Abraham Lincoln

  A hero is someone with great qualities, such as courage, leadership, initiative, determination, perseverance, and morality. But a hero is not someone who just has all these qualities. A hero is someone who uses these qualities to improve society. Abraham Lincoln is one of these heroes; and he used his qualities to make the life in his years count, for a lot.

     Abraham Lincoln grew up on a farm doing chores and chopping wood, and lacked proper education. But Lincoln did not want to be a farmer when he was older, and he found learning very interesting. As a result, he took the initiative to educate himself through books and became an avid reader. Later on, when Lincoln was twenty, he owned a general store in Illinois, but he still had not found what he really wanted to do in life, and he continued reading and learning. He taught himself law through all of this reading and self-educating, and became a great lawyer. Lincoln was also interested in politics, and ran for office in Illinois but lost. He did not give up. In fact, Lincoln never gave up even though there were many hard times in his life. He lost many loved ones and lost many elections, but he still became President. For example, Lincoln lost his mother, his sweetheart, and lost elections to Congress and the Senate. But despite all of these hardships, Lincoln worked his way up to becoming the President of the United States by building a strong reputation and a vast Republican audience. This shows true determination and perseverance. But this is not the only inspiring thing about Lincoln. He was also one of the best Presidents America has ever had.

  By the time Lincoln was President, slavery had been outlawed in most northern states but was still legal in the South. During Lincoln's time as a politician, he had worked hard trying to get laws passed that would end slavery, but he was not successful. The southern states knew that Lincoln was against slavery, and it really angered them that he had won the election; enough for them to break away from the Union and declare themselves a Confederacy. Lincoln knew this could lead to something bad and attempted to keep peace but failed. The Civil War had begun. This was obviously going to prove to be one of the most difficult times for Americans, and they would need a great leader to pull them through it. Abraham Lincoln was that leader. His goals as President were to abolish slavery and reunite the country. Lincoln believed in freedom and the principles of liberty and equality for all, so he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves free. Lincoln once said, "Those who deny freedom to others do not deserve to have it themselves." He really wanted to stand up for what is right and make America a free nation. He also supported and inspired the Union by giving many speeches such as the Gettysburg Address in which he said the deaths of their soldiers were not in vain. In this speech, Lincoln said, "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." These words are truly inspiring and could only have been written by a leader like Abraham Lincoln. The Civil War lasted for four years, but finally ended with a victory for the Union. Lincoln officially abolished slavery with the 13th Amendment, and then tried to mend the relationship between the North and South. He worked on this reconstruction until he was assassinated in 1865 by a Confederate, John Wilkes Booth.

 Abraham Lincoln is inspiring to me and countless others because of his many great qualities that he used so effectively. He had extreme perseverance, determination, leadership, courage, and morality. Without Lincoln's perseverance and determination, he would have given up on politics, and he would never have been President. Without Lincoln's leadership, the Union may not have been so bold and successful in its efforts to reunite the North and the South.  And without Lincoln's courage and morality, opposing slavery would have very difficult for him. He inspires me to find a way to use my qualities to make society better, even if it may be tough.

 In my opinion, Abraham Lincoln is one of the most heroic people in history. He lead America through one of its most difficult times and showed he could use all of his great qualities to make his country better. These qualities are not just something that only certain people have. We all have them, but we just have to choose to use them wisely and effectively. Abraham Lincoln saved America with his qualities. I hope he inspires you to do something with yours, because he sure inspires me.