...one name, one man who stands above all the rest. Abraham Lincoln has come to define the American experience. His beginnings as a poor farmer in Kentucky to his rise in politics to his Presidency, his story fascinates everyone who reads and studies it. Abraham Lincoln is the epitome of what America is. He is Americas most cherished and beloved President and he may be the most well known American President in the world. Despite all the praise bestowed upon Abraham Lincoln there are those who do not buy into the ‘official’ Lincoln legacy. A small, but growing group of Lincoln detractors claim that Lincoln was not the father of freedom and liberty, the great emancipator and the savior of the union; they see Lincoln as a diabolical dictator. A man who took advantage of America in its darkest hour, a man who had no respect for the Constitution, he instead sought to destroy and undermine it every chance he got. Abraham Lincoln was President during America’s darkest hour; he saved the union and kept the country together. Lincoln was justified in the actions he took, despite attempts to paint Lincoln as a tyrannical dictator there is no question that Lincoln’s status as America’s greatest President is deserved and true. During his Presidency Lincoln met fierce opposition. This is not uncommon among Presidents; they are commonly held in higher regard after they leave office than when they are in office. However, the opposition Lincoln met tended to be intense and passionate. His policies...
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...I am going to talk about a humble man named Abraham Lincoln and how it was for him as a child and as a young adult. Eventually I will be talking about his personal life and his political career. Finally I will be talking about his death and I will include his quotes and some interesting facts about honest Abraham Lincoln’s story begins on February 12, 1809. Abraham Lincoln moved with his mother Nancy and his older sister Sarah, to Indiana in 1816. This is where his mother died on milk poison at the age of 34, and he was about nine. His father remarried about a year later to Sarah Johnston. Abraham Lincoln had less than year of formal education, and when he did go to school it was at a windowless log schoolhouse this was called a “blab school.” Abraham Lincoln was self-taught on how to read and write. When he was not in school he was working on the frontier farm. Abraham Lincoln moved to Illinois with his family when he was about 22. Abraham Lincoln met and fell in love with Ann Rutledge here in Illinois. She died of Typhoid Fever before he got engaged with her. Then Abraham Lincoln met and married his wife Mary Todd. Abraham and Mary Lincoln had the four children, only one made it to adulthood. His name is Robert Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln joined a debating team where he met his mentor Graham. Graham lent him books and coached him in English. Abraham Lincoln opened a general store with his partner William Berry. The reason he opened a general store is because...
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...many Americans think of Abraham Lincoln, they think first of all, as the president who freed the slaves. He is immortalized as the "Great Emancipator," and widely regarded as a champion of black freedom who supported social equality of the races, and who fought the American Civil War (1861-1865) to free the slaves. In actuality, Abraham Lincoln did not fight the Civil War to free the slaves. He fought it to save the Union. He did not agree with slavery and one of the good things that came out of the Union being saved was the abolishment of slavery. (Gienapp, 2002). (Jenness, 2007). Abraham Lincoln was a self made man that rose mythically from humble beginnings to national greatness. He began life as a farm boy. He did not come from a family who believed in education. Despite this, Abraham Lincoln read books and done whatever he could to educate himself. He was a man that believed in honesty and caring for other people. After learning many lessons in life and climbing the ladder of success, his fine qualities landed him as the United States of America’s 16th President. He was successful in doing many great things for people and his community and eventually the United States. (Gienapp, 2002). (Jenness, 2007). He was embarrassed of his family background. He came from a poor family that was farmers. His life as a farm boy was spent doing chores, such as hauling water and chopping wood, and helping in the fields. His mother died when Abraham Lincoln was 9. His father eventually...
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...Book Report Gienapp, William E., Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America; Oxford University Press. New York, 2002. This book is a glimpse into Abraham Lincoln’s political career and personal life. His personal life was much hidden from the outside world, and his feelings and personal affairs were kept out of public scrutiny. He was neither a great husband nor a father, but was considered to be one of the greatest presidents this nation has ever seen. Lincoln was a very conservative man, and managed to provide leadership in both the political and military strategies. He is considered the man who shaped change in our nation, which led to many controversial issues being solved. It took a man of great strength and courage to lead and control the nation during this very demanding time. He was the right person at the right time. President Abraham Lincoln was born in Nolan Creek, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809. In 1811, his father moved to Indiana due to problems with land titles and to get away from slavery. However, his reason was that slaves competed directly for work opportunities for his father. Lincoln’s formal education was limited due to availability. In his later teen years he began to read anything he could. His first brush with law came in the form of a book entitled “The Revised Laws of Indiana.” In the pursuit of a career, Lincoln arrived in Springfield, Illinois in 1837, where he began his new life as a lawyer. Lincoln held that democracy was the most important...
