Abraham Lincoln Cori Feo Cody Tuxbury Diana Carvel

Abraham Lincoln Cori Feo, Cody Tuxbury, Diana Carvel, Sharon De. Freitas, Jess Johns

Biography Abraham Lincoln was the 16 th President of The United States from 1861 -1865. � He was born February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. He died April 15, 1865 the morning after being shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D. C. � He was married to Mary Todd Lincoln and they had four children named Robert, Edward, William, and Thomas. � His nickname was Honest Abe. �

Summary Lincoln is most famous for leading the country during the American Civil War. He led the North and helped defeat the South which kept the country united. He was instrumental in freedom for all slaves. � He was born and raised humbly in Kentucky. His family moved to Illinois when his father lost everything. His mother died when he was nine years old and his sister Sarah took care of him until his father remarried. �

Cont. . Lincoln had very little formal education, but loved to read and learn. He worked many jobs before his presidency. He was a shopkeeper, surveyor, and postmaster. He even split firewood with an axe for some time. He ventured into politics and won a seat in the Illinois legislature when he was 25. � During his several terms in the legislature, he studied law and became a lawyer. He served as a congressman for one term beginning in 1845. He also ran for Senate and did not win, but his arguments against slavery made him well known. �

Cont. . In 1860, he ran for President and won. He was part of the newly formed Republican Party who was against slavery spreading beyond the south. The south was not happy with Lincoln being president and many of the southern states seceded leading to the formation of the Confederacy and Civil War. � Lincoln paved the way for the 13 th Amendment when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation ordering all slaves freed. � Lincoln is often remembered for his Gettysburg Address speech he gave on November 1, 1863. It is considered one of the greatest speeches in America today. �

Cont. . � The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered. Lincoln wanted the states to heal and rebuild. Unfortunately, he was killed before he saw his dream become true. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth while watching a play on April 15, 1865.

Psychoanalysis � Abraham Lincoln will be evaluated by three different theorist: › Abraham Maslow › Carl Rogers › Walter Mischel

Abraham Maslow

Abraham and Abraham � Abraham Maslow and Abraham Lincoln have much in common besides their first names. They started out with humble beginnings, became lawyers, and are well known for their accomplishments and beliefs.

Self-Actualization Maslow was mostly concerned with what motivates people. He believed that people possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires. � Maslow thought people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person tries to fulfill the next one, and so on. � The earliest and most widespread version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs includes five motivational needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. This five stage model can be divided into basic (or deficiency) needs (physiological, safety, love, and esteem) and growth needs (self-actualization). �

Hierarchy of Needs � One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization. � Life experiences, including divorce and loss of job may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of the hierarchy.

Lincoln’s Self-Actualization: Physiological � Lincoln was not born into affluence, he started with the most basic hierarchy of need, a physiological one. His family was forced to move from Indiana to Kentucky over a land dispute where they squatted on the land. Lincoln was eventually able to buy this land providing for this very basic need.

Lincoln’s Self-Actualization: Safety � Lincoln’s mother dying at the age of nine most likely threatened his sense of safety in the world, but by eventually marrying Sarah Bush Johnston who was a very loving and caring woman, this event fulfilled his need for safety and pushed him through to the next need of Love and Belonging.

Lincoln’s Self-Actualization: Love and Belonging � The constant support and encouragement of Lincoln’s wife Sarah, brought Lincoln much to be proud of. She helped him learn to read and to receive a formal education which would be the basis for his distinguished career in law and politics.

Lincoln’s Self-Actualization: Esteem � Being educated when both of his parents were illiterate, gave Lincoln self-esteem that he had accomplished so much, despite the poor life he was born into. He was focused and driven to succeed. He worked in the community doing various jobs where he acquired great social skills that would benefit him throughout his political career.

Lincoln’s Self-Actualization: Self-Actualization � Lincoln most definitely proved through his actions that he was a moral man, without prejudice, who used creativity to solve many great and significant problems in the world.

