Factor 1: Surviving a life characterised by challenges and failures.
Born in 1809, Lincoln grew up in a family surrounded by financial challenges.
He lost his mother when he was 9, his sister when he was 19, his beloved when he was 26.
His father — a farmer and carpenter — lived a life full of hard labour but Lincoln never enjoyed this kind of work and spent most of his early years reading and writing; this and other factors led to differences with his father.
He finally married in 1842 (age 33), had 4 children out of whom only 1 lived to maturity — two died (at age 4 and 11) before his death and one after his death.
The deaths of his children affected him deeply and he went into clinical depressionAt that time, it was called melancholy..
He was mostly self-educated (had almost no schooling) and went on to teach himself law.
When he was elected as the President in 1861, seven states formed an alliance (Confederacy) and declared themselves a separate nation.
These states (more joined later) were in the agriculture-dependent south region and relied heavily upon slaves of African descent (labour); Lincoln, who was against slavery, faced huge resistance from them.
He decided to fight these states to preserve the Union and, in 1861, civil war broke out between the North (loyal to the Union) and the Confederacy.
Lincoln endured extraordinary pressures, carried on despite generals who weren’t ready to fight, assassination threats, and complaints from his Cabinet members.
The war ended in 1865 with the defeat of the Confederacy, and this freed the slaves — the civil war was a low point as it had separated the nation but Lincoln was applauded for successfully bringing the nation back together as one.
This fight for the cause of equality and winning the war put America on the world map like never before and when, in 1865, Lincoln was assassinated (shot in the head) by Confederate sympathiser John Wilkes Booth, he became a national hero.
Factor 3: One of the most quoted people in the world.
Because of a life full of difficulties and his resilience in the face of adversity, he had plenty to share with the world and to date, he is said to be one of the most quoted people in the world.
