The life of Abraham Lincoln

Staff editor, Christopher Pinto-Spiegel, chose to write about Abraham Lincoln for a Language Arts research project. “Why not write about one of the greatest presidents?” Pinto-Spiegel said. All of the following information is paraphrased from the book Who Was Abraham Lincoln? by Janet B. Pascal.

Life as a Farmer’s Son

As a child, Abraham Lincoln lived in serious poverty. The word poverty means being extremely poor. Abraham Lincoln, being one of the greatest U.S. presidents, you’d never think was poor, but sadly, he was.

He was born in a Hodgenville, Kentucky, in a log cabin on February 12, 1809. His parents were farmers and because of this, they moved to the state of Illinois for better farming land when Lincoln was seven years old. Lincoln worked in the fields as child and read books while doing so. He even became a storekeeper later on because of his leadership. This seemed to be a great childhood until Abe’s mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died of illness when Lincoln was just nine years old. He had a rough childhood, but he went on to mend a country back together, add the thirteenth amendment to the Bill of Rights, and become one of America’s greatest presidents.

After the devastating loss of his mother, Lincoln, his father, Thomas, and older his sister, Sarah, moved back to Kentucky. There, Lincoln’s met and married Sarah Bush Johnston. She encouraged Lincoln to go to school. Lincoln only had one year of schooling, but that was all be needed.  He knew how to read, and he never stopped reading. No matter where Lincoln was, he would have a book with him and he would always find a time to read.

There have been forty-five presidents in the United States, and Lincoln was the sixteenth. There are three branches in our government: executive, legislative, and judicial. Being the president means you are the highest person in the executive branch. As president, you have a lot of responsibilities. Lincoln worked all day and night to fulfill them. He made sure America was at its best. As the cold times of the Civil War went on, Lincoln helped the Union Army win the war, defeating the Confederate Army.

Before Politics

Later in Lincoln’s life, in 1837, before his political life, he moved back to Illinois and became a lawyer. Lincoln enjoyed this occupation.

A few years after Lincoln came back to Illinois, he met a wonderful woman named Mary Todd at a party. Todd danced with Lincoln, talked to her, and eventually started to love her. On November 4, 1842, they married. Lincoln had the words “Love is eternal” engraved on Mary’s wedding ring to prove his love for her even more.

The couple had four sons: Robert, Edward, William, and Thomas. William was called Willie for short, and Thomas was called Tad because of his very small size. This seemed to be a great life, until Edward died at the age of three in 1850.

A Loyal Congressman

Lincoln then entered politics in 1838 by starting one of his four terms in the Illinois State Legislature. His four terms ran from 1838 – 1841. Lincoln enjoyed doing something good for his state, but dreamed of doing good for the country.

This dream led to him running for Illinois Representative in 1846. Lincoln won this election and served one term from 1847 to 1849. This win brought Lincoln and his family to Washington D.C. and the U.S. Capitol building for a while. Being in the U.S. House of Representatives really made Lincoln happy, and he was finally helping the whole country, not just a little part of it. His first dream was accomplished.

Lincoln did some unexpected things in Congress. For example, he said no to one of the things all Americans wanted to happen: the Mexican – American War. When this idea went through Congress, very few lawmakers voted against the war, but more than two thirds of men in the  House of Representatives voted yes. The Mexican – American War begin whenPresident James Polk, the 11th president, passed the idea.

After Lincoln’s term ended, he returned to Springfield, Illinois, to live with Mary, Tad, William, and Robert. Lincoln decided to quit politics for the good of his family, even though his wife’s dream was to be the President’s wife. This event went on for about six years until the Kansas – Nebraska Act in the early 1850s. This upset Lincoln, so he ran for Illinois Senate in 1854 against his political rival, Stephen Douglas. Lincoln had such a wonderful attitude and persistent heart, giving him the ability to win the election, making him on more step closer to becoming president.

Becoming an American Leader

Mary’s dream of becoming the President’s wife finally came true on November 6, 1860, when Lincoln beat Douglas in the 1860 presidential election. Being president at that time was tough, but Lincoln was brave and smart; he knew he could get America out of the hard times of the Civil War.

Although being president was great, the events in the years of his presidency weren’t so great. Two years after his first term began in 1862, Willie died at the age of eleven. Then when Tad was eighteen, he died as well. Robert died in 1926 when he eighty-two years old.

The Civil War continued and more men fell in battle. Lincoln called the first military draft in 1863. A few months after the draft, the bloodiest battle in the Civil War was held: the Battle of Gettysburg. This was a huge victory for the Union Army, but a sad one as well. Lincoln gave a two minute speech close to the battlefield called The Gettysburg Address. He gave this very loved speech on November 9, 1863.

The North or Union Army soon won the Civil War, letting Lincoln accomplish his dream: end slavery. Lincoln added the thirteenth amendment to the Bill of Rights – abolishing slavery. The word abolishing means ending permanently.

To make Lincoln’s life even better, he won the 1864 presidential election, and his second term, but this didn’t last long. Unfortunately, forty-two days into Lincoln’s second term, he was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth. This happened while Lincoln was watching a play in Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. He then died the next morning at 7:22 am on April 15, 1865 at the age of 56. This was the first ever assassination of a president in U.S. history.

To appreciate the works of one of the United State’s greatest presidents, Lincoln’s face is on the U.S. penny, five dollar bill, and Mount Rushmore. Being on Mount Rushmore is a huge honor, and Lincoln’s face was built there because of his excellent heroism during his presidency. There is also a big mold of his body held in the Lincoln Memorial, where he is sitting in a gigantic armchair.

In conclusion, Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest U.S. presidents because of his works of leadership and perseverance during not only his presidency, but his work in Congress, his early adulthood, and throughout his life. He was a great man with a dream of freedom and equal rights. It didn’t matter to Lincoln if he was poor in the past. The only thing that mattered to Lincoln was the present. He knew that if he worked his hardest, he could accomplish anything, even his dream. Lincoln wanted to end slavery, and he had this dream his whole life. He tried in Congress, the State Legislature, and his Presidency to accomplish his dream. This is why he is considered one of the greatest U.S. Presidents. With the influence of this great man, Americans learn that you can do anything you want, as long as you try your best.