Lincoln the truth
Lincoln - the truthAbraham Lincoln is often thought of as one of the United States' better presidents. However, there is some controversy as to how good a president he actually was in retrospect. Was he as notable as he is made out to be? Abraham Lincoln was a great president. He was no doubt one of the most honest presidents that the United States had. He was not perfect, and he was not always truthful, but his few departures from the straight and narrow path of rectitude came during a war in which the nation's very existence as a united nation was at stake. And, "on those occasions he had to rise above both principle and the Constitution in pursuing what he regarded as the nation's interest." While some of the presidents that followed may have also done some of the same things he did on different occasions, none of these instances was the existence of the nation in anywhere near such a great risk at falling apart. Many of the financial happenings that were and are regarded as questionable have lead back to people working under him, but not a single one could be traced back to him. Some historians claim that a few of his actions were unconstitutional, however, all of his actions were later upheld by the Congress. Lincoln did what needed to be done.
Lincoln was an honest man. Especially when dealing with personal money matters. For example, at one point during his administration, Congress granted him twenty thousand dollars to fix up and refurbish the White House. In doing so, Mrs. Lincoln exceeded the allowed dollar amount by six thousand seven hundred dollars. President Lincoln said that he would not ask for the Congress to give him more money, especially at a time of unrest between the North and South, with his soldiers being short of blankets. Instead, he told them that he would pay for the excess out of his own pocket. Though Congress did decide to pay for the overrun by adding it to the budget for the next year, Lincoln did not ask, and was prepared to pay for it himself.
When a nation is unprepared for a war and has to quickly get ready; money, along with other things, is wasted. This is due to the fact that profiteers decided that a buck was to be made, and they knew that it is hard to deny any price in a time of need and haste. Things such as poor quality uniforms were made and sold at high prices. And the War and Treasury Departments overpaid many unworthy characters. While such things look bad on the acting president, none of the corruption on these financial matters ever pointed to Lincoln. This loss of money, was more the cause of confusion and waste than dishonesty on the president's part.
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