Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president may have arisen to tremendous heights but came from the most humble of beginnings. Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky in an impoverish log cabin on February 12, 1809, the future president of the United States of America was not even sent to school to learn to read! When young Abraham was seven his family moved to Indiana, two years later, his mother died. His father remarried and Abraham was taught by his new mother to read and taught to read the bible. Lincoln was a woodsman in his adolescence, a good man. When he was nineteen he took the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans where he stayed for two years before moving to new Salem, Illinois where he worked as a clerk, postman, and several other occupations. He won the respect of his peers through the debate society and his "intellectual ferment".
             In 1830 He served as a Captain in the Black Hawk War, he saw no actual combat. Lincoln became engaged to Mary Todd, but his heart belonged to politics. He was not thwarted by early losses but instead motivated by such occasions. In 1836 Lincoln began practicing law, winning friends, and gaining recognition as a prominent citizen. He was always quick and faithful to repay debts and was recognized for his honesty. In 1842 Lincoln and Mary were married, the turbulent marriage produced four sons of which all but one would die before reaching adulthood. From 1847 to 1849 Lincoln represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives.
             The years that followed would be some of the happiest he would get to spend with his children at home and some of the roughest in his career. In the 1850s the north and south were divided. With the emergence of the Republican Party, Lincoln joined and in 1856 he campaigned against Stephen Douglas. In 1858, Lincoln debated Douglas during the campaign for U.S. senator. By 1860 Lincoln was on the third ballot for Presidential Candidate. From 1861...