Abraham Lincoln

              

By: Cooper                                                                                                                                                                                              

Abraham Lincoln was one of the most interesting presidents. He guided our country through political crises, not to mention the Civil War. He was a strong leader and helped our country end slavery. He never gave up. In his own words, here’s how he did it. 

I was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Kentucky.  We were a very poor family, so I had to help around the house. My parents could only afford one year of schooling, so I taught myself how to read. In 1818, our mother, Nancy, died from milk sickness. We were already sad enough due to being poor. It took a long time to bounce back. Eventually, our father, Thomas Lincoln, set out to Illinois to find a new wife. Once we made it, he asked a lady whose husband died to marry him. Her name was Sarah and once I met her, I knew she was a keeper.  

In 1842, I met the love of my life, Mary Todd. We went on to have four kids, Robert, William, Tad, and Eddie. Sadly, Eddie died after his fourth birthday, William died right by me in the White House when he was 11, and Tad died when he was just 18. If you’ve ever experienced losing a child, then you know that it’s the worst thing that could ever happen to you.  I had to endure the loss of three children. 

In 1854, I was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. I ran for the United States Senate and unfortunately lost. Soon I decided to run for president and faced my opponent, Stephen A. Douglas. The election was held on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 1860. I won by getting 55% of the vote! I was now the president of the United States of America! 

It was not an easy task being the 16th president, as many people hated me. One of the reasons is that I wanted to end slavery and most people in the North agreed, but the South did not. This led to the start of the Civil War.  

That year, in a historic moment, I signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which changed the course of our history. During the war, on November 19, 1863, at a cemetery in Pennsylvania, I gave a speech that honored the soldiers who had died in the war. The Gettysburg Address was a short speech, only being 271 words long, but it had great meaning. After the speech, I was worried people did not think it was a very good speech, but I wanted to honor our soldiers for their bravery, which would never be forgotten. 

In 1865, the war was coming to an end.  I was determined to free the slaves, which I was able to do by signing the Emancipation Proclamation.  The Emancipation Proclamation was a document that helped end the war and freed the slaves from the Confederacy. The only catch was the rebellious states were still slaves. Many people were not happy with me, and some even gave death threats, but I knew it was the right thing to do. 

 On April 14, 1865, I went to see a play with my wife. The play was a comedy.  Suddenly, I heard a big boom! That was the end for me. I was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth, an actor. I eventually died of a head wound on April 15, 1865.  I was 56 years old. 

         In conclusion, President Lincoln was one of our most important presidents because he helped make the world a better place. He stood by his convictions and wasn’t afraid to act on them. We need more leaders like him. 

        

                                                      Resources: 

. Wikipedia 

. Student Dictionary 

. Google 

. The movie Lincoln 

. My parents