Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincolns backround, education, and upringing shaped who he was and how he led our nation as the 16th president. His education was restricted to one year of formal teaching because he was brought up in poverty, but that did not stop him from learning. The purpose of this blog is to view how Lincoln's upbringing, childhood, and education shaped who he was, what he believed, and how he led.

Abraham Lincoln was born on Febuary 12, 1809. He was born in a log cabin in Kentucky to his father, Thomas Lincoln and his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Thomas was brought up in poverty as well but taught himself to be a carpenter and had owned three farms in Kentucky prior to the Lincolns moving out of the state. This must be where Abraham got his drivenness and dedication from. Little is known about his mother.

The letters written by Abraham Lincoln show how impacted he was by his early life. They show how his childhood and upbringing molded the man he grew up to be. "Lincoln seemed to be painly impressed with the extreme poverty of is early surroundings, and the utter absence of all romantic and heroic elements." (Herndon, 2)

Abraham Lincolns inability to go to school and recieve a full multiple year education did not stop him from trying to learn with all his heart. He would walk miles to borrow a book from a neighbor or friend, and would walk that many miles to return it. He did not have an arithmetic book available to him so he scrounged up a couple pieces of paper, which were not easy at all to come by, tyed them together with some string, and made his own. "Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington", "Robinson Crusoe", "Pilgrim's Progress", and "Aesop's Fables", were all some of Lincolns favorite books to get his hands on.

Lincoln basically taught himself all the knowledge he had. The one year of formal teaching somewhat layed the groundwork for his thinking, but his driveness and determination did not let him wallow in his poverty. He went out and made a great man of himself and his legacy is forever remembered. In a following blog we will continue on in seeing how President Lincoln became the man he was.