ABRAHAM LINCOLN

        Among all presidents in the history of the United States, Abraham Lincoln is probably the one that Americans remem­ber best. He brought honesty and integrity to the White House. Most of all he is remembered or he is associated with the final abolition of slavery. Lincoln became a virtual symbol of the American Dream whereby an ordinary person from humble beginnings could reach the pinnacle of society as president of the country.

        Abraham was born on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky, and spent the first seven years of his life there. Occasionally he and his sister Sarah attended classes in a log schoolhouse some 3 km from home.

        It was difficult time for the family, in which his father Thomas Lincoln tried to make living as a carpenter and far­mer. The Lincolns moved from farm to farm around Kentucky until 1816, when the family left to settle in Indiana.

        During 14 years the Lincolns lived in Indiana and his child­hood in the frontier of Indiana set the course for his character and motivation in life later.

          Abraham Lincoln began a long road to become the sixteenth president of the USA. In 1834, he was elected into the House of Representatives and began studying to become a lawyer. For the next few years, he practiced law all across the state. In 1847, he was elected into Congress, but his opinions did not ensure him a long stay there. He was vehemently against sla­very. As a result, he was not elected for the second term.

       A few years later, slavery became a stronger issue, and more people wanted to abolish it. Lincoln joined Republicans, a new political party that opposed slavery. The Republicans nomi­nated him for the US Senate in 1858.

        Abraham Lincoln’s oratorical powers brought him to the attention of the nation.

       In 1860, he was nominated by the Republican Party as its candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Lincoln won by a small margin. But with his election, the country began the process of dividing. South Carolina had seceded from the Union before he was even inaugurated. Other states followed to form the Confederation. The North and the South were di­vided, and the Civil War began. The war was not only over the abolition of slavery, but also for the rights of individual states to make their own choices.

       Later, Lincoln was elected for the second term of Presiden­cy in 1864. The South surrendered, and the Civil War was en­ded on April 9, 1865. The difficult period of time began, the time for reconstruction and reconciliation, but Lincoln would not be the person to lead the country through this difficult period.

       On April 14, Abraham Lincoln with his wife attended the play in Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. A few minutes past ten o’clock, an actor stepped into the Presidential box and shot the President. In the following morning Abraham Lincoln died.

QUESTIONS:

1. What is Abraham Lincoln famous for?
2. Where did the ‘future president spend his childhood?
3. Why was not Abraham Lincoln elected for the second term into the Congress?
4. What was the new political party that opposed slavery?
5. What happened when Lincoln was elected for the post of president of the U.S. in 1860?
6. When did the Civil War end?
7. Why did not Lincoln lead the country through the post­war period?

VOCABULARY:

integrity — единение, целостность

to associate — ассоциироваться

abolition — отмена, упразднение

slavery — рабство

humble — простой, заурядный

pinnacle — вершина

to attend — посещать

carpenter — плотник

to ensure —  обеспечивать, гарантировать

vehemently — неистово

to nominate — выставлять кандидатуру

to secede — отделяться, откалываться

election — выборы

to surrender — сдаваться, капитулировать

reconciliation — примирение

to shoot (past shot, p.p. shot) — стрелять