Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was America's most popular President ever. He had played the
most important role in putting an end to slavery in America, and in the entire world.
Abraham Lincoln's childhood was spent in such poverty that his family had to struggle
for a house. His father did not even have enough money to send him to school.
Abraham studied from the old books of others. He started earning his wages from his
childhood to feed himself.

This one man was able to fight for, work for, and love his country so much that he
single-handedly brought about changes that had previously only been dreamt of. This
astonishing individual accomplished more in 30 years than most men do in their entire
lifetime. Perhaps one of the most remarkable men in the history of the United States,
Abraham Lincoln changed the course of our history forever.

On February 12, 1809, Nancy Lincoln gave birth to a son, whom she named
Abraham. This child, named after his grandfather, was born in Hardin County, Kentucky.
Abraham had two siblings, Sarah, who was two years older, and Thomas, who was
three years younger. However, Thomas, Abraham’s only brother, unexpectedly died
shortly after birth. The Lincoln’s were not a significantly wealthy family; they lived in a
log cabin, and Thomas Lincoln worked very hard for every cent he earned. In fact,
Thomas had to take on two jobs, farming and carpentry, in order to support his family.

“Partly on the account of slavery, but chiefly on the account of the difficulty of
land titles in Kentucky, Thomas Lincoln moved his family to Pigeon Creek, Indiana.”]
(Lincoln Bicentennial). In 1716, after buying property, Abraham helped his father with
much of the work involved in settling into this 160-acre piece of land. Just two years
after the move, in 1818, the Lincoln family suffered yet another tragedy when
Abraham’s mother died from contaminated milk. Just a year after Nancy’s death,
Abraham’s father remarried a widow, with three children of her own, by the name of
Sarah Bush Johnston.

Abraham and his stepmother grew very close, and she treated him as if he were
her own child. “She encouraged him to grow in his knowledge and understanding of
things, and was said to have started his childhood education.” (Burns). Although
Abraham had previously gone to school for a couple of months, he never had any
inspiration to learn until he received this encouragement from his stepmother. If one put
all of Abraham’s schooling together, one would find that he received less than one year
of actual school in his entire life. This means that Abraham Lincoln had so little
education, that he could be considered a completely self educated man. He showed a
special interest in books and reading and knew his Bible very well even though he never
attended church.
 At the age of 19, Abraham Lincoln had grown into a man of 6’4″ and was
stronger than anyone in town, leading to his first job offer. The offer came from a man
by the name of James Gentry, and it was to bring a shipload of cargo to New Orleans.
After delivering the cargo, with James Gentry’s son, on a boat Abraham had built by
hand, James was amazed by Abraham’s incredible skill and reliability. He asked
Abraham to work in his local store, and Abraham jumped at the opportunity to make
some more money. While working there, he would often hear men speak of politics; this
sparked an interest, which slowly grew to a flame, in young Abraham. During this time,
however, Abraham’s sister, Sarah, died giving birth to a child, causing much grief in his
life. Soon after her death, Abraham’s relatives wrote to his father, saying how greatly
efficient and productive the soil in Illinois was. This inspired Thomas Lincoln to once
again move his family to a different part of the country. (Lincoln Bicentennial). This time
however, Abraham did not stay with his family for very long. Instead, he went up to New
Salem, Illinois, and life on his own had finally begun.

Between 1831 and 1832, Abraham tried various occupations, and learned very
much, including the basics of mathematics. However, when the Black Hawk War began,
Lincoln was one of the first to enlist in the American militia. Abraham never saw any
action personally, but he was still elected captain of his company. He served his men as
best as he possibly could until the war ended, just a couple months later.

Once safely back in New Salem, Abraham took on the job of postmaster, and
was placed in charge of the local post office. As word of this honest, hardworking, and
diligent man spread throughout Salem and the surrounding towns, Abraham acquired
the nickname “Honest Abe.” During this time, Abraham learned more grammar and
began to develop a formal and proper way of speaking. He decided to run for state
legislature, ultimately beginning his political career, but lost to one of his rivals. This
defeat did discourage Abraham Lincoln, but rather, drove him to persevere, strive for
excellence, and be the best he could be. In 1834, Abraham made a second attempt at
politics, and once again ran for state legislature, only this time, he won. He was
representative of the state of Illinois and gained the approval and trust of many of his
fellow countrymen.

“After he won the election, he took up the study of law. With his love of debating,
storytelling, and reading, he found his calling in law and politics.” (National Museum of
American History). While he was a lawyer, Abraham Lincoln grounded his principles
and opinions, especially those on slavery, making this an extremely pivotal point in his
life. “Lincoln’s years as a lawyer influenced his character, and that character eventually
influenced our nation.” (Kalantari). His ability to ease the witnesses, as well as the entire
atmosphere of the courtroom, made him a great lawyer. For the next 25 years, Abraham
served as a lawyer aside from his political career.

