Lincoln's greatest trait?

Question

In your opinion, what was Abraham Lincoln's greatest trait. NOT necessessarily his greatest ACTION, but rather his best trait as a person, as a leader, as a president?

Answer 1

honesty, intellect

Answer 2

His faith in the one and ONLY living God.

Regardless of what the revisionest may say.

Answer 3

His ability to keep living.

It's generally agreed upon that he battled a lifetime of depression. When you have depression, waking up is a chore.

Answer 4

Lincoln has an uncanny ability to take political stands that  pacified his fiends and enemies alike.  For example, his emancipation  proclamation strengthened him with abolitionists, avoided confrontation with the slave holding states that were still in the union, and weakened the ability of the Confederacy to obtain alliances with England and France.

Answer 5

President Lincoln was a true ambassador of good will , as a very humble and faith full man having lost so much so young in life ,         Taught him life was precious,,all life ,, He is truly the roll model in witch all men should aspire to,,.there will of course be those who only know only the commander and chief during our nations darkest history , there is much to to his story than what has been published into history,

Answer 6

His greatest trait---- seeing that if the union were to come apart with a successful cession of the South, that the US would splinter further into ineffective and weak small states.  (At this point, however, it might not have been a bad thing!!!!).

At the time, however he regarded that as something to be avoided at all costs.  Read his speeches, he wasn't the anti-slave person we would like him to have been.... his ideas on slavery evolved after his second term when abolitionism became more popular. Even the Emancipation Proc. had only to do with states that had already seceded, and therefore it would only be valid if the north won the war---it was a political ploy---, and that wasn't all that certain.... it was likely from the south's point of view that England might have joined them   ---- they needed southern cotton for their mills.  Economics being what they were, and a bumper crop being what it was, England chose to remain out of it.. and thus ultimately the north was successful in keeping the union intact.

Answer 7

His ability to see that it was okay to lose small political battles if it would help win the war.  He had the genuine gift of seeing the bigger picture and not getting bogged down in the petty ego battles that characterized Washington then (and still do now).  Despite the fact that Bill Clinton is often called a great politician, Lincoln is really the standard by which all pols should be judged.

I recommend reading "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  You gain a whole new respect for the man, what he overcame, and his accomplishments.

And Lincoln's faith in "God" as one person put it, is suspect.  I won't say he was an atheist, but he was intelligent and cynical enough to be possessed with a healthy dose of skepticism.