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12 Axes Test
Portrait of Abraham Lincoln

Sixteenth US president

Abraham Lincoln’s political views

The US president who led the Union through the Civil War, issued the Emancipation Proclamation and backed the Thirteenth Amendment that ended slavery.

Presidency
16th, 1861–1865
Party
Republican
Lived
1809–1865
Scored on
9 of 12 axes

Strongest documented leanings

  1. Progressive80%
  2. Democratic75%
  3. Isolationism70%
Where Lincoln stood on the twelve axes
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Where Lincoln stood on the twelve axes

Each bar is one axis, between its two poles. Only axes with a documented position are scored; the others are shown as faint stubs on the icon and listed below, never as neutral.

Based on the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural. He preserved the Union and abolished slavery to advance government of the people.

  • Federal vs UnitaryUnitary 65%
    FederalUnitary

    The Union is perpetual and indivisible; national sovereignty supersedes state secession.

  • Democratic vs AutocraticDemocratic 75%
    DemocraticAutocratic

    Government of the people, by the people, for the people establishes republican legitimacy.

  • Security vs FreedomSecurity 65%
    SecurityFreedom

    Suspended habeas corpus in 1861 and had civilians held under military authority during the war.

  • Militarist vs PacifistMilitarist 60%
    MilitaristPacifist

    Firm exercise of war powers to save the Union and eradicate slavery, with malice toward none.

  • Assimilationist vs MulticulturalistMulticulturalist 58%
    AssimilationistMulticulturalist

    Condemned Know-Nothing hostility to immigrants and Catholics in an 1855 letter, though he also backed colonization of freed slaves.

  • Planned vs Laissez-fairePlanned 65%
    PlannedLaissez-faire

    Federal support for transcontinental railways, homesteads, and land-grant colleges.

  • Isolationism vs GlobalismIsolationism 70%
    IsolationismGlobalism

    Whig economic nationalism supporting domestic manufacturing and protective tariffs.

  • Irreligious vs ReligiousReligious 65%
    IrreligiousReligious

    Proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving in October 1863, and said in his Second Inaugural Address of 4 March 1865 that the Almighty has His own purposes.

  • Progressive vs TraditionalProgressive 80%
    ProgressiveTraditional

    Was instrumental in the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, which abolished slavery.

No documented position, so not scored: Nationalism vs Internationalism, Collectivize vs Privatize, and Acceleration vs Bioconservative.

What shaped the scores

Dated actions from the record. Each is tied to the axis it informs.

  1. In a letter to Joshua Speed he condemns the Know-Nothing movement’s hostility to immigrants and Catholics.

    Assimilationist vs Multiculturalist

    Lincoln on the Know Nothing Party · National Park Service

  2. His first inaugural address holds that the Union is perpetual and that no state can lawfully leave it.

    Federal vs Unitary

    Presidency of Abraham Lincoln · Wikipedia

  3. He authorises General Scott to suspend habeas corpus along the military line from Annapolis to Washington; the Supreme Court’s chief justice rules that only Congress may do so, and the administration does not comply.

    Security vs Freedom

    Ex parte Merryman · Wikipedia

  4. He signs the Homestead Act, the Pacific Railroad Act and the Morrill Land-Grant Act.

    Planned vs Laissez-faire

    Presidency of Abraham Lincoln · Wikipedia

  5. The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect, justified as an exercise of his war powers.

    Militarist vs Pacifist

    Presidency of Abraham Lincoln · Wikipedia

  6. At Gettysburg he speaks of a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

    Democratic vs Autocratic

    Presidency of Abraham Lincoln · Wikipedia

Lincoln compared with other presidents

Measured on the axes both presidents are scored on, with the same rules as the quiz.

Most like

Least like

Questions about Abraham Lincoln’s politics

The US president who led the Union through the Civil War, issued the Emancipation Proclamation and backed the Thirteenth Amendment that ended slavery. On our twelve axes, the strongest documented leanings are Progressive 80%, Democratic 75%, Isolationism 70%.

Those labels changed meaning over time, so this site describes Lincoln on twelve axes instead. On the economy, Lincoln’s record leans toward government action and public provision. On social questions it leans progressive. The scores above give the evidence behind each axis.

Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. Lincoln was the 16th president, serving 1861–1865.

On the axes they are both scored on, Lincoln is closest to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Washington and furthest from James K. Polk, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson.

Yes. On 27 April 1861 he authorised General Scott to suspend the writ along the military line between Annapolis and Washington. Chief Justice Taney ruled in Ex parte Merryman that only Congress could do so, the administration did not comply, and Lincoln defended his action in his message to Congress of 4 July 1861.

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Sources and credits

Main source: Gettysburg Address · The Avalon Project

Also read

Portrait: Alexander Gardner, 1863 · Public domain

Scores are editorial estimates from the public record, not measurements. A place on this site is not praise.

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