Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in Kentucky (USA). He worked on the farm of his father. He attended school for less than a year, but taught himself to read and write. He did different types of jobs before he settled as a highly successful lawyer. He was gradually drawn to politics.
The country was having problems regarding the practice of slavery. The white men owned large farms in the southern states, Blacks were brought from Africa to work on these farms, They were kept as slaves. The people of northern states were against this practice of slavery and wanted to abolish it, The Constitution of America is based on the equality of man. Therefore, there was no place for slavery in that country,
At this difficult time, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the USA in 1860. He wanted to solve the problem of slavery. The southern states were against the abolition of slavery. This brought the unity of the country in danger. The southern states were prepared even to form a new country. Abraham Lincoln wanted all the states to remain united.
He faced many problems. He wanted to preserve the unity of the country at any cost. Finally a civil war broke out between the northern and southern states. He fought the war bravely and declared, ‘A Nation cannot exist half free and half slave.’ He won the war and kept the country united.
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Lincoln was elected president for a second term. He was not against anybody and wanted everybody to live in peace. He made sincere efforts to heal the people’s wounds caused by the war. In 1862, Lincoln declared that from then onwards all slaves would be free. This made him very popular among the people. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.