Abraham Lincoln
by Lucas from Roseville
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln
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| Quote on religion (http://www.picshunger.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln-q (picshunger)) |
The word "hero" has many different levels. Although there are many types of heroes, they all have one thing in common: they are admired and idealized for their courage, outstanding achievements, and noble qualities. One man, by the name of Abraham Lincoln, who lived way back in the 1800s, is a prime example of these characteristics. Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States of America, and he preserved and saved the nation during the Civil War, while bringing about the emancipation of slaves. But, his heroics were defined by how he carried out a dark time in our history, and how his courage and noble qualities led to great accomplishments in his life.
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| Symbolization of a hero (http://driverlayer.com/img/hero/15/ (driverlayer)) |
In life, courage is needed to succeed, as dreams cannot be fulfilled without taking risks and leaps of faith. Lincoln needed to have a lot of courage to be a hero, especially as a leader of an entire nation. One thing that was a very courageous thing to stand up for was the rights of African Americans. He lived during a time of slavery where blacks were viewed, in some cases, as no more than property. However, Lincoln didn't let people from the South hold him back, as they were the ones who were still fighting to keep their slaves. Instead, he stood up for the rights of all people, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, and emancipated slaves during the Civil War. To take it a step further, he let some freed slaves fight for the North, which was the side that he was leading, so they could fight and prove their freedom. Lincoln's courage allowed many men to finally know what it's like to be their own person, and fight with the people that wanted them to be free.
Being courageous is something few people can truly accomplish but, to be a hero and achieve greatness, you also need to possess noble qualities to have the right morals for success. Lincoln was a very noble person, as he stayed reasonable throughout his life and stood up against injustice. For example, before he was actually president, he was in the Republican party and he stood up for African Americans against the Supreme Court because he thought that, in his eyes, that these people may not now be equal to many white men, but they deserved certain inalienable rights like anyone else. Also, when running politics and the nation, he put forth the need of following moral values of Republicanism, not legalism. Even Lincoln's words were noble, as his view on freedom was that, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." So, Lincoln strongly emphasized staying true to our humanity and not losing sight of justice.
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| MURICA (www.funeralalternatives.org (Funeral Alternatives)) |
If someone is both courageous AND they have strong noble qualities, that person usually achieves great things in life. Lincoln, possessing these characteristics, during his life so many years, accumulated great accomplishments during his time here on earth. Obviously, he was elected to be the nation's president twice, so that in itself is a great accomplishment. But, it was what he achieved during those presidency runs that made Lincoln so special. Stated earlier, he was able to bring about the emancipation of slaves, making them free legally for the first time in hundreds of years. A few years later, he took this a step further, as he endorsed the 13th Amendment to completely abolish slavery. Also, he wasn't afraid to establish a firm hand, as he enforced arresting and imprisoning of suspected Confederate sympathizers without even issuing a warrant. Lincoln had a lot to do, as while he did free the slaves, he still had an entire country with a civil war to worry about. But, he never lost his composure, fighting for the nation he believed was worth saving, and was able to preserve the union during a very dark time of American history.
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| Statue of Abraham Lincoln (www.yeodoug.com (Daniel Chester French)) |
When looking for a good hero to look up to, you don't have to look any further than to the man named Abraham Lincoln. He was one of the finest presidents in American history, as he led the nation out of the Civil War that cost many lives of American citizens. Lincoln's courage allowed him to take the risk of standing up to slavery, and his risk paid off, freeing slaves and abolishing slavery once and for all. Although he was assassinated in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth, he had already accomplished so many things during his life that he became viewed as one of America's greatest heroes.
Page created on 12/11/2014 12:00:00 AM
Last edited 12/11/2014 12:00:00 AM
The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.
Extra Info
Born into a working family,
Performed hard labor early in his life,
Had skill with an ax,
Captain for Americans during Black Hawk War,
Served in House of Reps from 1847-1849,
Joined Republican party in 1856,
Distributed $2 million from Treasury for war material, without appropriation from Congress,
Called for 75,000 volunteers into military service without declaring war
