Abraham Lincoln the Jacksonian Whig: A study in the political philosophy of Abraham Lincoln by an examination of his dealings with his cabinet

Although many scholars have looked at both Lincoln and his cabinet, most have looked at these subjects from the perspective of Lincoln as a great man and the personalities of those men who served in his cabinet. This thesis looks at Lincoln's cabinet in light of the competing views on presidential and governmental power that prevailed in the first half of the nineteenth century.; The first part of this thesis explains how, during the early years of the American republic, two main views on executive power emerged. The first was the Jacksonian concept, which espoused a smaller government, but a more powerful president. In response to this idea, the Whig notion of executive leadership emerged. The Whigs favored a more active federal government, but at the same time advocated a President who occupied a weaker position, especially related to the cabinet.; The rest of the thesis is devoted to showing how Lincoln managed to combine these two schools of thought. As a president, Lincoln oversaw the largest expansion of the federal government up to that time. This increase would have been well in line with the Whig philosophy of government. However, as a President, Lincoln took strong personal control of the office in a manner which seemed more akin to Andrew Jackson than to any Whig.; This thesis examines this question mainly by looking at how Lincoln dealt with his cabinet on various matters. While it does not attempt to make an exhaustive study of every aspect of Lincoln's wartime government, the actions chronicled do help to shed light on how Lincoln melded the two prevalent philosophies of his day concerning executive power. Lincoln's action in this area would have far reaching implications, as they would affect subsequent presidents who attempted to increase the scope of the federal government.