The men and women of Illinois held such affection for Abraham Lincoln that they
re-elected him three times over the next six years. In 1840, just after his third re-
election, Abraham proposed to a woman by the name of Mary Ann Todd, whom he had
met the year before. After breaking up and getting back together, they finally got
married in November of 1842. Less than a year after their marriage, Abraham and Mary
welcomed their first baby boy into the world, and named him Robert Todd Lincoln. For
the next two years, Abraham not only continued to serve as state representative, but he
also showed devotion to his family, proving himself to be a great father. In 1846,
Abraham and Mary conceived yet another child who they named Edward Baker Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln enjoyed his time as the representative of Illinois, but it was not
long before he realized that he was capable of much more. Impelled by this realization,
Abraham ran for U.S. representative in 1847, at the age of 38. He won the election, but
served in this position for only one term. Once this term ended, Abraham fell back on
his career as a lawyer, and continued to study law books. “For the next five years,
Lincoln devoted much of his time to studying the issue of slavery as well.” (Lincoln
Bicentennial).

During this time, however, Abraham’s son, Edward, died at the young age of
four. The Lincoln family took his death very hard and later learned it had most likely
been due to a bad case of tuberculosis. In that same year, Mary gave birth to a third
son, named William Wallace Lincoln. His birth guided the family through the struggle,
and helped them to move on. Just three years later, in 1853, the Lincoln’s had yet
another son, who they named Thomas “Tad” Lincoln. Their sons brought Abraham and
Mary great joy, and Abraham was said to be a very loyal and committed father.

In 1854, Abraham was again elected as state representative; however, he

resigned in order to run for the U.S. senate. “During his campaign, he gave a speech
declaring the United States would either become all free or all slave because ‘a house
divided against itself cannot stand.’ It was after this debate that Lincoln received his first
considerable national fame.” (Abe Lincoln). Despite his national fame, Abraham lost this
election. Undeterred, he made yet another attempt at the U.S. senate, in 1858,
however, he was once again out-voted.

Two short years later, Abraham Lincoln took the biggest step of his political
career. That year, 1860, Abraham jumped at the opportunity to run for president of the
United States. Not sure if he would make it or not, Abraham was campaigning against
some of the top competitors in the country. After a long, hard, and stressful run,
Abraham was finally elected the sixteenth president of the United States of America.

Almost immediately after his election, southern states began to drop out of the
union, angered by the new anti-slavery president. Eleven states ended up dropping out,
and their anger eventually turned to violence in 1861, marking the beginning of the Civil
War. The North fought for the abolition of slavery, and the South fought for keeping
slavery. As the war raged on, Abraham Lincoln continued to fight for the right of all men
as equals. Not only was Abraham fighting to free the slaves, but he was also fighting to
reunite the North and the South. He believed that in order to stand, the United States
had to join together as one country, instead of being a split nation.

As the war neared its third year, Abraham Lincoln issued one of the most
important documents in history: the Emancipation Proclamation. “The Proclamation
declared that ´all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforth
shall be free´” (National Archives and Records Administration). This document aided the
northern states in the war by: allowing blacks to fight for the union army, redefining the
civil war as a war of freedom, and strengthening the union soldiers mentally. “The
Emancipation Proclamation is quite possibly the greatest document of human freedom.”
(National Archives and Records Administration).

As the war continued to be fought, Abraham´s fourth year as president came

near, and the time for elections came around. In 1864, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected
as president of the United States. He continued doing his presidential duties just as
well, if not better than before. A year after his re-election, Abraham and his wife went to
see a show in Ford's Theater, Washington, D.C. Around 10:00 p.m., an actor by the
name of John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential booth, and shot Abraham Lincoln in
the back of the head with a pistol. Abraham survived through the night, but died around
7:30 the next morning. Booth, motivated to kill President Lincoln due to disagreements
on slavery, escaped, but was found and shot a few weeks later.

Abraham´s death only motivated more people to fight for the freedom and
equality of all men and women alike. The very same year he died, the Civil War came to
an end with the South surrendering. Due to Abraham Lincoln´s perseverance and
willpower, slavery was abolished, and America was made a free country. America's
future had been set on a new path. The old life was thrown away, and a new chapter
had begun for all Americans, black and white. Abraham accomplished more in his last
few years than one could even dream to accomplish in an entire lifetime. Abraham
Lincoln, one of the most extraordinary men to ever live, changed the future, lives, and
hearts of Americans forever.

Reference

https://www.nps.gov/people/thomas-lincoln.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/abraham-lincoln
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/abraham-lincoln
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/abraham-lincoln
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/lincoln_abraham.shtml