What Is Abraham Lincoln's Legacy

Abraham Lincoln: Life Death and Legacy

By xxxxxxx x. xxxxxxx
Your college here
October 17, 2011
HIST101: American History
Professor EasyA

Abraham Lincoln is regarded by many scholars as one of the best Presidents in American history. He had a keen sense of leadership for politics and military actions matched only by the fire in his pen. Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809, and moved to Indiana at age nine where he lived for the rest of his youth. He was a hard worker, avid reader and family man, which laid the ground work for his military and political career. He was the true voice of American freedom where he had many dedicated followers. His passion for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every American ultimately
Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky on February 12, 1809. His father, Thomas, was a well-respected member of society who purchased and sold multiple farms, including the Sinking Spring Farm where Lincoln was born. Lincoln’s family had high moral standards and followed their Separate Baptist church’s viewpoint which opposed alcohol, dancing and slavery. Thomas was among the richest men in Hardin County, Kentucky. He owned two 600 acre farms, multiple town lots and livestock, but in 1816, he was stripped of his land rights due to faulty property titles. 2 This loss of their family’s financial support caused multiple relocations, mostly to free-soil states due to their opposition to slavery. Sadly, Lincoln’s biological mother died from milk sickness in 1818.3 He was cared for by his eldest sister Sarah, then eventually his new step-mother, Sarah Bush Johnston, who had three of her own children. Lincoln was very close with his step-mother throughout her life. Abraham Lincoln claimed to have less than one year of formal education,
Booth adamantly opposed Lincoln’s proposal to extend voting rights to recently emancipated slaves and also abolition of slavery in the U.S. 6 Booth blamed the Civil War and all of the related issues with the Southern states on President Lincoln. Booth, filled with rage, wanted vengeance and conspired with his friends Samuel Arnold and Michael O’Laughlen to kidnap President Lincoln from his summer home at the Old Soldiers Home, three miles from the White House, and force him across the Potomac River into Richmond, VA, to Confederate soldiers.7 Once in Confederate control, the plan called for safe return of Lincoln after the release of Confederate Army prisoners held in Northern prisons. Booth believed this would bring an end to the war by forcing the Union to witness the power of the Confederate government.8 The kidnaping plot thickened and Booth needed more assistance for additional political targets. Booth conspired with John Surratt, Lewis Powell (AKA: Lewis Payne), David Herold, and George Atzerodt. They routinely held planning meetings at John Surratt’s mother’s boarding house. The new plan was to kill Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward to advance Confederacy's cause.9 At the Ford