Level: T DRA: 44 Becoming Social Studies Strategy: Question Word Count: 1,490 ––––––––––––––––– 6.5.24 Build Vocabulary A Biography of the Sixteenth President by Gabriela Saavedra

Houg hton Mifflin Online Leveled Books

9 0 0 0 0

9 7 8 0 5 4 7 9 0 8 9 6 0

1512353 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Harcourt Becoming

Lincoln––––––––––––––––– A Biography of the Sixteenth President

by Gabriela Saavedra

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover ©R. Morley/PhotoLink/Photodisc/Getty Images; 2 ©Digital Vision/Getty Images; 3 ©Kevin Shields/Alamy; 5 ©Bob Pardue - Midwest/Alamy; 7 ©Jon Arnold Images Ltd/Alamy; 9 ©Archive Pics/Alamy; 10 ©David Stuckel/Alamy; 11 ©North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy; 12 ©Folio/Alamy Images; 13 (bg) ©Getty Images/PhotoDisc, (t) ©Paris Pierce/Alamy, (b) ©Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division; 14 ©Niday Picture Library/Alamy. Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 South Park Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819. Printed in the U.S.A. ISBN: 978-0-547-90896-0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 XXXX 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 4500000000 A B C D E F G

If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.

Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format. in South Dakota is a popular destination for tourists.

He’s the bearded granite face set slightly apart from the other figures chiseled into Mount Rushmore. His stoic profile glistens on one side of the one-cent coin. Behind the majestic marble columns of the , he sits solemnly as though deep in reflection. A newspaper editor once met and remarked afterward, “I never saw a more thoughtful face. I never saw a more dignified face. I never saw so sad a face.” Who was the man behind this thoughtful, dignified, and sad face? What life experiences and events influenced the boy who grew up to became the sixteenth President of the United States?

2 This is a replica of the Lincoln cabin at .

Earliest Recollections The son of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln was born on Feb. 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Kentucky. When was two, the family moved to Knob Creek farm. “My earliest recollection is of the Knob Creek place,” Lincoln wrote about his boyhood home years later. Mrs. Lincoln sang songs, told stories, and read books to young Abe and his older sister, Sarah. She made sure her children went to school when it was available, and she encouraged them to learn to read— something that not many pioneers knew how to do in those days. 3 Though life on a farm was filled with chores, such as hoarding wood and planting crops, Abe still found time to go fishing with his buddy, Austin Gollaher. One day after heavy rains, seven-year-old Abe and ten-year-old Austin were playing down on the Young Abraham Lincoln creek. Their intention was to cross the creek on a log bridge, but Abe slipped and fell into the rushing water. The future President of the United States might have drowned that day if his quick-thinking friend hadn’t picked up a gnarled tree limb and held it out to help him. While at Knob Creek farm, Abe probably first saw slaves being taken south along a turnpike that ran near his home. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln were deeply religious and believed that slavery was morally wrong, a belief that they passed on to their son. As an adult, Lincoln said that he never remembered a time when he “was not anti-slavery.”

4 Early Impressions In 1816, the relocated to Indiana. Though only seven years old, Abe was tall and strong for his age. He became very adept at using an ax and helped his father build a new log cabin. He also worked alongside his father, clearing land to plant corn, wheat, and oats. The family’s life in their new home was marred by tragedy, however, when Mrs. Lincoln became ill in 1818. Before she passed away, she motioned her children to her bedside and implored them to always be kind to each other and to the world. The gravesite of The following year, Nancy Hanks Lincoln remarried. Like , Abe’s new mother encouraged the boy to read and educate himself. Since reading materials were scarce, Abe was known to walk miles to borrow books from neighbors. He would split wood with an ax in one hand and a book in the other. Among the books he read were Pilgrim’s Progress, Robinson Crusoe, Aesop’s Fables, and the Bible.

5 One book in particular made a lasting impact on Abe: a biography of the nation’s first President, George Washington. Decades later, in a speech he made shortly before being sworn in as President himself, Lincoln recalled reading as a boy about the struggle for liberty and the hardships endured by Washington’s troops during the War of Independence. “These early impressions last longer than any others,” he said.

George Washington

6 General stores like this one sold a variety of goods that people needed.

Resolution to Succeed By the time Abe was in his late teens, he towered over most adults at nearly six feet, four inches tall. When Lincoln had reached the age of twenty-one, he left his family and moved to New Salem, Illinois. There he worked a variety of jobs to earn a living, such as postmaster and surveyor. For a time, Lincoln even worked in a general store.

7 While tending the store, Lincoln enjoyed talking politics and swapping humorous stories with his customers. There are many legitimate but unverified accounts of how Lincoln came by the nickname “Honest Abe.” One legend tells about the time he overcharged a customer by six cents. Another tells about when he incorrectly weighed a customer’s order of half a pound of tea. Both tales conclude with Lincoln discovering his mistake and supposedly walking several miles to correct his error with the customer. In 1832, the well-liked Lincoln ran for the Illinois state legislature. He lost that first election, but two years later he ran again and succeeded. In the legislature, Lincoln became known for his excellent speaking skills. A colleague, John Stuart, was impressed with Lincoln and convinced him to study to become a lawyer. Like he had when he was a boy, Lincoln traveled many miles to Springfield, Illinois, to borrow law books from Stuart.

