A. Lincoln

America's 16th president, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), was a larger-than-life figure.

Every American schoolchild learns the legend: how young Abe grew up first in Kentucky, and then Indiana, on what was then the American frontier; how he may have attended school for less than twelve months in total, and never went to college; how he would walk for miles to borrow--and later return--a book.

All of this is essentially true. Many of the books he read were what we would call "the classics," books like Aesop's Fables, the Holy Bible, The Pilgrim's Progress, and Robinson Crusoe. These must have helped shape the character of the man who became known as "Honest Abe."

His family moved on to Illinois when Abe was in his early twenties. Here he had a number of jobs, including clearing the trees from his father's land, working on a riverboat (like Mark Twain!), and running a store. At last he studied law (on his own; law school was not necessary in those days), which led to eight years in the Illinois state legislature and, in his late thirties, to one two-year term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He then returned to his law practice for 16 more years.

In 1854 he ran for the U.S. Senate. He lost, but it brought him again to national attention. Then, in 1860, in his early fifties, he was elected president, and guided the country through one of its darkest periods: the American Civil War, or the "War Between the States" (1861-1865). He was president of the Union, those northern states which were opposed to slavery; and oversaw the fight against the Confederacy, the slavery-supporting southern states.

In 1864 he was reelected, and was inaugurated for a second time on March 4, 1865. On April 19, the Union won the war and the nation was re-united. Five days later Abraham Lincoln was attending a play when John Wilkes Booth, an actor, shot him. The President died the next morning.

--------

PRACTICE:

Vocabulary: Match the words to their meaning. Correct answers are below.

1. essentially
2. frontier
3. House of Representatives
4. inaugurated
5. larger-than-life
6. legend
7. legislature
8. Senate
9. slavery
10. the classics

A. the law-making body of a state or country
B. basically; in effect
C. the larger body of America's Congress, with members according to the state's population
D. a story about a famous person with at least some truth to it
E. the edge of a country's settled area
F. having a big effect on the people around him-or-her
G. the supposed owning of one person by another, usually as a source of cheap labor
H. books that have remained popular for a long period of time; usually serious works with an important message
I. the smaller body of America's Congress, with two members for every state
J. sworn in; having taken the oath of office

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:

Answer the following questions in your own words. Suggested answers are in the first comment below.

1. Which state did Lincoln NOT live in when he was younger?
A. California
B. Kentucky
C. Illinois
D. Indiana

2. How much schooling did Lincoln probably have?
A. less than twelve months
B. through high school
C. through college
D. through law school

3. Which of these books did Lincoln NOT read as a boy?
A. Aesop's Fables
B. the Holy Bible
C. The Pilgrim's Progress
D. A History of the Civil War

4. True or false: Lincoln served in the U.S. Senate.
A. True
B. False

5. Lincoln was shot by
A. a lawyer
B. a senator
C. an actor
D. a riverboat captain

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:

These questions do not have "right" or "wrong" answers. They only ask your opinion.

1. We usually think of presidents as coming from rich families, and being well-educated. How does Abraham Lincoln break this stereotype?
2. What do you know about the books that Lincoln read? How do you think they shaped his character?
3. Why do you think Booth might have shot Lincoln?