Abraham Lincoln: The Greatest American President

Abraham Lincoln and his legend were born in the forbidden frontier woods of Kentucky in 1809. His grandfather brought his family there from Virginia in the 18th century and then have been killed by the Indians while clearing his land. His son Thomas stayed there and took care of the family and the crops.

In1809, his wife, Nancy gave birth to a son who was named after his grandfather Abraham. He spent his childhood in a small wooden hut while his father was looking for better land in Kentucky and Indiana. For Abraham and his sister, Sara was an endless story of hard and manual working. The life over there was desperate to escape. As a child, Abraham wanted to do better than his father, he wanted to achieve an education that would give him a chance to go beyond of manual labor. The labor was not the only reason why he did not like that place, it was also because of the way his father treated him. He was beaten and he felt like he was a slave. One of the reasons he later heated slavery was because he was approached like a slave and he apprehended what a pain it is. His mother Nancy was a great person for him, but unfortunately, she died when Abraham was only eight because of drinking infected milk. He later described his loss as the ‘bitterest agony.’Thomas Lincoln required help in taking care of two children so he decided to marry, Sarah Bush Johnston. She had already three children of her own so there were seven people in one house. The relation between Abraham and his father’s new wife was truly excellent.’She proved to be a good and kind mother’ to him. By all reports their relationship was excellent, and Mrs. Lincoln considered her stepson a model child who was always honest, witty, and ‘diligent for knowledge.’Sarah also admitted that she preferred Abraham over her own children. She encouraged Abraham and his passion for learning. At the age of seven, he already knew how to use a turkey feathered pen and blackberry ink. He really wanted to go to school, but his father kept him on the farm all the time. The man who would later write his countries greatest speeches got only a year of formal learning but he was determined to educate himself. Each time he heard that someone has a book he would walk for miles to see that person and request about reading it.

At the age of 21, he could legally go away from his house and he wanted to become ‘a piece of floating driftwood.’In 1831 he landed in an Illinois commercial village. It was his first taste of urban life. Although it had only a hundred people the village had a court and a debating club. He worked as a clerk and he was soon known by everyone because of his honesty and humorous stories. Once the Indians tried to reclaim their homeland and the village needed a captain who would lead the forces and without elections everyone wanted Lincoln. He later said that it gave him more pleasure than any other success. He started to enjoy being a leader and people so his talent for that. At the age of 23, he was running for being in the state assembly. He failed at his first attempt but two years later he did it. Being a state legislator was part-time which was also part-time paid he worked at other jobs including surveyor and postmaster. Despite all of this he found time to teach himself the law and within three years he got his lawyer’s license. Throughout his whole life, he tried to abolish slavery but there was one problem that Abraham could not break, the constitution said that slavery is legal. He moved to Springfield to practice the law. Spring field was the dusty frontier town with pigs running across the street. But it was still the most sophisticated place Abraham has ever lived in.

Abraham was particularly awkward around women,’ Springfield women avoid me,’he complained. Many people say that it was because of his physical appearance. He was about two meters tall and he was moving in a very clumsy and weird way. In New Salem in Illinois, he was already engaged to a young women Anne Roughage only to see her die of typhoid. Later in the white house, he would still talk about her. He was then engaged to Marie Owens. Marie complained that while horse riding with Abraham she broke her back and he was not even bothered to look back. Lincoln did not feel true love for her so he left her. Abraham Lincoln later fall in love with Marie Todd. There was a story about one day when he visited her he did not even say a word, he just had an open mouth while she spoke. She was a very intelligent woman, she talked about politics she could quote Shakespear and the bible. He was scared of marrying her so they broke up and Abraham fell into a deep depression. After 18 months apart friends brought Marie Todd and Abraham Lincoln together. Nine months later they had a boy named Robert. They had four children: Robert, Wiliam, Tad, and Edward. On 1861 his son William died from typhoid fever. Because of that Abraham decided to move from the white house to a different place.

He got national attention in 1858 when he was debating with a Democratic leader Stephen A. Douglas. Although he lost, he became the western candidate for 1861 presidential. He swept the North and was elected president in 1861. Before him, there was a different president saying ‘yes’ to slavery so it was just matter of time till slavery will be abolished in southeast states in America. In Lincoln’s case four of his secretaries were his political rivals. There were many people helping him but he always saved the final decision for himself. Lincoln’s election was a disaster for the southern slave power. Jefferson Davis was the president of the southeast states. Lincoln wanted to send food to his fort and he said, if you let this food go in peacefully it will be a symbolic manifestation of our sovereignty over this fort. If you stop it then the responsibility of starting the war will lie on your shoulders.’When the ships arrived Jefferson commanded to attack. The first shot was fired on April 18, 1861. Lincoln lost that battle but he saved the flag that was standing on the fort and brought it tho Ne York city. Lincoln was now desperate to educate himself about the military, tactics, and strategy. He was also really interested in making modern warfare. He was so anxious about the latest war news that he would stay all night and wait for the information. In 1862 the Union army won a major critically important victory at the battle of Shiloh. Nearly 20,000 men were killed after the battle. On 1862 he announced his intention to abolish slavery in the rebellious states. The war went well in the west but the situation in the east was devastating. Roberts Elves rebel army was on a winning streak and marching towards Pennsylvania. On 1863 in a small town Gettysburg there was a battle that was meant to be the mother of all battles, the battle that would end the whole war the battleground was soaked with blood. The Union lost the battle. Gettysburg had become a cemetery made for the people that died in the battle. In 1864 there was an election for a new president. Abraham wanted to be re-elected and end the war forever. The other candidate was George B McClellan. He won and did what he promised. He achieved his destiny to end slavery forever in America. On April 14 Lincoln and his wife went to the Fords theater to see the comedy our American cousin and it was his last night on Earth. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth who was a very popular American actor who thought that by killing Abraham Lincoln he will help and save his country. Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest if not the greatest American President. He was a great humorous, intelligent, determined and magnificent person.