Page "Abraham Lincoln" Paragraph 2

An exceptionally astute politician deeply involved with power issues in each state, he reached out to War Democrats and managed his own re-election in the 1864 presidential election.

As the leader of the moderate faction of the Republican party, Lincoln found his policies and personality were " blasted from all sides ": Radical Republicans demanded harsher treatment of the South, War Democrats desired more compromise, Copperheads despised him, and irreconcilable secessionists plotted his death.

Politically, Lincoln fought back with patronage, by pitting his opponents against each other, and by appealing to the American people with his powers of oratory.

His Gettysburg Address of 1863 became the most quoted speech in American history.

It was an iconic statement of America's dedication to the principles of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy.

At the close of the war, Lincoln held a moderate view of Reconstruction, seeking to reunite the nation speedily through a policy of generous reconciliation in the face of lingering and bitter divisiveness.

Six days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee, however, Lincoln was assassinated by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth.

Lincoln's assassination was the first assassination of a U. S. president and sent the nation into mourning.

Lincoln has been consistently ranked by scholars and the public as one of the three greatest U. S. presidents.