Abraham Lincoln

What are heroes? Some people think that they save lives, but that isn’t necessarily true. Heroes can be inspirational, too, like Martin Luther King Jr. A person can be a hero of others. I think that a hero is someone who is honest and believes in fairness. My hero is Abraham Lincoln who was both honest and fair.

Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 and he died on April 15, 1865 when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Abe was born in Hardin County, Kentucky. When Abe grew older, he was interested in law. Abe wanted to make sure that the innocent wouldn’t be put in jail. That is why he studied law.

On November 4, 1842, Abe married Mary Todd. Four years later, he was elected into the House of Representatives. When he was in the House of Representatives, he debated with Stephen A. Douglas about slavery. Abe Lincoln felt strongly about the slavery issue. He did not want to see slavery spread beyond the states it was in. Abe wanted to be fair.

Abe Lincoln was elected to be the 16th President of the United States on November 6, 1860. A month after he was elected, the Civil War began. The Civil War was to decide if the United States would remain as one united country or separate into the North and South. It was at this time that Abe Lincoln delivered his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address. By the time the Civil War was over, more than 600,000 Americans had been killed and wounded. Slavery was abolished during the war.

Abe Lincoln is my hero because he inspires me and gives me courage. Abe Lincoln was also very determined to keep the country together. He wanted to be as fair as possible. One thing he said that proved this was, “All men were created equally and should be treated equally.” I remember when I tried out for the basketball team, I needed courage. I thought about Abe Lincoln and what he would do. I thought, and then I realized he would try his hardest. I did and I made the team. He is a true hero because children like me look up to him.