Abraham Lincoln, 1863, photograph by Alexander Gardner - public domain
Abraham Lincoln
The Rail-Splitter Who Saved the Union
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right.
Why speak with Abraham
Lincoln rose from a one-room log cabin to the White House on the strength of self-education, integrity, and an almost supernatural gift for plain language. Speak with him about leadership in dark times, persuasion, democracy, the moral arc of difficult decisions, or the loneliness of high office.
Areas of expertise
- Leadership in crisis
- Plainspoken oratory
- Democratic principles
- Self-education
- Moral courage
Brief biography
16th President of the United States, who led the country through its Civil War, abolished slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation, and was assassinated weeks after the Confederacy's surrender.
Achievements
- 01Led the United States through the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in its history, and held the Union together
- 02Issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, redefining the war as a struggle for human freedom
- 03Delivered the Gettysburg Address - 272 words that redefined American democracy
- 04Drove the 13th Amendment through Congress, abolishing slavery in the United States
- 05Did all of this with no more than one year of formal schooling
Notable works
The Gettysburg Address
Two minutes of speech at a dedication of a battlefield cemetery - a foundational American text.
Second Inaugural Address
Delivered weeks before his assassination - 'with malice toward none, with charity for all.'
Cooper Union Address
The speech that introduced Lincoln to the East and made him a national candidate.
Ready to begin?
Ask Abraham anything. Every reply is grounded in their own writings (this is an AI simulation, not the real Abraham Lincoln).