The crises that they inherited are different, but the strength in response of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama bear striking similarities 150 years apart.
As Barack Obama raised his right hand and took the oath as the 44th President of our country on the steps of the Capitol building, his left hand rested on a Bible. It was the same Bible, covered in velvet, used by Abraham Lincoln as he took the oath standing on the threshold of the Civil War that threatened to tear our country asunder.
To all, it is obvious Barack Obama is emulating his presidency after Abraham Lincoln, born 200 years ago this month. They came from the same state of Illinois, Obama took the same whistle stop train route from Philadelphia to Washington for the inauguration, they used the same Bible to take the oath, Obama used the same “Team of Rivals” philosophy to choose members of his cabinet, and like Lincoln, he has taken responsibility for errors made and the course of action on which he will lead this country.
Lincoln possessed a talent for speaking and communicating with the people who elected him, as does Obama. Lincoln was willing to learn on the job and adapt to changing circumstances. Obama has stated he looks to Lincoln for inspiration, because as he systematically became better at the presidency, he didn’t become arrogant.
Lincoln considered his power a tool to be used for the good of his nation, not an entitlement to be wielded with disdain. He understood leadership, even at the cost of his popularity. With America at the brink of catastrophe in 1861, Lincoln worked to convince the Congress that the preservation of the Union was vital, even if it meant fighting a war with those who would drive it apart. Overall, he was committed to preserve the Union, even at the cost of conflict with his own political party.
We all realize that President Obama inherited the monumental crisis that faces our country today as Lincoln inherited the impending division of the nation in 1861. And like Lincoln, Obama is not afraid that big government can do good things for its people, and help them through times of calamity.
Lincoln lived through the major economic collapses of 1837 and 1857, struggling to shore up a failing bank while arguing for government spending on public works, and so came to believe that government should actively intervene when markets fail.
Lincoln spoke in 1832,”[Free trade is a system whereby] some have labored, and others have, without labor, enjoyed a large portion of the fruits…. To secure to each laborer the whole product of his labor, or as nearly as possible, is a most worthy object of any good government.”
Lincoln championed equal pay and the common person’s rise to success – the American Dream. ”The penniless beginner in the world,” he once explained, “labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land, for himself; then labors on his own account another while, and at length hires another new beginner to help him.” Lincoln insisted this steady advancement is “the prosperous system, which opens the way for all – gives hope to all, and energy, and progress, and improvement of condition to all.”
In 1860, Lincoln said, “I don’t believe in a law to prevent a man from getting rich; it would do more harm than good. [But] while we do not propose any war upon capital, we do wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody else.”
Lincoln embraced the encouragement of individual initiative and entrepreneurship – and government spending. Lincoln’s party, the Whigs, which later became the Republicans, favored publicly financed infrastructure improvements, especially expanding the country’s transportation system through railroads and canals, and founding a national bank and currency, as well as instituting the federal income tax.
Earlier this year, Obama said during an economic address, “Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling the economy – where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs, which leads to even less spending.”
Thank you!