The Political Evolution of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln held many principles that would remain the same as he grew older, but his politics did change as the pre-Civil War political climate changed. As a young adult, Lincoln became a member of the Whig Party. When the Whigs disbanded, he joined the newly formed Republican Party. Nevertheless, Lincoln remained steadfast in his anti-slavery and pro-Union views throughout his life.

When Abraham Lincoln Was Young

Lincoln's first foray into politics was a bid for the Illinois State Legislature in 1832. He ran on his own platform rather than as a party member. Without the strength of a party behind him, he was unsuccessful.

During the ensuing two years, Lincoln studied law. When he decided to make a second bid for a seat in the state government, he ran as a member of the Whig Party. He was victorious and served four consecutive terms in the Illinois House of Representatives.

The Whig Party was a powerful political force in the U.S. from 1833 until 1856. Those who opposed President Andrew Jackson, a democrat, were the party founders.

The party was responsible for putting two Whigs in the White House: William Henry Harrison, who took office in March 1841, and Zachary Taylor, elected in 1848. Their vice presidents, John Tyler and Millard Fillmore, were also Whigs. They would take over the office of president when Harrison and Taylor died in office.

Several of the Whig's tenets that Abraham Lincoln supported as a young man remained important to the future president. Two notable examples were federal support for the nation's infrastructure and the establishment of a national banking system for the country's economic stability. Several of the Whig's tenets that Abraham Lincoln supported as a young man remained important to the future president. Two notable examples were federal support for the nation's infrastructure and the establishment of a national banking system for the country's economic stability.

Lincoln's Early Political Accomplishments

While in the Illinois State Legislature, Representative Lincoln helped pass a bill for the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, a waterway connecting the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. The canal opened up commerce and made Chicago a hub for transport.

Lincoln was outspoken in his opposition to slavery and support of abolition during these years too. He advocated the Whig position that once slaves became free, they should be sent to West Africa where they could establish their own settlement.

When he was in his late 30s, Lincoln ran for the House of Representatives of the United States as a Whig. He initially lost to John J. Hardin but tried again two years later. He was elected in 1846 and became the sole Whig Party member from Illinois serving in the U.S. Congress.

He co-sponsored an anti-slavery bill for Washington D.C. However, the bill did not have Whig Party support, so Lincoln felt compelled to drop the matter. He served out a single term before returning to Illinois to practice law.

How Abraham Lincoln Became President

The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was pivotal in Lincoln's political evolution. It catapulted him back into politics with his "Peoria Speech," in which he publicly voiced his opposition to allowing the newly minted states to decide whether to allow slave ownership.

The Act also caused a fatal division in the Whig Party, whose members were irrevocably split on the slavery issue. The demise of the Whigs made way for Northern politicians to form the new Republican Party, based on a strong anti-slavery stance. Lincoln did not immediately join, worried that the new party was too extreme in its views.

In 1856, Lincoln spoke at the Bloomington Convention, a political event where the Illinois Republican Party first garnered recognition. State legislators nominated Lincoln for the U.S. Senate. His opponent, Stephen A. Douglas, defeated him, but the campaign put Lincoln in the spotlight as a potential presidential candidate.

Politics When Abraham Lincoln Became President

Lincoln received the nod as the Republican nominee in 1860 and ran on the Republican ticket. His supporters in the Northern and Western states voted him in as the nation's first Republican president.

When Abraham Lincoln Was President

As a former Whig turned Republican, President Lincoln stayed true to his longstanding values in support of specific legislation. For example, he helped establish the first national bank system. In addition, he was a staunch advocate for the Pacific Railway Acts, which granted government land and financial support for the first transcontinental railway, which proved to be a key part of the nation's infrastructure.

How Abraham Lincoln Showed Integrity

One way the president demonstrated his integrity was by standing behind his beliefs and working to put them into practice. With his support of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlawed slavery in the U.S., Lincoln showed that he had the courage of his convictions. He acted not to please political supporters but to further the best interests of all the people of the United States.