8 Love Is Eternal By 1837, Lincoln had begun practicing law and moved to the state capital of Springfield to enter into a law partnership with John Stuart. There he became acquainted with a woman named Mary Todd when he walked up to her at a ball and announced, “Miss Todd, I want to dance with you in the worst way.” The pair began dating and were married on November 4, 1842. Lincoln had the phrase “Love is eternal” engraved on Mary’s wedding ring. Like most couples, the Lincolns experienced great joys and many sorrows in their life together. They purchased a house in Springfield and moved in with their first child. A couple of years later, a second son was born. Sadly, he became ill and died a few weeks shy of his fourth birthday, leaving both parents devastated and inconsolable. Another son was born later that same year, followed by yet another in 1853.

9 A House Divided When his term in the state legislature ended, Lincoln spent the next several years out of politics building his law practice. But in 1846, Lincoln was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives. As a member of the House, he began to speak out against the most critical, divisive issue facing the nation at that time: slavery.

The Lincolns lived in this house in Springfield, Illinois, from 1844 until he became President.

10 In 1858, Lincoln accepted the Republican party’s nomination to run for the U. S. Senate. Lincoln kicked off his campaign with a speech that took a powerful stand against slavery. “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” he said. “I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.” During the Senate campaign, Lincoln squared off in a number of debates with his opponent, Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln’s quick wit and self-mocking sense of humor made him an excellent political debater. During one debate, Douglas called Lincoln “two-faced” for supposedly changing his opinion on an issue. “If I had another face,” Lincoln retorted Lincoln the debater to the laughter of the audience, “do you think I would wear this one?” Though Douglas won the election, Abraham Lincoln had gained the attention of the nation.

11 Preserve, Protect, and Defend Having made a national name for himself in debates with Douglas, Lincoln became the Republican party’s nominee to run for President in 1860. His opponent was again Senator Stephen Douglas, as well as two other candidates. Slavery was the overriding issue of the campaign, with the Southern states threatening to break away from the rest of the United States if Lincoln were elected. On November 6, 1860, at the age of fifty-one, Abraham Lincoln was elected the sixteenth President of the United States. In his inaugural address before taking the oath of office, Lincoln vowed to “preserve, protect, and defend” the nation against those who would attempt to destroy it. A month later, the first shots of the Civil War were fired, plunging the nation into four years of inexplicable and unimaginable horror.

President Abraham Lincoln visits with a officer during the Civil War.

12 In October 1860, in the midst of his campaign for the Presidency, Lincoln received a letter from an eleven-year-old admirer, . She thought he would get more votes if he grew a beard. Lincoln as the candidate “If you will let your whiskers grow … you for President in August 1860… would look a great deal better for your face is so thin,” she wrote. Lincoln wrote back to Grace wondering if she thought people would say he was “silly” to begin wearing whiskers now. Regardless, a month after receiving Grace’s letter, Mr. Lincoln began sporting the beard for which he is now quite famous.

…and Lincoln as the newly elected President in November 1860.

13 Lasting Peace Abraham Lincoln’s experiences served him well as President of a nation torn apart by war. Lincoln’s years in the White House were marked by perseverance, determination, compassion, eloquence, and even his signature humor. After winning re-election in November 1864, Lincoln addressed the nation at his second inauguration. “Let us strive on to finish the work we are in,” he challenged, “… to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves.” On April 9, 1865, the Civil War finally came to an end. Through the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, the United States of America had been saved. Just a week later, the great leader was assassinated.

This train carried Lincoln’s body back to Springfield for burial. The guttural cries of mourners could be heard in every town where the train stopped.

14 Responding

TARGET SKILL Word Builder The words inconsolable and inexplicable both have the prefix in- meaning “not.” The prefix im- also means “not.” Copy the chart below. Fill it in with other words that have the prefix in- or im-.

Prefix Base Word New Word in- capable incapable im- mature immature ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Write About It

Text to World Imagine that you could interview Abraham Lincoln. Write at least five questions that you would want to ask him. Use words from the Word Builder.

15 TARGET VOCABULARY destination inexplicable gnarled intention guttural legitimate hoarding motioned inconsolable retorted

TARGET STRATEGY Question Ask questions about a selection before you read, as you read, and after you read.

Write About It

In a famous quotation, Aung San Suu Kyi said, “Please use your freedom to promote ours.” What freedoms do you value most? Why? Write a letter to the editor of a Burmese newspaper explainingWhich the vocabulary freedoms word you havecould and describe why they hair, knots, or trees?are important to you.

16 Level: T DRA: 44 Becoming Social Studies Strategy: Question Word Count: 1,490 Lincoln––––––––––––––––– 6.5.24 Build Vocabulary A Biography of the Sixteenth President by Gabriela Saavedra

Houghton Mifflin Online Leveled Books

9 0 0 0 0

9 7 8 0 5 4 7 9 0 8 9 6 0

1512353 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Harcourt