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...Of the many presidents who could be mindlessly passed off as heroes, there are a few truly heroic presidents. Among them, Abraham Lincoln stands tall. In 1861, when Lincoln was elected to office, the situations of the time called for a hero, and Lincoln stepped up. All throughout his childhood, Lincoln had to struggle to make a living and learn as well. His mother died when he was only ten years old. He lived as a farmer, working largely what would be considered “minimum wage” jobs today. All this while Lincoln struggled to gain knowledge, especially of law. He was always determined to accomplish his goals, and was willing to work as much as it might take to do so. After gaining presidency, Lincoln was faced with a dilemma. The secession of the South, though never officially realized by Lincoln, called for some sort of action. Throughout the Civil War, and even after, Lincoln was very kind and forgiving to southerners. He kept in mind the greater good and strived for the reunion of the nation, rather than becoming angry toward the South. As he stated in a speech at the Gettysburg military cemetery, Lincoln wanted a “government of the people, by the people, for the people, (that) shall not perish from the earth.” After the Civil War, Lincoln urged the South to put away their weapons, and rejoin the Union. One of Abraham Lincoln’s truly noble and well-known actions was the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. This would proclaim all the slaves in the...
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...ABRAHAM LINCOLN Sixteenth President of the United States By: Jacquelyn McRae Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. The family moved to Indiana and 8 year old Abe helped his father build another log house. A year later his mother died and the house was very empty. His father remarried and in addition to his sister Sarah, who was 3 years older, there were now 3 more children in the family. Lincoln had less than a year of schooling. Books were scarce and so was paper. He worked his arithmetic problems on a board and cleaned the board with a knife so he could use it again. The family owned a Bible and he spent many hours reading it. He would copy parts of it in order to memorize it. Sometimes he would walk for miles to borrow a book. One of his favorite books was "The Life of George Washington". By the time he was 17, he knew he wanted to be a lawyer. He would walk 17 miles to the county courthouse in order to watch the lawyers work. He sat in the back of the courtroom and watched them as they shook their fists and became red in the face. Then he would go home and think about what he had seen. When he was 21 years old he moved to Illinois and spent a year laboring on a farm. It is said that he and his fellow-laborer split 3,000 rails in that year 1830. He also managed a flat-boat on the Ohio River Every time he got a new job he would try to work on a skill which would help him when he became a lawyer. When he was...
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...Abraham Lincoln: the Great American Hero Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest heroes of America. His story from growing up with barely anything, to becoming the most powerful and dedicated man in office is one that will be told for years. He is an inspiration for people to achieve their goal and dreams just like he did through perseverance and dedication to his people. Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. His parents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, had two other children; Sarah, who was older than Abraham, and Thomas, a younger brother who died in infancy. After Abraham’s mother passed, when he was ten years old, he was devastated and alienated himself from his father, resenting the work and pressure put on him at such a young age. (biography.com) His father then moved them to Indiana where he was remarried to Sara Bush Johnston. As she lived there, nurturing and showing him more love than his mother or father ever did, she encouraged Abraham to learn to read, making a fast bond between the two of them. However, since they lived fairly secluded on a farm in Illinois, Abraham would walk for miles to obtain a book hoping to gain as much knowledge as possible. He also worked on the farm or split rails for neighbors and kept a store in Illinois to help out his family. At the age of twenty-two Lincoln left on his own, after his father insisted on moving the family multiple times. He was six foot, four inches tall and made his living...
