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The Quotes and Words for this blog came directly from the book Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Doreen Rappaport Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The book was used for educational purposes.

1865

"The South finally surrendered. The job of healing the nation began. But Lincoln was not there to help. An assassin's bullet ended his life.
But his words were there to guide thsoe who chose to remember."

"It is for us the living, rather that we here highly resolved that these dead shall not have died in vain- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

1865

"In the fourth year of the war, victory seemed close for the North. But Lincoln felt no joy. Hundreds of thousands of men on both sides had died in battle. The country was deeply divided. Many Northerners wanted to punish the South for stating the war. Southerners were furious that the Union army had destroyed their cities and homes and crops. Could the nation ever be one people again?"

"In his second inaugural address, Lincoln shared his vision of how the county could heal itself."

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, lt us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds."

1864

"The Emancipation Proclamation had freed slaves only in the states and territories that were in rebellion. Lincoln wanted slavery ended in the entire nation.
Most white lawmakers did not want this. He called them to the White House to convince them of what he knew was right."

"The moment came when I felt that slavery must die that the nation might live!"

"Finally, they agreed."

1863

"The war dragged on. Lincoln grew sadder and sadder as more Americans died.
He went to the Gettysburg battlefield and again reminded the nation why these men had sacrificed their lives."

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nations, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

1863

"Most white Northerners opposed Lincoln's proclamation. But he stood firm."

"I never, it my life felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper. My whole soul is in it."

1863

"Lincoln believed that true liberty could not permit slavery. He decided to use his wartime powers as commander in chief to end slavery.
In the third year of the war, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It freed over three million black men, women, and children and called for black men to join the Union army."

"In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free."

1862

"Many Northerners worried that Lincoln did not have the skills to lead the nation in this terrible time:
'He's too backwoods.'
'He's unpresidential.'
'He tells too many silly jokes.'
'He's had too little experience in government.'

"If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end."

1861

"On April 12, 1861, Southern troops attacked Fort Sumte, a federal fort in South Carolina. Lincoln knew he had no choice now. The North had to fight the South to bring it back into the Union."

"I hold that the Union of these states is perpetual. No state can lawfully get out of the Union."

"Families were torn apart, as husbands, fathers and sons went off to war, many never to return."

1861

"In the next two years, tension over slavery grew between the South and North. Lincoln ran for president and spoke out against this evil practice. He won this election.
But a month before he took office, seven southern states left the Union. They formed their own government with their own president. In his first inaugural address, Lincoln reminded Americans that they were one people."

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies."

1858

"Nearly four million black men, women, and children were enslaved in southern states. Lincoln thought slavery a great evil. If he became a United States senator, more people would hear him speak out against it.
In speech after speech, he reminded people that slavery did not fit with the ideals of the Declaration of Independence."

"As a nation, we begin to declare that 'all men are created equal.' We now practically read it 'all men are created equal', except Negroes.'"

"He lost the election. But again, his words got much attention. People felt he spoke from his heart."

1834

" He ran again. This time he won. He ran three more times and won.
He became a lawyer. His claim praised 'Honest Old Abe,' the lawyer who was never known to lie.' He didn't like the nickname Abe, but it stuck."

"Resolve to be honest at all events if you cannot be and honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. Choose some other occupation."

1832

"America was growing. Farmers needed new waterways and railroads to ship their crops. Everyone needed better education. If he became a lawmaker, he could help people get these things, so he ran for the Illinois state legislature.
He spoke in public squares and country stores and hayfields."

"I young and unknown to many of you. I was born and have ever remained in the most humble walks of life. I have no wealthy or popular relations to recommend me."

"He lost the election. But people liked what he said and how he said it."

1831

"Lincoln worked at many jobs- farmhand, store owner, postmaster, surveyor, rail-splitter.
Whenever, whatever, he always had a book in hand. Elocution, grammar, mathematics, biography, history, poetry, plays."

"Upon the subject of education, I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in."

1829

"The long, muddy Mississippi River brought Lincoln south to New Orleans.
He walked on cobblestone paths and along canals, past flowers spilling over lacy iron balconies. He saw men and women in fancy clothes, eating fancy foods and sipping wine. French, Spanish, and English words filled his ears. But a hideous sight shattered his joy."

"Twelve Negros, chained six and six together. Strung together like so many fish upon a trotline, being separated forever from their childhood, their friends, their fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters, from their wives and children, into perpetual slavery."

1827

"Another move, to New Salem, a village in Illinois. The long, lanky boy was a man now. He ferried people and goods down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
In between the pull of the pole and the splash of the water, he listened to hunters spin tall tales of a mighty marksman, 'half man, half alligator,' and sailors describe giant mosquitoes that could kill a man.
He heard lawyers tall how they used words to gain justice for ordinary folks. He heard preachers quote from the Bible: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
He stored these different voices in his heart and wove them into his own words."

1816

"The family moved deeper into the wilderness, to the free state of Indiana. Panther screams and prowling bears filled Abraham's nights with fear. He had just a mite of schooling, yet he loved words the way his papa, a master storyteller, did. He stuffed books inside his shirt. In between splitting wood and plowing, he stood in the field and read. He read some books so many times, he knew whole parts by heart."

"The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll git me a book I ain't read."

1813

"In the slave state of Kentucky, deep in the wilderness, young Abraham learned to hunt for nuts and currants and fish for trout and bass and tend to soil and seed.
He learned sorrow at age nine when his mama died. But he found great joy with a loving stepmother, who encouraged him to read and learn."

"Abraham Lincoln is my name, and with with my pen I wrote the same. I wrote in both haste and speed and left it here for fools to read."