Now a congressman, Alexander Ramsey told Lincoln, in 1864, that he would have gotten more re-election support in Minnesota had he executed all 303 of the Mdewakanton
Lincoln responded, "I could not afford to hang men for votes." The men whose sentences he commuted were sent to a military prison at Davenport, Iowa
A few of those he had released due to the efforts of Bishop Henry Whipple
Whig theory of a presidency
Lincoln adhered to the Whig theory of a presidency focused on executing laws while deferring to Congress' responsibility for legislating
Lincoln vetoed only four bills, including the Wade-Davis Bill with its harsh Reconstruction program
The 1862 Homestead Act made millions of acres of Western government-held land available for purchase at low cost
The 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act provided government grants for agricultural colleges in each state
The Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864 granted federal support for the construction of the United States' first transcontinental railroad, which was completed in 1869
The passage of the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Acts was enabled by the absence of Southern congressmen and senators who had opposed the measures in the 1850s
In the selection and use of his cabinet, Lincoln employed the strengths of his opponents in a manner that emboldened his presidency
Lincoln commented on his thought process, "We need the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet
We needed to hold our own people together
I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men
Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services." Goodwin described the group in her biography as a Team of Rivals
There were two measures passed to raise revenues for the Federal government: tariffs (a policy with long precedent), and a Federal income tax
In 1861, Lincoln signed the second and third Morrill Tariffs, following the first enacted by Buchanan
He also signed the Revenue Act of 1861, creating the first U.S
income tax—a flat tax of 3 percent on incomes above $800 ()
The Revenue Act of 1862 adopted rates that increased with income
The Lincoln Administration presided over the expansion of the federal government's economic influence in other areas
The National Banking Act created the system of national banks
The US issued paper currency for the first time, known as greenbacks—printed in green on the reverse side
In 1862, Congress created the Department of Agriculture
Lincoln attacked the media for such behavior, and ordered a military seizure of the two papers which lasted for two days
Lincoln is largely responsible for the Thanksgiving holiday
Thanksgiving had become a regional holiday in New England in the 17th century
It had been sporadically proclaimed by the federal government on irregular dates
The prior proclamation had been during James Madison's presidency 50 years earlier
In 1863, Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November of that year to be a day of Thanksgiving
In June 1864, Lincoln approved the Yosemite Grant enacted by Congress, which provided unprecedented federal protection for the area now known as Yosemite National Park
Supreme Court appointments

Lincoln's philosophy on court nominations was that "we cannot ask a man what he will do, and if we should, and he should answer us, we should despise him for it
Therefore we must take a man whose opinions are known." Lincoln made five appointments to the Supreme Court
Noah Haynes Swayne was an anti-slavery lawyer who was committed to the Union
Samuel Freeman Miller supported Lincoln in the 1860 election and was an avowed abolitionist
David Davis was Lincoln's campaign manager in 1860 and had served as a judge in the Illinois court circuit where Lincoln practiced
Democrat Stephen Johnson Field, a previous California Supreme Court justice, provided geographic and political balance
Finally, Lincoln's Treasury Secretary, Salmon P
Lincoln believed Chase was an able jurist, would support Reconstruction legislation, and that his appointment united the Republican Party
Foreign policy

Lincoln named his main political rival, William H
Seward, as Secretary of State and left most diplomatic issues in his portfolio
However, Lincoln did select some top diplomats as part of his patronage policy
He also closely watched the handling of the Trent Affair in late 1861 to make sure there was no escalation into a war with Britain
Seward's main role was to keep Britain and France from supporting the Confederacy
He was successful after indicating to Britain and France that the Union would declare war on them if they supported the South
Assassination

John Wilkes Booth was a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate army, he had contacts with the Confederate secret service
When Booth learned of the Lincolns' intent to attend a play with General Grant, he planned to assassinate Lincoln and Grant at Ford's Theatre
Lincoln and his wife attended the play Our American Cousin on the evening of April 14, just five days after the Union victory at the Battle of Appomattox Courthouse
At the last minute, Grant decided to go to New Jersey to visit his children instead of attending the play
Lincoln's guest, Major Henry Rathbone, momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped
After being attended by Doctor Charles Leale and two other doctors, Lincoln was taken across the street to Petersen House