Abraham Lincoln

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Abraham_Lincoln)

Abraham Lincoln's childhood was filled with tough times and hardships. He was born to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln on February 12, 1809 in a one-room log cabin on Sinking Farm Spring, a 348 acre farm, in Hardin County, Kentucky. He was named after his deceased grandfather, Abraham. His family moved several times during his childhood. They moved from Hardin County to Knob Creek, a few miles from Sinking Farm Spring, because they couldn’t pay the taxes. In 1816 they moved to Spencer County, Indiana, which was along the Cumberland trail, when Abraham was only seven because of economic hardships in Kentucky. This is where Abraham’s mother, Nancy, died from milk poisoning when he was only nine. One year later, Abraham’s father met Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow with three children. She made sure Lincoln went to school because, at the time, all Lincoln knew was his ABC’s.

They then moved along the Sangamon River, which was on government land, because of land difficulties. His family moved again, but he went off on his own sailing up the Sangamon River learning all the while about being a deckhand. He stopped off at the village of New Salem where he worked as a store clerk. He sailed back down the Sangamon River in time for his twenty-first birthday. He then moved with his family to Indiana where he got a job to split four thousand rails for his neighbor. He then worked as a postmaster before again going out on his own.

Abraham’s political career started out when he was young and his father was in court for land he couldn’t pay for. From there it went on until Abraham was twenty-three when he ran for the state legislature. His campaign was interrupted by the Black Hawk War in which Abraham enlisted. After he finished his time in the service, he continued running for office, but lost. Two years later, Abraham ran again and won. During his term, he started studying law, and two years later, he was licensed as an attorney. He started a partnership in a law firm. In his fourth term in the legislature, Abraham met Mary Todd whom he married in 1842.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Abraham_Lincoln)

The Civil War started shortly thereafter. Abraham was a Unionist because he opposed slavery. Abraham ran for president and won and became the sixteenth president of the U.S. Abraham then led the U.S. through one of the toughest times in its history, the Civil War. He led the Union to victory, abolishing slavery. This has changed my life today because I know I live a life with all equals and no slaves.

The traits I saw in Abraham Lincoln that make him my hero were his honesty, courage, ambition, and leadership. He showed honesty by being honest with his decisions. One of his nicknames was Honest Abe. He showed courage by being President of the U.S. in its time of crisis and by leading the U.S. through its difficult time of war, which showed his leadership skills. He was ambitious by keeping up the fight for freedom and by not backing down when the situation seemed hopeless. Those are reason why I chose Abraham Lincoln as my hero. So, in short, Abraham Lincoln is a tribute to this country today for being who he was and for what he stood for.