"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal." - Abraham Lincoln. Abraham
Lincoln (1809 - 1865) is generally considered to be the greatest U. S.
President. He was born in poverty, self-educated, and went on to become
a lawyer, Whig Party leader, state legislator and U.S. Congressman. In
1854, he became leader of the new Republican Party. He led the North in
the American Civil War against the rebellion in the South and their
practice of slavery. During this time, in 1863, he gave the most famous
speech in American history, the Gettysburg Address, which called for
nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy for
all. He was assassinated just a few days after the end of the war. He
was President of the United States from 1861 to 1865.
