Lincoln

“Four score 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.” Americans from Miami to Juneau have heard these words. Do they know what these words mean? Perhaps. Do Americans know the name of the man who spoke these words? Probably. Does someone’s name tell a lot about them? They may know his name, but do Americans know Abraham Lincoln? Who was this man, and why did he do what he did? Biographers have portrayed Lincoln with many different masks. Many Americans know Lincoln as a jokester, a politician, a president, and some may even know him only as a man with a beard. Abraham Lincoln was more than this. Lincoln was a man sent to Earth by God to save the United States from crumbling into separate countries. He was a man of God who did God’s work on Earth.

“My early life can be summed up in a single sentence:” Lincoln once said, “the short and simple annals of the poor.” Lincoln was not raised up in a situation of prosperity or wealth, but in a humble farming community. As a result of this, his education was not provided for him, and even if it had been, he wouldn’t have had time for it. Lincoln worked all throughout the day on the farm of his father, and he had little time to do anything but work. Somehow, though, Lincoln still found time at nights or during breaks to read books and educate himself. Abraham Lincoln is the true definition of an autodidact.

While others were getting rest at night for the coming day, Lincoln was sacrificing his sleep for an education and a chance to read, learn, and ponder. Most of Lincoln’s books had to be borrowed and returned to others because Lincoln’s father did not have the means to purchase them. However, Lincoln was brought up by his father as a humble, hard-working Christian through work and study of the Bible.

One time, Lincoln was borrowing the book Life of Washington by Parson Weems from a neighbor, but the book was damaged in the rain. In order to pay his neighbor back for the book, Lincoln was required to do three days worth of work for him, but Lincoln completed all of the work in only two days. This simple story shows how much Lincoln valued learning and how hard of a worker he was. Lincoln’s childhood bookshelf also consisted of books such as Pilgrim’s Progress, Robinson Crusoe, and Aesop’s Fables. Abraham Lincoln’s humble childhood gave him good, God-like qualities for his mission in life, such as honesty, industry, and passion for learning.

Was Lincoln more than the man on the $5 bill?

As Lincoln grew older, his values were tested through trials. He had a lot of hardship in his life, but the Lincoln family was used to hardship. Lincoln had already experienced many hard, bitter winters, deep snows, cold nights, and poverty when his mother, Nancy Lincoln, passed away. Poverty continued in the Lincoln family long after this. When Abraham was 21, he left his father’s household, and at the age of 23 he enlisted as a soldier to drive the tribe of Black Hawk to the other side of the Mississippi. Other soldiers were so moved by Lincoln’s leadership abilities that they chose him as their captain. Lincoln was grateful for this, but more hardship came. At one point, Lincoln’s company went three days without supplies or food after crossing a river. This adversity took much endurance, but Lincoln was able to bear it.

Shortly after finishing his service, Abraham Lincoln announced himself as a candidate for the Illinois state legislature. He delivered many inspiring campaign speeches, but unfortunately, he was defeated in the election. After practicing law for two years, though, Lincoln ran for state legislature again, and this time he was voted in. During his years as a member of the state legislature (and later as a Congressman), Lincoln experienced first hand and helped with many political campaigns, speeches and debates, failures, and eventually success. Lincoln helped with William Henry Harrison’s presidential campaign, which eventually got Harrison elected. Lincoln also debated a lot against his rival, Stephen A. Douglas, on the issue of slavery. After all of this hardship, Lincoln was eventually nominated as a candidate for president of the United States. The election following the nomination was exciting because Lincoln’s debate rival, Stephen A. Douglas, would be his opponent in the election. Though it took a lot of hard work, Mr. Lincoln was finally elected in November and inaugurated the following March, 1861.

