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Abraham Lincoln: About

Abraham Lincoln: 16th US President

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Who was Abraham Lincoln?

Abraham Lincoln, by name Honest Abe, the Rail-Splitter, or the Great Emancipator, (born February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.—died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.), 16th president of the United States (1861–65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of the slaves. 

Among American heroes, Lincoln continues to have a unique appeal to his fellow countrymen and also to people of other lands. This charm derives from his remarkable life story—the rise from humble origins, the dramatic death—and from his distinctively human and humane personality as well as from his historical role as savior of the Union and emancipator of the slaves. His relevance endures and grows especially because of his eloquence as a spokesman for democracy. In his view, the Union was worth saving not only for its own sake but because it embodied an ideal, the ideal of self-government. In recent years, the political side of Lincoln’s character, and his racial views, in particular, have come under close scrutiny, as scholars continue to find him a rich subject for research. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated to him on May 30, 1922.  Continue reading from Britannica

Impact and Legacy of Lincoln's Presidency

The most lasting accomplishments attributed to Lincoln are the preservation of the Union, the vindication of democracy, and the death of slavery, all accomplished by the ways in which he handled the crisis that most certainly would have ended differently with a lesser man in office. His great achievement, historians tell us, was his ability to energize and mobilize the nation by appealing to its best ideals while acting "with malice towards none" in the pursuit of a more perfect, more just, and more enduring Union. No President in American history ever faced a greater crisis and no President ever accomplished as much.  Continue reading from The Miller Center, University of Virginia

 

Check Out Items from The Library's Collection

Link to Brought forth on this continent : Abraham Lincoln and American immigration by Harold Hiolzer in the catalog
Link to Chorus of the union: how abraham lincoln and stephen douglas set aside their rivalry to save the nation by Edward McClelland in the catalog
Link to Our ancient faith : Lincoln, democracy, and the American experiment by Alan Guelzo in the catalog
Link to Differ We Must How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America by Steve Inskeep  in the catalog
Link to miracle lincoln by achorn in the catalog
Link to Ways and Means by Roger  Lowenstein in the catalog