I have long admired this man, for he has assuredly earned his place in history—and when I studied American History last school year, my admiration was fortified. I would like to take a moment to say a few words in his honor.
I admire Abraham Lincoln for his passion. He believed in preserving the Union—unified America—and he did everything in his power to carry out this conviction.
I admire Abraham Lincoln for his resourcefulness and tact. He was elected during one of America's most tumultuous periods, and he still managed to pull us through. He firmly believed in following the laws even if you disagree with them—and he was true to our constitution while still careful to keep America together. He did what needed to be done to prevent the fall of the USA while still being faithful to the USA.
I admire Abraham Lincoln for his actions. The American Civil War did not begin as a war about slavery, but as a war about secession. Abraham Lincoln was willing to do anything, as long as it was justifiable, to prevent secession of the Confederacy. He knew that if the South broke off, a chain reaction would likely begin which would rent the foundation of the Land of the Free and therefore sever America's very freedom. By the end of the war, however, slavery had been abolished by law. The Emancipation Proclamation was the first stretch of pavement on the road to the end of slavery. We walk this very same road today, thanks to this noble deed of Mr. Lincoln's presidency.
I admire Abraham Lincoln for his brevity. If "brevity is the soul of wit", as William Shakespeare has eloquently outlined, then Mr. Lincoln was certainly a witty man—or at least a clever one. How many men can stir the hearts of a crowd with so few words as we find in the Gettysburg Address? Genius on parchment, I tell you.
I admire Abraham Lincoln for his wisdom. He knew the law, he knew morality, he knew business, and he got it all done.
I admire Abraham Lincoln for his dimension. His character was riddled with obscurities and secrets and passions and pains. He governed a country which was self-destructing with finesse, while simultaneously facing personal struggle in his life. He was gaunt yet magnanimous. He had many facets to his enigma.
Lincoln saved America from becoming a tattered mass of disunited countries which would likely fall into continuous war. He lifted our patria* out of civil war. He helped to free the slaves. It has been said that great men are rarely boring, and this great man does not prove that saying wrong.
Thank you, Abraham Lincoln, for loving America; thank you for helping America become what we call "America" today.
*Patria: a Latin word for fatherland/homeland
