Lincoln On The Cutting Edge

Lincoln was a proponent of education. And not the type of education that had been taught up to his presidency. Philosophy, literature, and the arts would not cut it in a country that was on the verge of industrial growth. So Lincoln propagated teaching practical skills for the real world like engineering and other such curriculums that would foster growth of the U.S. industries.

I would say this would make Lincoln vanguard on the issue and the implementation of "technical" education, and that there was no turning back. And he was the first person of influence to implement these massively important changes in the U.S.'s higher education, thereby fueling the expansive growth this nation would undergo.