Abraham Lincoln: Honest Abe's War

Oscar D. Leon World History November 20,2013

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was born Sunday, February 12, 1809, in a small log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was named after his grandfather.( Freidel , Par.4-5.) He was the son of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. When Lincoln turned 7 years old the family moved to Perry County, that
's where Lincoln grew up until the age of 22. As a young boy he had worked for many different jobs, from working at a grocery store, a militia soldier and ultimately an astonishing lawyer. Lincoln became a profound thinker of the early 1800s and a great piece of American history . Bringing forth the end of slavery in the united States. Although it did not take an immediate effect until he proposed the 13 amendment which became part of his platform for his re-election in 1864.Which tragically although successful ended briefly when Lincoln was assassinated in a theater on April 15 1865 at the age of 56.And these are just some of the incredible achievements and events that Lincoln was able to accomplish. In the following sentences I will describe his rise to power, great accomplishments, And his terrible death.(Freifel, Par 8-11.) First did you know that "Honest Abe" is the nickname the towns people gave Lincoln after he had fought Jack Armstrong the town bully.
Don 't be fooled by his nick name, Honest Abe although for the most part peaceful man was no petite guy . Standing at an astonishing 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing around 180 pounds, Abe was not a person to be reckon with. After all he did serve in the Black hawk War from April 21, 1832 - July 10 1832, although he never saw any combat he did see the aftermath of two war battles.(Basler, Speeches & Writings, Autobiography, Par 11.) He helped burry the militia soldiers. This short military service did come in handy because of it he was able to forge strong political connections. When the Black Hawk war took place in 1832 between the United States and the Native Americans, Lincoln was eager to volunteer . Undertaking many rolls in the brief time he served. Enlisting once as a captain and another as a private .Several years later he began his political career .By 1840 Lincoln was a well establish Whig member . He had previously won the 1834,1836,1838 and the 1840 elections.(Basler, Educational Links, Political career, pg. 1.) Abe started by this point putting things into prospective. His political views let him to believe slavery was not so much as morally wrong but more of an impediment to the economic development .He did stray away from his party and started leaning more towards the conservative end. Becoming a republican in 1856.
Abraham Lincoln was elected president on March 4 1861. and re-elected in 1864.( Freidel, Par 4-5.)

Second, one of the many accomplishments that Lincoln was able to accomplish was the extinction of slavery.
To me that is one of the greatest achievements anyone could ever have in the united states history . Lincoln grew up with great moral in his early childhood, his family even moved because of slavery and other reasons . But that goes to show you how his parents moral views influenced him to see the world in a different way. Slavery was a huge deal back in the day, there is many triggers that started the civil war, all of which seem to be about slavery . 4 million African Americans were freed in the United States. Many people opposed the freedom of the slaves , mostly in the south . But that didn 't stop him from stopping slavery. Abraham obviously was able to completely stop slavery right away on his first term but was able to accomplish his goal before the end of his second term. Another great personal achievement was that Lincoln Unlike his father Thomas was fond of the American literature of the 1800s . Coming from a hard working family had little to no time for education, although this did not stop him. After all he did uphold his education enough that after several years of been in the Whig party that he did manage to become a well rounded lawyer. He study law in his spare time . This great success came with great benefits. He got the chance to meet many high and middle class people. This is around the time when he met his beloved wife Marry Todd. A three year
courtship took place followed by their marriage which lasted 22 years. Marry gave birth to four children ; Robert Lincoln(1843-1926), Edward Lincoln(1846-1850), William Lincoln(1850-1862) and Thomas Lincoln (1853-1871). (Basler, Education link, Page 1.)

Last of all Abraham Lincoln as most people know did not die of natural causes instead he was assassinated on Friday April 14 1865 . Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated . The assassination was carried out by an actor known as John W. Booth. Although this was not the first attempt to kill Lincoln it was obviously the last . The first attempt was by Andrew Jackson in 1835 long before Lincoln was ever a president .The second attempt was like I said earlier in 1865 a year after he was elected president for his second term. (Freidel, Par 11-12.)But his assassination was not just a simple task. It was part of a bigger plot , in which the three main people in administration where to be taken out and the hopefully the government would be taken down . Only Abrahams assassination was accomplished the other two did not end up the same, although one of the others did end up with a wound it wasn 't severe. (Freidel, Educational Links, Assassination resources, Par 1.)

Through the rise and fall of Abraham he was able to accomplish many great achievements both in his political life and private life . Abraham Lincoln has been one of my favorite presidents I have ever read about . His success story is one of those out of a fairy tale. From a poor farm boy to becoming one of the greatest man that ever lived . There 's a great monument in his honor in Washington D.C . That goes to show you how great and successful to his country this man really became . And for that Abraham is one of my hero 's.