Abraham Lincoln
Learning To Be A Leader
By : Sarah K. Bolton
In
the year 1816, a family of four people left their cabin in Kentucky, taking
their few possessions on their horses’s backs. They were Thomas Lincoln, his
wife Nancy Hanks and their two children. Sarah was nine years old and brother
Abe was tall awkward boy of seven.
The
Lincoln family cut a path for themselves through the forest until they reached
indiana. There, they chopped down some trees and built the new cabin for their
home. The cabin had no doors, no glass for windows, and only dirt for its
floor. A bed of dried leaves, some chairs without backs, a crude table, these
were only furniture. The family had just one book, a copy of the bible, and
from this book Nancy Hanks Lincoln taught her children everyday. Her husband
could not read or write, but her son abe had studied for two or three months in
a small country school and had learned to read. With his quick mind and memory
and with his mother’s help, he soon knew the bible very well.
Life
as a pioneer was very hard for nancy hanks lincoln. When Abe was ten years old,
his mother died and buried in a plain box under the trees. For the boy, the
lost mean and the deepest sadness and pain. Day after day he sat weeping at his
mother’s grave.
In
the months that followed, the lonely boy began to wonder about the world. He
could not imagine what was beyond his family’s part of the woods and he wanted
to know. Trying to find answers to his questions, he borrowed books whenever he
could and he read many times. His mind began to form pictures of the great
world beyond kentucky and Indiana. He hoped that someday he could see that
world.
In
time, Thomas Lincoln married again. The new Mrs. Lincoln was a widow, a good
friend of abe’s mother. When she and her three children came to live in the
Lincoln Cabin, they brought more furniture including some chairs, a table and
some covers for the bed. For the first time Abe slept in the real bed.
The
new Mrs. Lincoln was a good mother to Sarah and Abe. She encouraged Abe to read
more books, she taught him to be through, she planted in him the desire to
explore the world beyond his home. In later years, when he governed thirty
million people, Lincoln said “All that i am or hope to be, i owed to my angel
mother”, was he speaking of this first mother or second mother ? no one knows,
for he owed much to both.
And
old copy of weem’s life washington came into Abe’s hand one day and the pioneer
boy dreamed for hours about the revolutionary leader.
A
few days later a neighbour who wanted to scold him for some small fault
remarked crossly, “Now Abe ! what will you be if you go on this way ?” Abe
studied the question thoughfully then slowly answered “well i reckon, i am
going to be president of the united states”.
As
soon as Abe was old enough to work, he began to do farm work for his neighbour,
living at their home and giving his pay to his parents. In the evening he
warmed his long body at the friendly fire of his employer, reading plutarch’s
lives or the life of Benjamin Franklin or telling the stories. Sometimes he
took part in games of strength, he was strong as anybody in his group.
When
he was eighteen years old, he found a job in small store but he continued to
think about Franklin and Washington, fifteen miles from the store, there was
law court where cases were heard at the certain seasons of the year, whenever
Abe had a free day, he trudged fifteen miles in the morning to listen to the
cases and trudged back again at night. In the mean time he had managed to borrow
a book whick seemed strange for the country clerk, the book containing the laws
of Indiana. In those early days Lincoln had no profession and no money, so he
had to do any kind of work that he could. At one time he was put in a charge of
mill and store, where he was always honest and fair to his customer. One night,
when he added up his account for the day, he found that a housewife had paid
him six cent more than she owed. It was already dark but Lincoln left the store
and walked three miles to return the six cent to his customer.
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