Abraham Lincoln

George Washington gave us the Union. Abraham Lincoln saved the Union. Log cabins were common in this country 100 years ago. It was not a log cabin that gave distinction to Abraham Lincoln, although he was born in the poorest of such cabins on February 12, 1809. Limited education. - His honors were not conferred upon him because of a university education. Two short terms in a Kentucky school, followed by three in Indiana, less than a year in all, does not give much foundation for scholastic attainments. Handicaps. - To study the life of Lincoln makes one almost believe God purposely placed every conceivable handicap upon him just to prove his staying qualities, and to set an example in purpose, principle, and perseverance that would act as an inspiration for young and old possessed of the ambition and endurance, the vision and character, necessary to success. Abraham Lincoln was homely, yet he possessed the beauty of soul dedicated to relieving the burdens and sorrows of humanity. He was a rail splitter. In his rugged physical strength he was as gentle as a woman. His was a lowly birth, yet "his spirit is the richest legacy of the United States." ...... Lawyer. - He was a "saddlebag" lawyer, yet, with a copy of Blackstone, a Webster's Dictionary, and the fundamental law of God and human rights in his heart and head he won his way to the respectful consideration of all opponents. With his sense of humor and ability as a story teller there was in him a supersense of justice, and he often fitted a story to emphasize a truth that otherwise might have been forgotten. Preservation of the Union. - "A house divided against itself can not stand." Upon that issue - the preservation of the Union - Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Tolerant with all who opposed, kind to all who hated, charitable to those who denounced, he held firmly to the single purpose of saving the Union, in the belief that in union only could our Nation endure. The beauty of diction, the reverence, sympathy and love, the magnanimity and charity, and the vision of the worth of the price paid for the preservation of our Union, as set forth in his Gettysburg speech, will make him acclaimed after all other orators are forgotten. The nation incarnate. - He was the nation incarnate. In all its struggles, its doubts, its agony, and in the solemn days of victory Abraham Lincoln lived alone for his country. No one man has ever rendered greater service nor paid a greater price for faithful performance. As he has given us a rich legacy in his spirit and example, so he has left us a great responsibility - That we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.