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Nick Kuhn
Mrs. Hargraves
ELA 1
February 15 2013
Abraham Lincoln
An online source explains that Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809
(Lincoln). His birthplace was Hodgenville, Kentucky. Lincoln accomplished many great
things, he was one of the great presidents of the United States, and led the Union through
the Civil War. One of his other great accomplishments was he abolished slavery. Without
Lincoln slavery may have never been abolished. Lincoln died on April 14, 1865. He was
assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the
United States, he led our country through the Civil War, and was later assassinated.

Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. Abe was
not schooled as a kid. He spent most of his time reading. His whole childhood he only
had 18 months of schooling. When Abe was young his mom died. His father remarried,
and grew very close to his stepmother. The Lincoln family moved to Illinois in 1816. One
of the main reasons was because of their opposition to slavery. Abe worked on his fathers
farm and tended a tended a store. Lincoln was given the nickname Honest Abe for all of
the things he did while working at that store. One day Abe was counting the change in the
register, he realized that he paid a lady a few cents short. He tracked her down and paid
her the money that she had been owed. Another time Abe did not give a lady enough tea,

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so he packed up a box of tea and personally delivered it to the lady. The lady said that she
didnt even realize that she was not given enough tea.

On November 4, 1842 Abe married Mary Todd. Mary Todd was an upper class
women. She came from a rich family who owned many slaves. Lincoln and Mary Todd
had four children together. Their first son was born in 1843. His name was Robert Todd,
he was the only one of Lincolns four sons to live until adulthood. Their second sons
name was Edward Baker. Edward did not even live until he was five. Their third son was
William Wallace. William also died at a very young age. Their last sons name was
Thomas, his nickname was Tad.

Lincoln became interested in politics when the Kansas Nebraska Act was passed.
This act allowed people in these two territories to decide whether or not slavery would be
allowed. Lincoln ran for senate in 1856. He lost to Stephan A. Douglas. After his loss he
became a speaker. Many people loved him as a speaker, so he decided to run for
president. In 1860 he entered the presidential poll. Not many people thought that Lincoln
would win the election because nobody in the South liked him. He was finally chosen as
the republican representative and won the election on November 6, 1860. Lincoln was
sworn in on March 4, 1861.

When the South broke away from the Union Lincoln declared secession illegal.
He said that he would go to war to protect the Union. The first shots of the Civil War
were fired at Fort Sumter. The South forced the Union to surrender this fort. Throughout

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the Civil War Lincoln could not find a capable general of leading the North. After going
through many generals he finally found Ulysses S. Grant. Grant would command many
key battles in the Civil War and later lead the Union to victory.

A few years into the war the Union stopped fighting to bring the Confederacy
back. They started fighting to try and abolish slavery. Lincoln believed that if he tried to
broaden the goals of war that he maybe could beat the South. Lincoln passed the
Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation freed all of the slaves in
southern states. The main goal of the Civil War for the North was to fight for Freedom.

On July 1, 1863 the confederates marched on Gettysburg. This battle was the only
battle of the Civil War that was fought in the North. This battle lasted for three days, and
was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. An online source states that there were
51,000 deaths in this battle (ABPP). After this battle was over Lincoln made one of his
most famous speeches. He made the Gettysburg Address and recited it at Gettysburg. In
this speech Lincoln talked about the American Revolution, and promised people of the
North that America would survive. He also thanked all of the people who died at
Gettysburg, for sacrificing their lives to save the Union. After Lincoln stated the
Gettysburg address everyone realized how bright and intelligent he was. The Gettysburg
address is still considered one of the greatest speeches in American history.

On April 9, 1865 General Grant surrounded Robert E. Lees forces at the

Appomattox Courthouse, in Virginia. Lee surrendered and this marked the end of the

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Civil War. All of the slaves n the South were freed , and everyone in the North
celebrated. Little did the country know what would happen 6 days later.

According to a source on the evening of April 14, 1864 Abraham Lincoln left the
White House to attend a play at Fords theater in Washington D.C. (Lincoln
Assassination). Lincoln was attending a comedy called Our American Cousin. In the
presidential box with him was Mary Todd, Major Henry Rathbone, and Rathbones
fiance. John Wilkes Booth crept up behind Lincoln. At a funny part in the play Booth
shot Lincoln in the back of the head. Rathbone slashed Booth in the arm. Booth jumped
over the railing in the presidential box and got is foot caught on a flag on the way down.
When Booth landed he broke his left leg. He ran outside of the theater and disappeared
on his horse. Lincoln was taken across the street and died the next morning. After Lincoln
died there was a two week manhunt searching for Booth. After two weeks Booth was
found hiding out in a barn in Bowling Green, Virginia. He was shot and killed. There
were four other co-conspirators in this assassination. The other four were supposed to
take out the Vice President and the Secretary of State. None of them followed through,
but they were all still hanged.

Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest U.S Presidents of all time. He
is honored for all the great things he did for this country. Many people say that Lincoln
started the United Sates, because he brought the South back to the country. Lincoln
abolished slavery and that was one of the greatest things that he ever did. One of the other
great things he did was help win the Civil War. The North may not have won the war if

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Lincoln was not president. The Union may not have even went to war if Lincoln wasnt
president. Lincoln ended up paying the ultimate sacrifice for all of the great things he did.
Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States, he led our country
through the Civil War, and was later assassinated.

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Works Cited

"Abraham Lincoln | The White House." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
"Abraham Lincoln." Civil War Trust: Saving America's Civil War Battlefields. N.p., n.d.
Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
"Abraham Lincolns Childhood | Abraham Childhood." Abraham Lincolns | Abraham.
N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
"Lincoln Papers: Lincoln Assassination: Introduction." American Memory from the
Library of Congress - Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
<http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alrintr.html>.
"Mary Todd Lincoln | The White House." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.