Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of United States of America. He is remembered for many things, including his log-cabin home, his absurd looking clothing accessory, a top-hat, but Lincoln's absolute most important contribution to America's history was to abolish slavery, a very hard task to accomplish at that time. In the middle of the 19th century, America was split by an abstract border. The country was cut into two parts: the North and the South. There were an abundance of differences which caused the abnormal separation. For instance, the North held all of the Universities and Military Academies whereas in the South, access to such institutions was limited. Also, Northerners spoke standard American English while Southerners spoke with a Southern accent. But the largest difference that abound between the North and the South at that time was slavery and all of the aspects that accompanied it.

The North thought that the South should abandon slavery because, in most cases, slaves faced daily abuse from their owners. Most Northerners tried to abide by the rule that" All men are created equal." These reasons largely account for the American Civil War. The Civil War was a long, brutal war with a very high casualty rate. Many young men, from both the North and the South were killed on the battlefield; the death toll was also accelerated by the fact that small Army hospitals could not accommodate so many wounded soldiers.

The Civil War was filled with heroes on both sides of the battlefield. Names like U.S. Grant, General Sherman, and the acclaimed Southern General Robert E. Lee. All of these men fought bravely and made harrowing decisions on their own accord. But Lincoln is probably most associated with his leadership of the country during this difficult period. He has a firm believer that slavery was wrong and he fought hard to stop it. In 1863, Lincoln signed "the Emancipation proclamation" which legally granted freedom to all slaves living in America. But in 1865, Lincoln's life came to an abrupt end while he was watching a play at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. His death was not an accident, he was assassinated by a man named John Wilkes Booth.

Not long after Lincoln's death, the North defeated the south and the Civil War was ended. The south was no longer thought of as another country, but part of America. And all of slaves living and working in the south were freed and absorbed into society.

来源:可可英语 http://www.kekenet.com/kyen/200905/71697.shtml