Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln lived in the 19th century. He was born on February 12, 1809. He was born in Hardin County, Kentucky. He started off as a lawyer helping people win cases and when people were too poor to hire Lincoln he'd work for them for free. Later in his life when he was president he freed black people from slavery. This event is very important because African Americans are free today and if he didn't start the Civil War then black people wouldn't be free and we would have a north USA and a South USA and we'd have had slavery in the south for much longer. USA.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln

He did this by beginning the Civil War by putting the Northern army (Union) against the Southern army (Confederate) were the USA was torn apart by war that was brutal where so many people died. He didn't sit back and let the generals decide what to do with the war; he got involved and made some great strategies and decisions. Like when he put Ulysses S. Grant at the head of the army and initiated the emancipation Proclamation in which he started recruiting black soldiers. When he picked Grant he said, 'I can't spare this man he fights'. Lincoln then ordered Grant to attack plantations, railroads, and bridges so that their economy and morale would be crushed. In doing so the South's economy would be weakened and would have a hard time financing warfare. The impact the war had on people's lives is that many people died and black people were freed. It meets my definition because he fought to free the slaves which were unselfish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln

The second reason he is a hero is because he chose a side which was the North who was doing the right thing by fighting for slaves. He wasn't on both sides so that there wouldn't be a conflict, he fought for the North. Unfortunately the decision he made to side with the North led to his assassination because the South was angry and John Wilkes Booth shot him in the head because he believed that this would help the South. He destroyed the South, forcing them into desperation. This meets my definition because he sided with the army that wanted to abolish slavery. That was unselfish because he was fighting to save people. The impact is there are no more slaves and the people down south despise Abraham Lincoln. "I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln__http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln__

Not everyone thought that Abraham Lincoln was a hero though. Down South the people felt that he was the devil. They fought against him in the Civil War. They lost the war and to try and stop him there was a conspiracy to assassinate him. Unfortunately they succeeded and they shot him in the back of the head while he was at a play. The killer was John Wilkes Booth. What kept Lincoln going was his will to end slavery and to keep the United States together.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln