Abraham Lincoln the Sixteenth President of the United States
There is a good reason why the sixteenth president of the United States is included in the top three presidents. Abraham Lincoln’s accomplishments are well known in history and have inspired many people. His election in 1860 marked an extraordinary journey for the United States as the country would experience the political birth of one of the greatest men in history.
Abraham helped save the Union during a tumultuous time for the colonies, and in the mist of the Civil war he was able to keep them together; but, the most important event was the abolition of slavery in the United States.
Abraham’s parents raised him in a log cabin in Kentucky; however, Abraham’s love for knowledge overcame the barriers of being born in a family with no formal education. “I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families–second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks…. My father … removed from Kentucky to … Indiana, in my eighth year…. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up…. Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher … but that was all.” (Abraham Lincoln’s self biography).
It is said that Abraham barely had a year of formal education but that didn’t stop the young child from becoming an eloquent self-taught lawyer with the ability to persuade anyone. He was sharp with his thoughts and strategy to win followers and in consequence, successful with his endeavors at the time. As he said in his own words “If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend” (Lincoln).
His Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 promoted the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was in favor of abolishing slavery.
History owes him the opportunity to treat everyone equally and to view each American citizen with the respect they deserve; as citizens, regardless of race, color, or religion. The abolition of slavery could not come any sooner even though segregation was not eradicated until a century later. Abraham Lincoln definitely created the foundation of one of the most important civil rights movements globally.
As depicted in one of the twilight episodes, Lincoln was assasinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor who managed to kill me on Friday, April 14, 1865.