How is it possible that someone who was born in a log cabin became one of our greatest presidents? Abraham Lincoln is famous for freeing all the slaves in the South and abolishing slavery with the 13th Amendment. He was known as the “People’s President” because he allowed people to report their problems to the White House straight to him. Lincoln was also well known for passing the Homestead Act, which allowed poor people to own land. Although most people are familiar with these events, many don’t realize that he had a poor and tragic life growing up. However, Lincoln’s early life led him to value the importance of determination and resourcefulness. Without his determination, Lincoln might have never started his journey to become a politician. …show more content…
Abe wanted to read because books contained information he could only find in them. An example of determination is when Lincoln tried to understand the jokes that his father made while storytelling to visitors and travelers. Lincoln wanted to understand these jokes so he could tell them to his friends in a way they understood, as shown in Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin said, "[H]e would spend, he said, ‘I spent no small part of the night walking up and down and trying to make out what was meaning of some of their, to me, dark sayings” (Goodwin 50). This shows determination because Lincoln had to stay awake at night trying to figure out stories that made the visitors laugh. This wasn’t the only time Lincoln showed determination. He also carried a book …show more content…
Lincoln encountered many problems throughout his childhood, so he had to be resourceful due to his family’s poverty. Lincoln, when he was young, wanted to memorize phrases that he liked. Paper used to be expensive, so Lincoln's family did not have it often. So Lincoln had to use other methods of memorizing, as shown in this quote: “When he came across a passage that struck him,’ his stepmother recalled, ‘he would write it down on boards if he had no paper,’ and ‘when the board would get too black, he would shave it off with a drawing knife and go on again.’ This shows resourcefulness, as he could not afford paper and had to use other methods to memorize the phrases. (Goodwin 52) This shows that Lincoln was resourceful in using a drawing board to memorize phrases. Lincoln was resourceful in using drawing boards to write phrases down. Another example of Lincoln’s resourcefulness was when he needed a place to stand up before his friends. He would find a tree stump and stand on it as if it were a stage, as shown in this text: “About this time he had found a book called Lessons in Elocution, which offered advice on public speaking. He practiced before his friends, standing on a tree stump as he entertained them with fiery imitations of the roving preachers and politicians who often visited Little Pigeon Creek.” This event shows resourcefulness because Lincoln had to use a tree stump as a stage due to
This reputation describes him as a “self-made” man, coming from a difficult family life. In his early biographies Lincoln portrayed that he came from a poor and uneducated family in which he defied on his path to success. He claimed, “I was born and have ever remained in the most humble walks of life” (Hofstadter 122). By constantly putting himself down, and talking about his previous adversities he “placed himself with the poor, the aged, and the forgotten” (123). However, Hofstadter believed the reasoning behind Lincoln’s constant reminder of his struggles was just to gain sympathy and support in his political career. As historians later found out Lincoln’s family life gave him a much better start than he originally claimed (Winkle 2). Hofstadter set out to prove how Lincoln’s reputation as a “self-made” man was simply just a myth. By using his self-made ethic it advanced not only his political career, it had social and cultural functions as well. He exploited his humble beginnings and people flocked to his word. However, even if Lincoln being self-made was a myth, in believing so it helped to shape the course of Lincoln’s life, to leave his family, to become educated, and to go on to be one of the best president’s in our nation’s
Out of the 43 presidents that have served for the United States, the most recognizable and exceptional president by far was Abraham Lincoln. Through childhood, Lincoln seemed always interested in politics, not knowing how much publicity and significance he would get. The three authors of the Grace Bedell and the President’s Beard, Lincoln’s Famous Address, and The Rise of a President all agree with the fact that Lincoln was a fanonimal president. During just four years of office, Lincoln made a memorable picture for himself, led a war between many different parts of the U. S., and made one of the greatest speeches the nation has ever seen.
When it comes to United States Presidents, everyone has an opinion of each president’s effectiveness. It takes character and talent to hold up to the stress of the White House. One aspect of a leader that measures their effectiveness is their capability to handle a crisis; another is their ability to make decisions for the betterment of whomever they lead, while still taking in all opinions. One example of an extremely effective president that successfully used those qualities was Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln served in many facets of the United States government and was also a respected lawyer in Illinois. He was best known for being elected as the 16th President of the United States of America. As president, Lincoln guided the United States through one of the worst times in American history, the Civil War. From the start of his political career, Lincoln was instrumental in his efforts and eventual success in ending slavery in America. He was known for his public speaking abilities and delivered some of the most popular speeches in United States history. He lived a successful life before the presidency, during the presidency, and up to the time of his tragic death. His life was cut short when he was assassinated in 1865 while still serving as President of the United States. Lincoln was revered as one of the greatest presidents in American history. Prior to becoming one of the most powerful men in the world, Lincoln grew up in a poverty-stricken family.
The sixteenth president of the United States was none other than “Honest Abe” himself, or better known as Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln may have looked thin and weak physically, but he was actually pretty strong. He was also a fierce, sharp-witted lawyer and politician. He was never afraid of the challenges thrown at him. He held firmly to the things he believed to be right, even when the “majority” did not agree with him. Abraham Lincoln faced opposition as president because of his divergent moral views, ideas, decisions, and beliefs.
