Abraham Lincoln

When Abraham Lincoln took office in March of 1816， James C. Buchanan Said to him， \"If you are as happy on entering the White House as I am leaving it， You are the happiest man in this country.\" Difficult time lay ahead for Lincoln， and both men knew it， Seven Southern States had al-ready left the Union， four more states would soon follow them. The start of the Civil War was only weeks away.

Many people doubted Lincoln's ab[iity to pull the Union together. He was then just a country lawyer. He had only a few years of schooling， and he served one term in Congress.His only real fame came from a series of debates over slavery.Lincoln's'firm stand against slavery helped him win the Republican nomination for President.

Lincoln did keep the Union together by the only way possible winning the war. He slowly built the North's army into a power-ful fighting force. By such acts as freeing the slaves， Lincoln won wide support.

In 1865， he began his second term. He hoped to bring the South back into the Union without bitterness on either side. Six weeks later he was murdered， his great task still unfinished.