French students have some questions

[Eva Elisabeth]

I would like to comment on your questions because I find it very cool that you work on this topic, and very smart as well that you chose this way to get information and "first-hand" views. Please note that I can't provide the latter as I'm not American. But maybe it will still help a little.

1. What is a hero? And was Abraham Lincoln viewed as a hero by his contemporaries? I think Abraham Lincoln was not considered a hero by the vast majority of the Americans during the CW. Anyway not by those of the Confederate States, as his election made their decision to secede, but also not on the Union side. Compared to his predecessors, he was often considered a " western backwoodsman". He was mostly self-taught and had less than one year of school education. He had no prestigious family background (only through his marriage, but even this was rather on a local level, and caused even trouble during the war as his wife's family were slave holders). He had comparatively little political experience and had never before held a government office. He appeared awkward to quite many, and not suitable for this office at all. He had been an outsider in the 1860 election, his way to the nomination as to winning the presidency was determined by many circumstances (e.g. the major opponent party, the Democrats, couldn't agree on one candidate and put up two, who had to "share" the Democrats' votes in the election). Also a lot of people, even in his own party, often didn't agree with his policy, or the "speed" at which he moved forward - politically as well as in the conduct of the war (e.g. in replacing unsuccessful generals).
Even his re-election seemed unlikely until short before the election, when General Sherman's "March to the Sea" and his capture of Atlanta totally turned the tide. Anyway, heroes usually become heroes through victories. In the end, the Union won, and Lincoln became a hero, and, due to the assassination, a mathyr in the eyes of many contemporaries.

Nevertheless, after his issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation, he was sure a hero for most black people, and also many people on the Union side backed, appreciated, and had faith in him. He was gifted in making his (political) enemies his friends, his allies, or at least to deal so diplomatically with them that he mostly achieved his goals. At all, he had many useful skills and a personality that served him well. But "hero" is, I think, not the right word for all that. His most heroic qualities I consider his endurance, his ability to work under pressure, his self-confidence and self-reliance (he often made decisions on his own instead of consulting his cabinet), and his capacity for suffering. And from the many accounts of the people who met him I would conclude he had charisma.

I think his skills and achievements were much more estimated, appreciated and honored after his death. Well, your question was if a hero was needed.Sure especially in those times a capable leader and commander-in-chief was needed. As Laurie said, Abraham Lincoln, with his skills and personality, in my opinion, too, proved to be at the right place at the right time to achieve the (for him) uttermost possible extend of "greatness" he would probably not have achieved in other times.