American Civil War

Hello there. My name is Abraham Lincoln, and a long time ago, I was the president of the United States. I loved our country very much, and I always thought of it as one big family living together in a giant house. But when I was president, our family was having a very big, very sad argument. Some of the family members in the southern part of our country believed it was okay to own people as slaves, which meant making them work without pay and without being free. I knew this was wrong with all my heart. It broke my heart to see our country arguing so much. I once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I meant that our American family couldn't survive if we were fighting with each other. I was so worried our beautiful house, our country, would break into two separate pieces, and I knew I had to do everything I could to keep our family together.

The years that followed were very difficult. Our American family started a terrible war, with brothers fighting against brothers. It was called the Civil War, and it made me sad every single day. But even in the darkest times, I held onto a bright hope for peace and freedom for everyone. On January 1, 1863, I sat at my desk and wrote something very important called the Emancipation Proclamation. My hand shook just a little as I signed it, because I knew it was a powerful promise. It was a promise that all enslaved people in the states that were fighting against our country would be, from that day forward, forever free. It was a big step toward making our country a place of true freedom for all. Later that year, on November 19, 1863, I went to a place called Gettysburg, where a big battle had been fought. I gave a short speech to remind everyone what we were fighting for. I said that our country was started with the wonderful idea that all people are created equal. The brave soldiers were fighting to make sure our country, a place built on freedom and fairness, would not disappear.

Finally, after four long years, the war came to an end on April 9, 1865. A great feeling of relief washed over me. The fighting was over. Our family had stopped arguing. Now came the most important part: healing. I didn't want to be angry with the people in the South who had fought against us. I wanted to welcome them back into our American family with kindness and open arms. It was like our country was a beautiful quilt that had been torn, and it was my job to help stitch it back together, carefully and with love. My greatest hope was for our country to be one whole family again, where everyone was treated with respect and everyone was free. That is the only way to keep our American house strong and united for all the children of the future.