The Lincoln Bicentennial 1809-2009

2009 Lincoln Bicentennial 4 of 4- Lincoln the President
By the time Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, seven southern states had already seceded and formed the Confederacy (the rest joined in April). Seeking initially to preserve the Union, then eventually working to end slavery, Lincoln struggled against the Confederacy as well as his own military. He learned the ways of a war leader quickly and was able, after four bloody years, to bring the conflict to a close in 1865. He was not able to enjoy the fruits of victory or lead the effort to reconcile the nation, the victim of assassination on April 14, 1865.

Watch: The HISTORY CHANNEL

National Teach-In on Lincoln
LIVE February 12, 2009 at 1:30pm EST.

Abraham Lincoln defines the civic ideal of what it means to be an American.

Two centuries after Lincoln’s birth, the nation is still in formation. The United States has grown and expanded, one cost of that growth has been a splintering of many parts of our society. Competing values, interests, and beliefs, have complicated Lincoln’s goal to find unity in our diversity.

The Bicentennial commemoration of his life and legacy will be a bright beacon to completing our nation’s “unfinished work.” (Text adapted from the The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial commemoration)

Listen: Podcasts for the Abraham Lincon Bicentennial

ESL Podcast Blog: Happy Birthday, Abe!
Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the United States’ 16th president, Abraham Lincoln...