what is president abraham lincoln known for?
President of the United States
entailment
 Booth and a group of co @-@ conspirators originally plotted to kidnap Lincoln but later planned to kill him , Vice President Andrew Johnson , and Secretary of State William H. Seward in a bid to help the Confederacy 's cause . Although Robert E. Lee 's Army of Northern Virginia had surrendered four days earlier , Booth believed the American Civil War was not yet over because Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston 's army was still fighting the Union Army . 

contradiction
 Historians agree that it is impossible to predict exactly what Lincoln would have done about Reconstruction if he had lived , but they make projections based on his known policy positions and political acumen . Lincoln biographers James G. Randall and Richard Current , according to David Lincove , argue that : 

entailment
 Lincoln has often been portrayed by Hollywood , almost always in a flattering light . 

entailment
 A version popular during the American Civil War adds references to Abraham Lincoln : 

contradiction
 He enjoyed a successful post @-@ war career working for the U.S. government as a diplomat , civil servant , and administrator . However , his conversion to the Republican Party and his cooperation with his old friend , President Ulysses S. Grant , as well as critical comments he wrote in his memoirs about General Lee 's wartime performance , made him anathema to many of his former Confederate colleagues . His reputation in the South further suffered when he led African @-@ American militia against the anti @-@ Reconstruction White League at the Battle of Liberty Place in 1874 . Authors of the Lost Cause movement focused on Longstreet 's actions at Gettysburg as a primary reason for the Confederacy 's loss of the war . His reputation in the South was damaged for over a century and has only recently begun a slow reassessment . 
