Abraham Lincoln is perhaps one of the most interesting characters to ever grace the political arena and the American presidency. He is notable, of course, for his role in saving the United States from its own destruction and the eradication of the vile Southern tradition of slavery. However, upon closer examination, it turns out that there was much more to Lincoln than just his political successes. Over his years as a politician, there has been a notable change in terms of his political character and personality. He seems to go from ambitious and loud to being more solemn and reserved. Furthermore, it should be noted that some observe that Lincoln was, ironically, the most democratic and autocratic American president to ever hold office. However, it appears that while there is abundant evidence to support his democratic values, there is little to suggest his autocratic intentions. As if one could find a few lines that reveal such intent, many are also directly refuted by powerful Democratic rhetoric. All this is found in Lincoln's four major speeches; “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” his inaugural addresses and the Gettysburg Address. Basically, to properly analyze Lincoln, it may be best to look at Lincoln's personal and political changes in terms of his antebellum and Civil War "personalities" as well as examine his democratic and autocratic tendencies; all by carefully examining Lincoln's major speeches. If you look at Lincoln's speech, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," you would find Lincoln's younger, brasher self. To begin, he boldly declares that “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot permanently tolerate half slave and... half paper... him ex. Furthermore, Lincoln shows a notable change in character from his ambitious ante bellum days, to his final years in conjunction with the Civil War, which are imbued with solemnity and even a bit of religious zeal. It is interesting to watch his growth as a politician, from what might be considered a firebrand insensitive to the issues at hand, to the impending new president fearful of civil war, to the previously mentioned zealous patriarch. As we can see, his personal and political growth go hand in hand; being very difficult to separate. Ultimately, by examining Lincoln's major speeches, one can come to a number of conclusions, namely that it is possible to trace the changes in Lincoln's character and political personality over the years and determine the extent to which Lincoln was a democratic autocrat; the answer to this last conclusion is hardly.