Celebrating the Life of Abraham Lincoln

By VOA

09 February, 2014

From VOA

Learning

English,

welcome

to

This

is

America

.

I'm

Steve

Ember.

Today we

tell

about

Abraham Lincoln, the 16

th

president of the United States.

cannot escape

history.

We

of

this

Congress

and

this

administration

will

be

remembered

in

spite

of

ourselves.

No

personal

significance

or

insignificance

can

spare

one

or

another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the

latest generation. We

–

even we here

–

hold the power and bear the responsibility.

That was actor Henry Fonda, speaking the words of President Lincoln. This recitation is part of

Lincoln Portrait,

Today, we tell the story of this great American president. Come along with us.

The

words

we

just

heard

were

part

of

a

speech

President

Lincoln

gave

to

the

United

States

Congress in 1862. At the time, he was leading the nation during the Civil War. This was the most

serious

crisis

in

American

history.

Lincoln

spoke

to

lawmakers

a

month

before

he

signed

the

Emancipation Proclamation. The document declared the freedom of slaves in states controlled by

rebel forces.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky on February 12

th

, 1809. He grew up in Illinois. His family

was poor and had no education. Abraham Lincoln taught himself what he needed to know. He

became a lawyer. He served in the Illinois state legislature and in the United States Congress. In

1860, he was elected to the country's highest office.

President Lincoln helped end slavery in the nation. And he helped keep the American union from

splitting

apart

during

the

Civil

War.

Lincoln

believed

that

democracy

can

be

a

lasting

form

of

government.

In 1863, the president gave what became his most famous speech. Union armies of the north had

won

two

great

victories

that

year.

They

defeated

the

Confederate

armies

of

the

south

at

Vicksburg, Mississippi and at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Ceremonies were held to honor the dead

soldiers on the Gettysburg battlefield.

The battleground at Gettysburg, where Lincoln gave his famous speech

President Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg for only about two minutes. But his speech has never been

forgotten. Historians say it defined Americans as a people who believed in freedom, democracy

and equality. The speech began:

score

and

seven

years

ago

our

fathers

brought

forth

on

this

continent,

a

new

nation,

conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come

to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might

live.

A print showing President Lincoln on his deathbed

Abraham

Lincoln

wrote

some

of

the

most

memorable

words

in

American

history.

Lincoln

was

assassinated in 1865. He was shot at Ford's Theater in Washington while he and his wife were

watching a play. He died a few days after the Civil War ended. Yet his words live on.

In

1942,

orchestra

conductor

Andre

Kostelanetz

asked

three

leading

American

composers

to

write

musical

portraits

of

famous

Americans.

One

of

the

three

was

Aaron

Copland.

His