The victory was short-lived, though, as four years of a painful civil war would follow.  A year later, in 1862, a great battle was fought at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and many soldiers of the Union valiantly gave up their lives for freedom. Pennsylvania decided to give the battlefield as a burial ground, and in November of 1863, Lincoln gave his famous “Gettysburg Address”. This speech inspired many Americans, especially those of the Union, to value freedom and fight for its cause. Lincoln would give many other speeches during his presidency that would not only inspire freedom, but promote morality and godliness as well.

One cannot plead with others to be moral or listen to God unless he himself is moral and listens to God. Abraham Lincoln had every right to plead with the people in 1863 at Gettysburg, not only because of his trust and willingness to follow God, but because of his awakening to what would happen to America if the people would continue to be corrupt. In 1862, more than a year before the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln checked out a book at the Library of Congress. Through looking at records, it was shown that Lincoln kept this book longer than he should have, and he returned it late. After checking out this book, a change happened in Lincoln’s presidency, and he started making choices that would bring America closer to God. The book that Lincoln checked out, as well as Lincoln’s Bible study, brought him to the knowledge that America was not just a nation, but a covenant land.

A memo that was written by Lincoln in September of 1862 stated, “In the present civil war, it is quite possible that God’s purpose is something different from the purpose of either party…I am almost ready to say this is probably true—that God wills this contest, and wills that is shall not end yet.” This note was later found by Lincoln’s secretary, so it is certain that Lincoln did not write this for the praise of men. Abraham Lincoln (just like father Abraham) made a covenant with God that if a battle would be won for the Union, Lincoln would free the slaves. Lincoln even admitted not only that the Confederacy was in the wrong, but that the Union was also.

Just before this time, Lincoln’s son and best friend Willie had passed from the world. Lincoln was in deep distress, and he admitted that he often pleaded before God because he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Lincoln had turned back to God, and now God would turn back to help the United States of America.

At about the same time that Lincoln was pleading before God, a miracle happened for the Union near Frederick, Maryland, where the Battle of Antietam would soon happen. Union Corporal Barton W. Mitchell was walking in an empty field when he stumbled across a package. He opened it, and he could not believe his eyes. Inside the package were the battle plans of the Confederacy for the Battle of Antietam! Was this not a miracle? Corporal Mitchell showed the plans to Union General George McClellan, but McClellan was not so convinced. This could easily be a trap, because the story wasn’t very believable. However, McClellan was immediately able to validate the plans because his aid had been good friends with Robert Chilton, who was Confederate General Lee’s secretary. McClellan’s aid recognized Chilton’s handwriting, and as a result of the Union obtaining the plans, they were able to win the Battle of Antietam. Lincoln kept his promise to God by shortly afterwards placing the Emancipation Proclamation on the table before his cabinet, and freeing the slaves. God kept the United States of America intact and united through his servant, Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln was elected to a second term as president in November of 1864. The Civil War would soon be over, and Lincoln gave his second inaugural address the following March. God was certainly a theme of this exceptional speech. Lincoln wanted to secure the abolishment of slavery in the United States, so he pushed for the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to be ratified. However, Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. He never got to see the adoption of the amendment, but it was adopted the following December.

Many trials and much hardship were present in Lincoln’s life, but he proved his values and his trust in God through his persistence. Lincoln showed the world that he was a man of God through his writings, speeches, kindness, persistence after failure, and most of all, through his actions. The actor Nicolas Cage once said in the movie National Treasure 2: “Before the Civil War, the states were all separate. People used to say, ‘The United States are.’ Wasn't until the war ended people started saying, ‘The United States is.’ Under Lincoln... we became one nation. And Lincoln paid for it with his life.” Lincoln truly kept this nation united through God.

Though it’s very controversial, the book that Lincoln checked out from the Library of Congress in 1862 was called The Book of Mormon, and that was a huge turning point in the war. Lincoln knew that this was a covenant land. Abraham Lincoln was a man of God.

Bibliography

Lincoln’s Fireside Reading by H. Jack Lang

Abraham Lincoln: A True Life by James Baldwin
The Covenant, Lincoln, and the War by Timothy Ballard