Lincoln, the man who led our country in one of the most bloody, horrific times in American history. He stands as a major figure of heroism for some people and a monument of leadership for a country consumed by the blood spattered fires of war surrounding a difficult time in American history. He was the light in this dark, brief amount of years. He was the savior for slaves and very many of the african populus only to fall victim to the very iconic, symbolic bullet from one passionate man who follows his beliefs to the death.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky. Much of his childhood was a struggle; his mother dying when he was just ten years old, and with his father being a frontiersman, money was scarce. He had to strive for a comfortable living, and he spent his days working on a farm and keeping a store. Education was also something of limited resources, but because of his hunger for knowledge, he was able to read, write, and cipher. Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846 where he played part of the Illinois legislature for eight years, and for many years he also rode the circuit of courts. "
The American people have always had a fascination with presidents of common or lowly backgrounds. Like Jackson before him, Lincoln spent most of his childhood working to support his family. Lincoln's highly informal education could not compare to Davis' academic accomplishments, which include graduation from West Point. But what Lincoln learned working on the farm or in the store was far more valuable that anything Davis was taught in school. Through these experiences Lincoln gained the ability to speak with the ordinary man, a quality that helped him' get elected or gather support for an undesirable, yet seemingly imminent war. His communication skills came in large part from his understanding of exactly what the average man wanted to hear.
Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as “The Great Emancipator,” His legacy as the man who freed the slaves, and the savior of the Union is one that fails to be forgotten. He is thought of as a hero, and one of the few to tackle slavery, a problem that has existed in many parts of the world at one time or another. Although Lincoln is credited with ending slavery, his political motives for confronting this issue and his personal views do not make him worthy of all the recognition he receives; the driven abolitionists and daring slaves deserve a much greater portion of the credit.
In reading through Abraham Lincoln: the Man Behind the Myths, I have seen my views on Lincoln pretty drastically changed. Prior to this novel, I took the very common stance of Abraham Lincoln being one of the greatest presidents we have ever had. Now, I wouldn’t say I am nearly as passionate about Lincoln as any of the authors mentioned are, and therefore I believe myself to be rather blind to the mythology built around Lincoln. However, despite this blindness, I will say that my eyes have been opened to who I believe Lincoln is as well as what my perception of him has to do with what I’m told. Oates does indeed have biases similar to the very authors he puts down, however, Oates seems to be trying to reach a more realistic realization.
Abraham Lincoln was born February 12th 1809 in a small log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His parents, Thomas and Nancy, named him after his grandfather who had brought the family to Kentucky in the late 1780’s. Abraham Lincoln spent most of his childhood living in log cabins all over Kentucky and into Indiana, as his father searched for better land. For Abraham and his sister Sarah, life was an endless journey of manual labor. As he grew up, Lincoln began to develop an ambition to do better than his father did for his family by getting an education and earning a living through ways other than manual labor. It was more than the manual labor that bothered Lincoln, it was the way his father treated him. Lincoln would speak about how his father
What would it be like to be the leader of a country during an internal battle? Abraham Lincoln had to deal with that, along with slavery, other countries at war, and states seceding from the union. Imagine how much pressure one would be under. The problem of slavery was growing across America quite rapidly before and during the civil war. Abraham Lincoln strongly detested slavery. Mr. Lincoln saw no way to end the ongoing struggle of slavery, all while he did not want it to spread, feeling that it will help the south so much in the war. The hope for a compromise in slavery broke in 1854. The Kansas-Nebraska act stated that the residents of a state should be the ones to chose if their state will accept slavery. This act overturned the Missouri
Lincoln's use of executive authority during the civil war is many times illegal and unjust; although his issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation may seem justified, Lincoln blatantly abused his power regarding civil rights. He did things like institute an unfair draft, suspend Constitutional rights, allocate military spending without Congress, and institute emancipation. Although some may justify these actions, they stomped on the Constitution.
Abraham Lincoln’s upbringing fabricated his political skill set and aptitude for leadership, aiding him in his presidency. Born on February 12, 1809, in the city of Hodgenville, Kentucky, a slave state, he resided in a border state where several disputed the issue of slavery because of its location near the free states. His birth in a border state made him partial to the south but moving to Illinois helped form his more liberal viewpoints, explaining Lincoln’s sympathetic stance on slavery. Mary Todd espoused Lincoln in 1842, but Lincoln struggled with family life in spite of his successful and loving marriage because of his four sons, only one, Robert Todd Lincoln, lived beyond the age of eighteen (“Lincoln, Abraham”). Partially due to the solicitude brought on by positions of power durin...
Australia has two different major Indigenous groups which are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the First Peoples of Australia, and these two different groups have diverse culture, world views and origin with dissimilar experience of colonisation over the past 222 years (Chino et al. 2010). Because of these periods of colonisation, inequalities are substantially existed for health, including infant health, life expectation, chronic and communicable diseases and mental health between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians (Calma 2005). Base on this fact, Australian Government targets to improve accessibility of effective healthcare services for Indigenous peoples, aiming to close the gap between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians in health (Anderson et al. 2007; Cunningham 2009). To reach better healthcare environment for Indigenous Australians, analysing approaches to health services for Indigenous Australians is imperative, comparing with other countries, especially in New Zealand, Canada and the United states of America where have led to successful health outcomes in their Aboriginal people’s health.