Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States of America. He was elected president on November 6, 1860. Many of the Southern states were not in favor of Lincoln becoming president because he ran on an anti-slavery platform. Lincoln's election to the presidency caused states such as South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas to secede from the Union. In his inaugural address, Lincoln proclaimed that it was his duty to maintain the Union; a month later the civil war began. Although Lincoln did many great things for our country, his vital role in the Civil War is what most likely led to his assassination. Many people believe that the main reason for the Civil War was to end slavery. However, Lincoln famously stated that the purpose of the Civil War was to maintain the Union and that he had no intention of ending slavery where it existed. While Lincoln sought to maintain the Union, the onset of the Civil War forced four more states (Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee) to leave the Union. To keep the remaining states loyal to the Union, Lincoln assured them that the war was not about slavery or black rights, but about maintaining the Union. Although Lincoln had insisted that the purpose of the Civil War was to save the Union, since the South was using its own slaves to aid in the war, he viewed their liberation as a necessary step in winning the war. In July 1862, Lincoln presented the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to members of his cabinet. He warned the Confederate states to surrender by January 1, 1863 or their slaves would be freed. The proclamation declared: “all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated… middle of paper… in the West. He also signed the Morrill Act which helped establish agriculture in every state, and many other acts. His most famous speech was the Gettysburg Address. In his speech, Lincoln explained that our nation was fighting the Civil War to see if we would survive as a country. Although his initial intentions of the Civil War were to maintain the Union of our country, the Civil War ultimately focused on ending slavery. This interest is believed to have been the reason for his assassination. Works Cited http://www.history.com/topics/abraham-lincoln-assassination http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history /john-wilkes-booth-shoots-abraham-lincolnhttp:/ /www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2967.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h1549.htmlhttp:/ /rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln87.htmlhttp://teachinghistory.org /history-content/ask-a-historian/24242