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Lincoln was a man that protected the Union and delivered the Emancipation Proclamation. Abe was born in meek surroundings, an insignificant log cabin with dirt floors in Hardin County, Kentucky. Rural farm life was backbreaking and tiring on the American frontiers during the early 1800s. Farm chores, hard work, and reading in the fireplace light extended adolescent Abe’s life until he became a juvenile. Abe was convinced that this life his father made for them wasn’t the world he wanted to stay in, he wanted change. Abraham moved to New Salem for a job he was offered, this move signified the start of his own life away from his family. The people Abraham met during this time left an imprint on his personality and guided him into the 16th president we all know and love.
Abraham’s father left an imprint on only one thing, but one thing that stuck with Abe; Thomas hated slavery. Thomas Lincoln, his father, was a stern man who Abe never liked much. Abe was born into an uneducated family. Thomas barely knew how to read or write his own name. Abe liked to stay inside and read, educating himself. Thomas thought otherwise, Thomas saw Lincoln as a lazy, selfish boy who didn’t want to do his part on the farm. Thomas slashed out at Abe for his actions, as reading was considered an act of rebellion by the family. The only person in his early years that supported Abe in his decision to educate himself was his birth mother, Nancy Hicks. Nancy encouraged him to continue reading and expanding his mind far beyond the farm fence, regardless of his father’s approval or not. “She had found time amidst her weary toil and the hard struggle of her busy life, not only to teach him to read and to write but to impress ineffaceably upon him that love of truth and justice, that perfect integrity and reverence for God, for which he was noted all his life. These virtues were ever associated in his mind with the most tender love and respect for his mother. ‘All that I am, or hope to be,’ he said, ‘I owe to my angel mother’ (Arnold 20). This bond between his mother and him was everything to him and when Nancy fell ill with “Milk sickness.” Abraham was devastated, at the time he was only nine years old. The death of his mother took a toll on everyone, Thomas started becoming sterner with Lincoln with his reading and lack of farm help. Abraham’s sister, Sarah, became the head of the house while the men were working in the field, this put tremendous stress on Sarah trying to do a two-woman job. This is when Thomas remarried to a widowed woman with three kids of her own, Sarah Bush Johnson. Abe and Sarah “… took an immediate liking to Abraham, and by all account the feeling was mutual” (Holzer 13). Sarah, just as his birth mother encouraged him to read and study, their bond was strong so even after Abe distanced himself from his father. Abraham would still come to visit his stepmom. Through tough times in his family, he even went as far as to help provide for Sarah when he was gone, but their bond was limited. Abraham never introduced her to Mary or his kids. Nancy and Sarah, both mother figures in his life helped mold Abraham into the honest and well-respected man we all know him as.
When Abraham came of age, he took all his belongings and left the farm life behind. Abraham had set out to create the life he has dreamed about off the farm. The opportunities in the small town of New Salem gave him an insight into what life outside the frontier was. Another companion and him were hired by a neighbor to take loads of produce by flatboat down the Ohio River, these unique opportunities and experiences beckoned him (Gienapp 9). This job took Abraham to places he had never thought of seeing, the Mississippi River and New Orleans. The architecture style and the urban style of life were all bright-eyed Lincoln could ever dream of. This was also Lincoln’s first contact with real slavery, regardless of this, Lincoln was still in awe of his surroundings. This started his yearning for more than what life was offering him. Once Lincoln returned home, he gave what earnings he made to his father and set off to fulfill a job offer he had received from Denton Offutt. Offutt was the first person to give Abraham a true chance to discover who he was. Their friendship started with a business but then blossomed into a beautiful friendship that helped shape Abe. Abraham really didn’t have a father figure that supported him in his decisions, Offutt was a sort of father figure to Abraham. When Lincoln moved to New Salem, he had few clothes that didn’t fit his odd stature properly and no money for a roof over his head. Offutt offered Lincoln a clerk position in his small general store in New Salem, as well as sharing a small room above the store for working there. The two lived together for some years, Offutt helped Abe with his depression and any issues or questions he had. Abraham often came to Offutt for advice on girls, since he was severely awkward around women. “In the spring of 1832, Offutt having failed, Lincoln was again out of employment” (Newton 33). Since becoming a general store clerk Abraham became close with all the townspeople, his intelligence and integrity charmed people. Later within a few months of living in New Salem, Abraham became ambitions drive him to announce his candidacy for the Illinois state legislature. After his announcement, the Black Hawk War broke out, and later he volunteered to fight in the war.
