leader with strong points. I think that Lincoln could have done somethings differently with the war that could have made the war shorter, but what he did allowed the North to win the war, and that in itself counts for something.
 * PS--SOTH**


 * The value of Abraham Lincoln’s leadership was very high. If the Union had not had a strong leadership the Confederate states would most likely have separated from the union and formed their own country. This is my opinion; we do not know that the confederacy would have formed their own union because we had a different president, that is just my assumption. Abraham Lincoln faced much criticism during his presidency, this also made it had to focus on the war effort. **
 * I think that Lincoln’s leadership was effective because his decisions helped bring an end to the war. If he had not had such good leadership skills we don’t know what the United States would look like today. **

MR-SOTH

Abraham Lincoln I think was a very good leader especially for the circumstances he was in. It was very hard for him because his country didn't like him at the time. He was very good at "keeping his cool" during a time of war and while his country was against him. I think that his leadership was very effective during that time. I think that his leadership was so effective at that time was because he had good strategies and still wanted to forgive the south. The only thing that he could have been a little better at was picking good generals.

AS--SOTH