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Biography of Abraham Lincoln for Kids: Meet the American President for Kids - FreeSchool

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    You're watching
    FreeSchool!
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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,
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    but he lost. 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.
    President Lincoln wanted to put the country
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    back together, 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!
Title:
Biography of Abraham Lincoln for Kids: Meet the American President for Kids - FreeSchool
Description:

The sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln rose from humble beginnings to serve his country at a crucial point in its development. When the Union threatened to rip apart, he helped hold the United States together, even at the cost of his own life.

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Music: Jaunty Gumption - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Other music in this video: Hail to the Chief and Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean
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Video Language:
English
Duration:
04:09

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