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Today we're going to learn about
the American President, Abraham Lincoln.

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Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth
president of the United States,

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was born February 12, 
1809, in Kentucky.

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His father was a farmer
and his family was very poor,

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living in a small, 
one-room log cabin.

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While Lincoln was still very young,
his family moved to Indiana,

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and then again
to Illinois.

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He only went to school for one year,
but he loved books and learning,

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and taught himself 
as much as he could.

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When he was 22 years old, Abraham Lincoln
left home to work at a general store.

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It was there that he got
his nickname, "Honest Abe."

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Once a customer accidentally
over paid by a few pennies,

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and that night
when the store closed,

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Abraham Lincoln walked for miles
to take the money back.

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In 1832 Lincoln
ran in an election

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to become a member of the Illinois
State Legislature, but he lost.

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After that he served 
as a Captain in the Army,

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and then he started working
as a lawyer, and got married.

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In 1846 he was elected to 
the US House of Representatives.

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In 1860, 
he ran for President.

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It was a difficult time
in the United States.

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The North and the South
disagreed on a lot of things,

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and it was getting
worse.

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One thing they disagreed 
on was slavery.

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The Northern states 
did not want any more slavery.

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The Southern states
wanted to keep their slaves.

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Abraham Lincoln 
did not like slavery, either.

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He was elected President because 
he had the support of the Northern states.

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He had almost no support
from the Southern states.

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As soon as
he became President,

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southern states began
seceding from the Union.

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That means they decided they didn't want
to be a part of the United States anymore.

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President Lincoln was determined
to keep the country together,

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and in 1861 
a war started.

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It was the Civil War, a terrible,
bloody war that lasted four years.

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On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln
signed the Emancipation Proclamation,

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an order that freed all the slaves
in the southern states.

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A few years later, he helped to pass
the 13th amendment to the Constitution,

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which made slavery illegal 
everywhere in the United States.

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The Civil War finally 
ended on April 9, 1865.

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President Lincoln wanted
to put the country back together,

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and help 
the South rebuild.

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Unfortunately, he did not
live to see that happen.

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Less than a week after
the end of the Civil War,

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Lincoln and his wife were watching a play
at the Ford Theater in Washington DC

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when he was shot in the head 
by a man named John Wilkes Booth.

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Abraham Lincoln died 
the next morning, on April 15, 1865.

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He was the first American
President to be assassinated.

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Abraham Lincoln
once said,

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"I want it said of me 
by those who knew me best that

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I always plucked a thistle
and planted a flower

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where I thought 
a flower would grow."

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He is widely considered to be
one of the greatest presidents

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in American
history.

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His leadership 
during the Civil War

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and his defense of human
liberty make him an American hero.

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His face is on pennies 
and five-dollar bills,

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he was included 
in Mount Rushmore,

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and a memorial for him 
stands in Washington, DC.

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I hope you enjoyed learning about 
Abraham Lincoln. Goodbye till next time!