Although Americans admire George Washington, the greatest American hero is cer-

tainly Abraham Lincoln. Why? Americans like to believe that people who are honest and
hardworking can achieve success no matter how humble their beginnings.

Lincoln is perfect example of what Americans call a self-made man Lincoln was born on
February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Kentucky. His parents were uneducated and poor.
Stories about Lincoln's youth demonstrate his honesty. (In fact he earned the nickname
"Honest Abe.") Although Lincoln eventually became a lawyer he had very little formal
education. But he did have a brilliant mind and great m strength. He had the courage to
do what he felt was right, no matter how great the sac rifice. In 1860, shortly before the
Civil War began, he said, "Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let
us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. Elected to the presidency in
1860 and reelected in 1864, Lincoln was the first cessful presidential candidate
nominated by the Republican party. During his p dency, the American Civil War was
fought. The issues were slavery and secession. In the agricultural southern states, blacks
forcibly brought from Africa were used as slaves t work on tobacco and cotton farms
and do housework. In the industrial North, slavery was illegal. In the northern states,
where there were only small farms, the economy little use for large numbers of
agricultural workers. Moreover, Northerners opposed ery as inhumane. In order to
protect their right to keep slaves, the southern leaders d cided that the southern states
should secede (separate) from the Union and form a nation-the Confederate States of
America. Lincoln felt that the Union had to be saved. In 1858, Lincoln had said, A hous
ainst itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently lave and
half free." In 1860, he U.SA, was, indeed, "a house divided. At that time, was the only
important democracy in the world. Self-government would proved a failure if the nation
could be destroyed by a minority of its own citizens. Lin- coln chose to lead the country
into civil war rather than allow the South to seced There were 33 American states when
the Civil War began. Eighteen of them did allow slavery, and 15 did. During the Civil
War, 11 states fought for the Confederacy inia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi

sippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas). On the Union side there were 23 states, after a
section of Virginia that wanted to state and became West Virginia (in 1863). Seven
western territories also fought on the Union side. Among the states that bordered the
North and the South, some sided with the Confederacy and others with the Union. For
some, it was a difficult decision. Ken- tucky and Missouri, for example, remained in the
Union, but secessionist groups within these states set up their own state governments
and sent representatives to the Con- federate Congress remain in the Union separated
from the rest of the The Civil War began in April of 1861, only a few months after
Lincoln's inauguration as president. It began when Lincoln declared secession illegal and
sent military troops to keep federal possession of a U.S. government fort located in the
harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. In terms of human suffering, the Civil War was by
far the most painful the U.S. has ever been involved in. About 620,000 soldiers died in
battle and another 500,000 suffered from war-related injuries or illnesses. The number
of Civil War deaths was almost as high as the total number of American lives lost in all
other wars that the U.S. was involved in from 1775 to 1995. In addition, the Civil War
caused the breakup of many friendships and even families when loyalties were on
opposite sides. By the end of the war, the economy of the South was in ruins and a great
deal of property had been destroyed. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, the
Confederate commander in chief, surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, the Union
commander It took until May 26 before the word reached all the generals in the field,
and the battle between the North and the South finally ended Diring the war, Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation declared all slaves in the Con- ederate states to be free.
After the war, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was adopted. It freed all
slaves throughout the nation incoln was an excellent writer who could express his
beliefs clearly and wi emotional force. For example, in 1863, Lincoln dedicated a
national cemetery in Get tysburg, Pennsylvania, the site of one of the Civil War's
bloodiest battles. He ended his shortest and most famous speech with the following
wish: . that God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people,
by the peo- ple, for the people shall not perish from the earth. These words, as well as
other parts of Lincoln's speeches, are still memorized and recited by schoolchildren and
actor cause they express in beautiful language the highest ideals of American democracy
this nation, under On April 14, 1865, less than a week after Lee's surrender, Lincoln, his
wife, and some friends attended a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shortly
after gunshot was heard in the crowded auditorium. John Wilkes Booth, a well-known
actor and southern sympathizer, had shot the president in the head. Lincoln was carried
un- conscious to a neighboring house, where he died early the following morning. He
was the first American President to be assassinated, but, unfortunately, not the last.
Because Lincoln had spent most of his adult years in Illinois, his back there and buried in
the state capital, Springfield. Now there is a la where Lincoln, his wife, and three of their
four sons are buried. Visitors to can also tour the home where the Lincolns lived before
moving to the Whi was rge monument te H es. Another ouse Lincoln's birthday,
February 12, is celebrated as a legal holiday in 14 stat 15 states honor him on
Presidents' Day or Washington-Lincoln Day, Ariz ona celebrate

The names and faces of both Wash- ington and Lincoln are an important part of
American culture. Washington is the only president for whom a state is named. The
state of Washington is in the northwest part of the United States On the other side of
the country lies the nation's capital city, Washington, D.C. The nation's capital has
beautiful mon- uments honoring these two great pres- idents. The Washington
Monument- more than 555 feet high-is the capital city's only skyscraper and the tallest
masonry (stone) tower in the world. The Lincoln Memorial contains a beau- tiful marble
sculpture (larger than life- size) of a seated Lincoln. Throughout the US.A., cities, towns,
streets schools, bridges, and other structures are named for both Washington and
Lincoln. Portraits of both these na tional heroes decorate the walls of many public
buildings. In addition, portraits of Washington and Lincoin (like those of other
presidents) appear on the front of U.S. coins and bilils. Washington's picture is on the
quarter and the SI bil: Lincoln's is on the penny and the $5 bill. To 21 The Lincoln
Memorial (Washington, D.C.) Americans, the faces of Washington and Lincoln are as
familiar and inspiring as their courageous leadership. =