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About This File
Background:
Abraham Lincoln is, according to many historians and many ordinary people, the greatest President of the United States, perhaps equalled only by George Washington, the founder of the country,and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the man who led the U.S. through the Depression and the Second World War..
Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States and sat in office from 1861 to 1865.A man from Illinois, raised in humble circumstances, a slightly odd looking man who opposed the expansion of slavery..
When he was elected President however, the Southern States decided that was the final straw in a long standing disagreement on slavery..One after the other state left the Union and declared itself part of the Confederate States of America, leading to a rift between the Northern and Southern states, who subsequently stood opposite eachother in what is now known as the American Civil War, one of the bloodiest and most devestating wars in history..
Lincoln led his country through its greatest peril with great success and, with the help of General Ulysses S. Grant, the war, which was going very badly for the Northern States during the first few years, was gradually turned into an almost constant stream of victories. Gifted with a talent for speeches, Lincoln left us with many memorable words, most of whom are common knowledge among many Americans. Words from his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, are featured prominently in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC and on many of the memorials in his honour across the United States.
On April 14th of 1865, five days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered, Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a disgruntled actor and supporter of the Confederacy. The next morning, Abraham Lincoln died, the very first President of the United States to be assassinated..
Today Lincoln is a national hero, considered by many to be the saviour of the United States, an icon, a great man who helped release the slaves and releave the United States of that terrible atrocity.. Ever wondered why Dr. Martin Luther King chose the Lincoln Memorial to hold his 'I have a dream' speech? Now you know..
For more information, be sure to visit the entry on Abraham Lincoln at Wikipedia.
Personal note:
For many years I've beenimmensely interested in the Civil War, or as we call it here in Europe: the American Civil War. In fact, some of my American friends have referred to me as 'that Dutch Civil War Buff', which I consider a great honour..
When I finished my Robert E. Lee statue, there was great demand for a statue of either Ulysses S. Grant or Lincoln and since I always considered Lincoln to be one of America's greatest presidents, I decided that it was about time I paid attention to these many requests. When Sparkythepenguin renewed my interest by posting a very interesting image in my statue request thread, I went about working on what you'
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