The curtain went up, a person arose from his seat and gave a rousing speech — a proclamation, that thrilled the people seated in the theatre. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States had spoken. All this I witnessed in Disneyland in Los Angeles. A truly remarkable performance, and all the while the nagging uncertainly of whether this was an actor or a machine! It’s something you really have to experience! Abraham Lincoln (1809 — 1865) came from a Quaker family, which immediately reminded me of the free supply program sponsored by the Quakers that I was treated to as a child. 

Abraham Lincoln is regarded as the actual founder of the American Republican party. He was extremely popular; a folkhero already in his own lifetime, and he was an eloquent speaker. During the short tenure of his presidency (1861 —1865) some of the most turbulent and sweeping changes in the history of the United States took place. Chief among these was the secession of the Confederacy of Southern States from the Union and the subsequent Civil War which eventually led to the abolition of slavery and also final, to the Reunification of the Nation. 

Abraham Lincoln won over his fellow-countrymen by virtue of his personal unpretentiouness and simplicity. He maintained exemplary composure and displayed intuitive vision and political perspicacity in dealing with outspoken as well as furtive opposition. The noble principles he set forth in his Proclamation on the battlefield of Gettysburg still apply today. Through the act of a single disgruntled fanatic, upset about the outcome of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was shot dead on April 1 5th, 1865. Let us honor the memory of a great president.

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