Produced by Turgut Dincer, Jeff G. and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net LITTLE BLUE BOOK NO. 324 Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius TEN CENT POCKET SERIES NO. 324 Life of Abraham Lincoln John Hugh Bowers, Ph.D., LL.B. Dept. History and Social Sciences, State Teachers' College, Pittsburg, Kans. HALDEMAN-JULIUS COMPANY GIRARD, KANSAS Copyright, 1922, Haldeman-Julius Company PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. The story of Lincoln, revealing how one American, by his own honest efforts, rose from the most humble beginning to the most high station of honor and worth, has inspired millions and will inspire millions more. The log cabin in which he was born, the ax with which he split the rails, the few books with which he got the rudiments of an education, the light of pine knots by which he studied, the flatboat on which he made the long trip to New Orleans, the slave mart at sight of which his sympathetic soul revolted against the institution of human slavery--these are all fraught with intense interest as the rude forces by which he slowly builded his great character. Great suffering taught him great sympathy. His great sympathy for men gave him great influence over men. As a lonely motherless little boy living in the pitiless poverty of the backwoods he learned both humility and appreciation. Then from a gentle step-mother he learned the beauty of kindness. As a clerk in a small store that failed, as a defeated candidate for the legislature, as Captain in the Black Hawk War, as student of Law in his leisure moments, as partner in a small store that failed, as Postmaster at the little village of New Salem, as Deputy Surveyor of Sangamon County, as successful candidate for the legislature, as member of the legislature and as country lawyer, he was learning to love his fellow men and to get along well with them, while keeping his own conscience and building a reputation for honesty. When as a member of Congress and as a successful lawyer his proved ability brings him a measure of security and comfort he is not elated. And when his fellow men, reciprocating his great love for them, and manifesting their confidence in his integrity, make him President of the Republic he still remains the humble brother of the common people.