Abraham Lincoln was the most beloved president in the United States of America. Her mother died when Lincoln was ten years old hence forcing him to relocate with his father to Indiana but later settled in New Salem. The life of Lincoln was surrounded by so many hardships and challenges. Having hailed from a poor background, he never thought that we will ever succeed in becoming the president of America. At school Lincoln had difficulties in learning how to read, write and even understand anything that was taught. Lincoln seemed to be highly obsessed about honesty. This led to development of his nick name ‘Honest Abe’. All his life he was governed by honesty and the desire to do what is right. In the life of Lincoln, honesty and upholding of ethics had insurmountable benefits as outlined below.
His honesty dates back to when he was a young man at a store, he would ensure that he gave the right change to a customer. He believed in possessing what was rightly his. The people of New Salem believed that any judgment including solving small disputes like fight was passed by Lincoln. This can be seen on how he passed judgment impartially. Lincoln was a captain in the Blackhawk War, a lawyer, and then later selected to act as a member of legislature where he served for eight years. He opposed all forms of slavery which helped him to earn trust to the Americans (Leidner).
Lincoln, when practicing law, he capitalized on the trust he had gotten from the citizens and expanded his constituency. He also accused his fellow lawyers of being dishonest and constantly advised them to find another occupation if at all they can not practice to be honest. When he served in a courtroom, Lincoln never supported any wrong doing no matter who had committed the deed. This clearly depicts how he valued honest actions. According to a judge who worked in the same chambers with him, Lincoln’s transparency was straight from within and not fabricated. He followed what he thought was right and strived for justice.
His integrity can be seen even from his words which he held till his death. During his political life, he always strived to do what was right and always stood for women since very few of them were treated fairly by that time. In history, Lincoln had never been caught being unfaithful to his wife. This indicates how he upheld honesty in both his legal life and his personal life.
When Lincoln became the president of the United States of America, he could have misused his office power but he kept everything straight by the fact that he would not hide anything to his army men. He was a man who fitted in all social groups since the people respected and trusted him. During his reign, he was a man who was guided by Fear of God. He believed that God will judge all people and each person will be held accountable for his actions. He also believed that overthrowing was wrong despite of failing attempts to be the president of America (Mosher).
Therefore, even though Lincoln hailed from a humble background, he still had a sense of high integrity. He enjoyed various fruits of being honest, such as: earning people’s trust, chosen to be a member of the Illinois legislature, became the president, and on top of it all, he is the most remembered political leader due to his ethics and honesty. Learning from Lincoln, upholding social ethics and being honest are two important elements in a life of a human being. Lincoln upheld both and no wander he is still remembered today.