Persuasive Essay on Abraham Lincoln: a Great Leader

A good leader for example is Abraham lincoln. He's a good leader because he stands up for what he believes in, he was honest, and he was intelligent. He stood up when slavery was going on and he stopped it knowing that some people weren't going to like him for it. He was intelligent, good, and smart about making a room of people like and believe him. He was honest by showing people that the way people were being treated is wrong and cruel. The qualities of a good leader are honesty, intelligence, and courage. While some say he abused his power, he is one of the best presidents because Abraham Lincoln is confident and honest, he stopped slavery, and he's responsible.

Abraham lincoln was more loved and respected than feared.  A leader that is feared is because they have harsh punishments or strict rules and people fear disobeying the rules because of the punishment but they're not hated because they make good leaders. A leader that was feared more than loved, was Adolf Hitler, he had punishments for people that disobeyed his rules. Adolf Hitler wasn't that good of a leader because not only was he feared but he was also hated. I think if the people hate a leader their more likely not to have fewer people follow them. That's what happened to Hitler because he was making unfair rules and he hates Jewish people and treated wrongly, but he didn't just hate Jewish people, he didn't like anyone he thought looked like them. This made people realize this was unfair and cruel and people began hating Hitler. Also, strict rules make people want to rebel against them since they have no freedom. Abraham Lincoln is different and a much better leader than Hitler.

Lincoln was honest, he told people stories of his childhood that showed he stood up for what he believed. When he was a kid, he and his friends were playing outside and his friends were playing with turtles by putting them on their backs. Putting turtles on their backs is dangerous for them. Abraham told the kids this and told them it was wrong. He made an essay on the story later in school.  Plato, the republic, says “Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have an understanding of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one...cities will never have rest from there evils,-- nor the human race--and then only will this our State have a possibility of life and behold the light of day. In no other State can there be happiness, private or public”. This is basically saying that kings and princes don't have a good understanding of other people that they rule so they don't know how it is to live with those rules. The kings and princes haven't put themselves in other people's shoes which makes them not as good of a leader and the rules can be unfair. Philosophers would make better princes or kings because they know how it is to live with those rules and they will make more fair rules that help everyone and not just themselves. Philosophers are not selfish like kings and princes. This applies to Abraham lincoln because he is selfless. He thought about how unfair other people lived at the time and solved it. He was also selfless because he knew how it was to be lower class. He wasn't always a famous president, he grew up without a father and his mother want really there, so he raised himself. He was sensitive and selfless and those qualities make a good leader. 

Abraham Lincoln was called “Honest Abe” whom he embraced and was proud of. He really cared about his reputation and his religion. He was first called Honest abe when he worked at a store when he was younger, he realized he didn't give all the change back to the customer, and he closed the shop and walked all the way to the person and gave it back.  Later on, he was going to become a lawyer and he took advantage of his honest reputation and would always point out the fact that most lawyers are usually dishonest, and being a good lawyer would mean being honest. 

Wentzville logo says “Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow” and this is saying if you learn and study something until you become really good at it and then “tomorrow” you can lead by teaching other people how to do it. Teaching other people things is being a leader. This applies to Abraham lincoln because had a rough childhood without his father and he kind of raised himself and everything he did was self-taught. he became successful by going to law school and becoming a lawyer. He was actually a really good lawyer he was known for his strategy and how he was honest with his cases and when he had complex cases he would find the key points and simplify them and present them to court. The part of the quote “learning today..” was lincoln self-teaching himself to be a lawyer. When he ran for president and was elected because of his great speech on how the Mexican-American war needs to be abolished, this applied to the part of the quote “Leading tomorrow” because he became a great president. This also shows one of the qualities of a leader, confidence and responsibility. He never doubted himself and his speeches that everyone loved are what made him a confident leader. He was responsible because you can't get through law school without being responsible and he was responsible because presidents have to be responsible for making certain decisions for laws to be legal or illegal, they have to be responsible for leading the army, declaring wars, and making decisions for solutions to problems in the world. Abraham Lincoln did all of these things and some important decisions he made were banning slavery, the civil war, and he changed the role of the federal government in American polictics. 

All of these prove that Abraham lincion was a great leader and showed all the great qualities of a leader. While some say he abused his power, he is one of the best presidents because Abraham Lincoln is confident and honest, he stopped slavery, and he's responsible.