While Abraham was fighting in the Black Hawk War, he saw no action and his tour prevented him from resuming his campaign, he was also promoted to captain. During the war, Abraham met John Todd Stuart who was a major in his platoon. Over the course of the war, the two became very close friends, when the war had ended the two remained close walking miles talking to one another about the school, the war, family, etc. Since Abraham was out of work, he was unsure what job he would pick up next, he spoke to Stuart about becoming a blacksmith. Stuart voiced his disapproval of Abraham about his idea of blacksmithing. Stuart saw something in Abraham that Abe himself didn’t see; He saw his political potential. Stuart voiced to Abraham that he should take up law and study for the bar exam. Stuart was so faithful to Abe that he lent him his own law books, later that year Abraham would pass the bar becoming a lawyer. Stuart and Abraham became law partners from 1837-1841. Regardless of their disagreeing political views, they remained friends throughout the rest of Lincoln’s life. Stuart is frequently said as being against the Emancipation Proclamation, but Lincoln was conflicted with this as well. Both questioned whether the President had the power to outlaw slavery by decree, without Congress’s approval. This was the issue that was a formula for the future of Stuart’s political mindset, and after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, Stuart officially changed his political party from Republican to Democrat. Nonetheless, Stuart remained a frequent informal advisor to Lincoln throughout his years, frequently visiting the White House, and the two were never on bad terms with one another. After Lincoln was assassinated Stuart became and held the position of president of the Lincoln Monument Association until his death in 1885.
Through Abraham’s friendship with John Todd and close friends, he met his future wife Mary Ann Todd. “Physically attracted to women, he feared the intimacy of marriage and believed he could never make a woman happy” (Gienapp 34). Lincoln was the love child of the frontier; he lacked all the signs of a refined upper-class man. Abe lacked many refined manners, movements, small talk, and upper-class fashion; because of this he often sat in corners of social events quiet and kept to. When awkwardly trying to small talk with women, the one that didn’t catch his eye at first glance would be the one to change him for the better. Mary Todd was a highly educated political woman that came from a wealthy family, she was a very ambitious young woman. The way Mary held herself and flew with grace through political conversions put Abe in awe of her, she would talk for hours about politics and he would just listen. Abraham and Mary started a difficult courtship that would be on and off until they married unexpectedly on November 4, 1842. Mary and Abe by looks alone were two very different people, Mary was a short-tempered plump woman while Abe was slow to anger and a skinny tall man. Despite their noticeable differences they became engaged in 1840, but once engaged Lincoln fell into deep depressive thoughts uncertain of his true feelings and ability to make Mary happy. Lincoln broke the engagement for the first time a few days after it was public, they started courting. After the fact of calling off the engagement Lincoln fell terribly ill to where he couldn’t leave his bed, his friends worried that he would commit suicide and kept watch over him during this tough time. Lincoln slowly recovered but never truly regained his emotional balance as well as failing to regain his seat in the Springfield society. More than a year after Lincoln called off the engagement with Mary, a friend of Lincoln’s convinced him to resume the courtship with her. Once courting for a second time the thoughts of acting un-honorably and backing out of the original engagement pained Lincoln deeply. Without any notice Mary and Abraham became married on November 4, 1842; Abe was 33 and Mary was only 23 years old. After marriage, they rented a small cabin at the corner of 8th & Jackson for about $1,500. Their marriage was merely based on Abe’s promise of commitment to her than his true feelings, but through the years they truly fell in love. Mary was Abe’s anchor, helping him with proper manners, fashion, and small talk; Mary shaped Abe into a fine high-society political individual. Mary Todd might have scolded Abe on his table manners, but she was his pair of fresh eyes when it came to politics. Since Mary was very educated, she helped carve his campaign into a proper and truthful run. She influenced his political views and became his backbone when he needed it the most, from the death of their sons to the loss of campaigns and transition to high society. Mary continued to be by Abraham until his assassination on April 15th,1865.
Abraham Lincoln was a very influential man on his own, He changed American history for the better. Abraham was doubted by many but still pursued and fought for what he believed to be right. All the people Abe met and lost throughout his life helped him become the honorable and truthful man America knows as the 16th president of the United States. Without the influences of John Todd, the support of Denton Offutt, and the loving wisdom of Mary Todd Abraham might have stayed put on the farm or become a blacksmith for the rest of his life, these important people in his life helped change history. If Abraham had stayed put in Indiana African American slaves might still have been around today, and the Union might have never voiced their opinions; but through all of this, we cannot forget the sacrifice the soldiers from both the South and the Union made in the process of rewriting history. So as my final words of the great Abraham Lincoln, thank you for your determination to prove what was right; you will forever be remembered for your greatness and for being “Honest Abe”.
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