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...Running head: ABRAHAM LINCOLN 1 Abraham Lincoln Student's Name University Affiliation Date of submission Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln's Obituary Abraham Lincoln was born in the year 1809. Due to his stern and revolutionary stands to the American nation, he was assassinated in April 1865. Abraham Lincoln before rising to the political leadership was initially a lawyer based in the state of Illinois. As a lawyer, he expressed his concerns to the slavery that had been exhibited by the American political class against the Africans and the black American. He spent most of his times as a lawyer defending the oppressed who were subjected to hard labor without pay. Around 1846, Lincoln was elected to the Illinois House of Representative, where he worked with dedication to bring forth to his electorates economic progress. During the times he served in the house, he hastened modernization of the economy through establishments of banks, railroads and tariffs which saw the economy of the state of Illinois grow and develop. During his era as the American president, Lincoln is remembered for his moving speeches. Most importantly he is remembered for the initiative of ending slavery in America by initiating emancipation proclamation that was directed towards ending slavery in America. As the commander in chief of United States of America, he played a critical role in preserving America from splitting and assented a bill that prevented the foreigners from invading...
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...Martinez History 1301 P30 December 10, 2013 Extra Credit Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln is said to be one of the greatest presidents of the United States of America. Of course, many may beg to differ. However, I chose Abraham Lincoln because of his loyal duty for what was right. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln was an ambitious man. He served as a state legislature as well as among the House of Representatives. In history Lincoln was faced with disunion and vowed to preserve it, hence; the civil war. Lincoln is known for the opposition he had for slavery and to prevent it from spreading outward to other states. He will forever be remembered for the creation of the Republican Party, as well as bringing together the Democratic Party and the beginning of a forceful national government. Abraham Lincoln in all was a great president. His leadership greatly benefited his accomplishments. His leadership is what made a great deal of impact on the political and moral individuality of the entire nation. It was Lincoln that established, and emphasized that within presidency you have a duty. Duties to defend, advocate, and maintain the Constitution. His greatest achievement was the Emancipation Proclamation which forever declared the freedom of slaves that were in the confederacy. It was the very spark into what would later become a great civil rights movement. Five years later Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The first president to follow that all...
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...Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 close to Hodgenville, Kentucky. His family moved to Indiana in 1816. When Lincoln was ten his mother died from poisoned milk. His father remarried the next year to Sarah Bush Johnston. Abraham liked her very much and even later recalled her "his angel mother. (Encarta)" Abraham had less than one year of formal education during his life. He was self-educated and taught himself how to read and write. When he was not in school, he worked on the frontier farm clearing out forests with his axe. When Abraham Lincoln was 21 he and his family moved to Illinois. There he worked on a farm growing corn. But more importantly here was where he gave his first political speech. In 1830, the same year his family moved to Illinois, he went to a political rally and was convinced to talk for a candidate on his behalf. According to a witness there, Lincoln "was frightened but got warmed up and made the best speech of the day. (Encarta)." Abraham Lincoln's political career started in the spring of 1832 by running for a seat in the Illinois' House of Representatives. However an unusual turn of events happened a month after he announced he was running. The store he was working at went bankrupt and he lost his job. Very shortly thereafter Native Americans rebelled and the governor of Illinois asked for volunteers to help put this down to which Lincoln promptly volunteered for. He never experienced actual combat, but during his 3 month time period he served...
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...Assignment 2 -“The role of the individual theory” Abraham Lincoln By Sebastian Jara Mr. Faulkner CWS-01 Jara 1 “The great man, with his free force direct out of Gods own hand, is the lightning” (Thomas Carlyle). Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish historian who believed that there are people who can change history with their own bare hands and that, social forces such as popular movements or revolutions are things that these men could easily overcome, he called these men “heroes”, who should be worshiped, through this believe came the theory known as “the great man theory”. E.H Carr added to this by stating “The great man is an individual, and being an outstanding individual, is also a social phenomenon of outstanding importance.” That “is at once a product that is at once a product and an agent of historical process”. According to both of these men the role of an individual is a person who not only can change history alone, but that, social forces with this individual make history. Abraham Lincoln was a man who is considered “a great man” and who is a great example of Thomas Carlyle’s idea of “The great man” and “the role of the individual”. 16th president of the United States of America, Lincoln built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. He gathered most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause, and On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy, and that it would also...