Characteristics of selfactualizers: 1. They perceive reality efficiently and can tolerate uncertainty; 2. Accept themselves and others for what they are; 3. Spontaneous in thought and action; 4. Problem-centered (not self-centered); 5. Unusual sense of humor; 6. Able to look at life objectively; 7. Highly creative; 8. Resistant to enculturation, but not purposely unconventional; 9. Concerned for the welfare of humanity; 10. Capable of deep appreciation of basic life-experience; 11. Establish deep satisfying interpersonal relationships with a few people; 12. Peak experiences; 13. Need for privacy; 14. Democratic attitudes; 15. Strong moral/ethical standards.

Real Life Self-Actualization Maslow believed Abraham Lincoln was self-actualized. According to what we do know about Lincoln’s life and accomplishments, he does have many of the characteristics of Maslow’s list of self-actualizers. For example: › Lincoln proved that he accepts himself and others for what they are when he fought against slavery and wanted every man, regardless of race, to be treated with respect. › He creatively and democratically was a successful president of the United States prevailing at the end of the Civil War, ultimately bringing the North and the South back together. › He has peak experiences in his life and was a person of strong moral and ethical standards based on his successful leadership of his army and of his country. › Lincoln was most certainly concerned for the welfare of humanity serving his country most of his life in the legislature, congress, and as president. �

Carl Rogers

Carl Rogers Person-Centered Theory grew out of his experiences as a therapist - More concerned with helping people than figuring out why they behaved a certain way. � Two basic assumptions - Formative tendency: tendency for all things to evolve and create new things. - Actualizing tendency: tendency within humans to move toward fulfillment and satisfaction. � Agree with basic assumptions set by Maslow with an added tweak. - A nourishing environment filled with acceptance and empathy is required for a person to grow and achieve self-actualization. �

Roger’s assessment on Abraham Lincoln “In temper he was earnest, yet controlled, frank, yet sufficiently guarded, patient, yet energetic, forgiving, yet just to himself, generous yet firm” (J. T Duryea about Abraham Lincoln). � By this description of Abraham Lincoln, it seems that he had a good understanding of what individuals around him required to obtain their greatest potential and self-actualization. This would be of benefit to him since he would be able to surround himself by the brightest individuals with their main intention being achieving what is best for the United States of American during a most difficult time. He was able to maintain his temper even under moments of high stress and keep others comfortable around him. He would tell it as it, but at the same time was patient with others so as to achieve the greatest possible results from his peers. �

Assessment cont. . “I never had a friend to whom I was more warmly attached. Possessing a warm and generous heart, genial, affable, honest, courteous to his opponents, persevering, industrious in research; never losing sight of the principal point under discussion” (George Close on Mr. Lincoln) � This quote shows Abraham Lincoln’s agreeable nature. His personality towards others is in congruence to what Roger’s believed was necessary to achieve growth of an individual to his or her highest potential. He did this because he knew these were the types of individuals he would need to achieve his final goal. �

Walter Mischel Self-Regulatory Strategies – people control their own behavior through self-imposed goals and self-produced consequences. � People do not require external rewards or punishments to shape their behavior. They tend to set their own goals as well as punishments on whether or not their behavior has moved them closer to their goals or not. �

Mischel assessment on Lincoln � � � Lincoln had many things against him during his time. While running for president he had little to no support from the southern slave states. Throughout his presidency he continued to fight for the slaves freedom and wanted to reunite the nation. During the war, his plan toward ending slavery began with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Lincoln used the U. S. Army to protect escaped slaves, encouraged the border states to outlaw slavery, and pushed through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which permanently outlawed slavery. Lincoln was very self-motivated on all of his decisions he knew what he was fighting for and did not hold back The self-regulatory system according to Mischel helps people plan, initiate and maintain behaviors when environmental support is weak or nonexistent. This is what Lincoln had to do when half the country was not in agreement with his decisions.

References Abraham Lincoln. (n. d. ). Retrieved October 29, 2015, from https: //www. whitehouse. gov/1600/presidents/abrahamlincoln. � Abraham Lincoln’s Personality. Abraham Lincoln’s Classroom (Abraham Lincoln in Depth). Retrieved from https: //owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/560/10/ � Feist, J. , Feist, G. J. , Robers, T. (2013). Theories of Personality. New York, NY: Mc. Graw Hill. � Official Abraham Maslow Publications Site. (n. d. ). Retrieved October 29, 2015, from http: //www. maslow. com. �