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Lincoln 's Impact On The Nation 's Greatest Leader

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On February 12th 1809 in a small log cabin in Hardin County Kentucky, arguably the nation’s greatest leader was born. Coming from a very poor family, Lincoln took his education into his own hands; a task that requires a level of self-determination and persistence many people cannot claim to have. Because of his family’s low income, Lincoln borrowed books and regularly practiced reading from his bible. This means that from a young age, Lincoln had a good sense of the moral lessons to be learned from god’s word. As he got older, around the age of 22, Lincoln left home for the village of New Salem in Illinois. There, Lincoln kept working hard to educate himself in a variety of subjects that would later help him succeed in a few different professional endeavors. Some of Lincoln’s early work included employment as a clerk at two general stores, using his self-taught knowledge of surveying to bring in money on the side, and even working as the postmaster for his area. During a brief skirmish between a small group of the Sauk, Meskwaki and Kickapoo Native American tribes lead by Black Hawk, Lincoln even got a taste of military life as he joined the militia that was sent to fight in the Black Hawk War. Not having been in New Salem a year, Lincoln got an early start to his political career when he ran for Illinois State Legislature. Though he wasn’t successful his first time out, in 1834 Lincoln was elected to be a State Representative for Sangamon County. While serving his four

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