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...Senior High School What Influenced Abraham Lincoln Submitted To Mr. Douglas In Partial Requirements For HISP United States History Lili Quevedo December 19th, 2014 It was a glorious day on April 14, 1865, for the Unites States of America—the states were united once more. The North had won the Civil War five days ago and everyone was still celebrating victory. The people had one man to thank for leading them through the war: President Abraham Lincoln. Not only had he lead the Union to victory, but he had also set the slaves in the South free. The celebration would be short-lived, however, because one Southern man was not happy with the outcome of the war. It was on that day that actor John Wilkes Booth entered Ford’s Theatre shot Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head. The next day the President died, leaving the country mourning for one of the greatest Presidents that ever lived. There is no doubt Abraham Lincoln was an accomplished person, so how did one man leave such a legacy and mark on the United States of America? Although he was a great man, Abraham Lincoln did not just come out of his mother’s womb and suddenly know what he wanted to do in life. Like most humans, it can take months, years, or even decades for one’s beliefs and ideals to form. How we choose what we like and do not like does not occur randomly, but through people and events that leave a great impression and influence on us. Abraham Lincoln's greatest influences in his...
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...Bradley Abraham Lincoln is one of the most important presidents of the United States. Lincoln was born in 1809 in a log cabin in the backwoods of Indiana. He is raised by his very humble and uneducated parents. When he was about seven years old he began to help his father build a farm out of what was known as a “wilderness” of the backwoods. Although he went to school for a few months, he mostly learned from personally studying to gain basic knowledge of reading, writing and mathematics. With the attitude to learn and achieve knowledge Lincoln was able to enter a legal profession at the age of 27. This would start his long journey to presidency. Out of everything I have learned about Abraham Lincoln there are three important things that should be known about him. The first thing is that Abraham Lincoln is known as the Great Emancipator because he on January 1st 1863 would issue an order that “all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States , shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” This is known as the Emancipation Proclamation. This would free African American slaves from within the confederacy and allow government recognize and maintain this freedom. This also opened the Unions intent to recruit African American soldiers. Fredrick Douglass would later describe Lincoln as “Swift, Zealous, radical and determined” to end slavery. The Second thing is that Lincoln built...
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...ABRAHAM LINCOLN Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 - 15 April 1865) was the sixteenth President of the United States and the first for the Republican Party. As a strong opponent of the expansion of slavery in the United States, Lincoln won the Republican nomination in 1860 and was elected president at the end of that year. During his period, helped preserve the United States from the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America, in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery, with the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoting the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. Lincoln successfully mobilized public opinion through his rhetoric and speeches; his Gettysburg Address is but one example of this. After the war, Lincoln established the Reconstruction, seeking to speedily reunite the nation through a policy of generous reconciliation. His assassination in 1865 was the first assassination in the United States. Skills: Communication skills, convincing ability, Concrete, decision making capacity, Unquestionable oratorical ability, initiative, question you, I encourage the challenge, ability to maintain his followers with loyalty. Actions for influencing and directing: The speeches and words expressing his followers as well as actions that challenged a longstanding policy of a country, any species of incentives that contributed to the population. Conclusions: Abraham Lincoln...
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...Abraham Lincoln Through the course of American history there are names that stand out, names that represent more than just a person, but represent an era in American history. The list of important and influential figures in American history is too long and numerous to list. Yet there is always one name, one man who stands above all the rest. Abraham Lincoln has come to define the American experience. His beginnings as a poor farmer in Kentucky to his rise in politics to his Presidency, his story fascinates everyone who reads and studies it. Abraham Lincoln is the epitome of what America is. He is Americas most cherished and beloved President and he may be the most well-known American President in the world. Despite all the praise bestowed upon Abraham Lincoln there are those who do not buy into the ‘official’ Lincoln legacy. A small, but growing group of Lincoln detractors claim that Lincoln was not the father of freedom and liberty, the great emancipator and the savior of the union; they see Lincoln as a diabolical dictator. A man who took advantage of America in its darkest hour, a man who had no respect for the Constitution, he instead sought to destroy and undermine it every chance he got. Abraham Lincoln was President during America’s darkest hour; he saved the union and kept the country together. Lincoln was justified in the actions he took, despite attempts to paint Lincoln as a tyrannical dictator there is no question that Lincoln’s status as America’s greatest President...
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