The state government 、 vas on in session for part of the year. And there wasn t enough business in Springfield for a lawyer to live on. So like most Western lawyers, Lincoln had to travel to towns all around the state. Twice a year, a judge visited all the tO 、 Mns that 、 Mere tOO small to have their own courts. Lincoln joined the group of lawyers who followed the judge's route. Everyone traveled together. At night they all cro 、 vded intO small rough inns. Sometimes t 、 venty men had tO squeeze 1ntO one roor Ⅱ . Lincoln Often slept on the 日 oor. After a few days, the group 三ョ皀を 一 2 21
Then Lincoln decided to go further. Quietly, all by himself, he wrote the Emancipation Proclamat10n. This proclamation did 〃 0 free all slaves. lt was an act of war, and it applied only to Confederate states. ln the rebel states, all slaves would be freed forever. But in DeIaware, slavery Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, remained legal because these states had stayed with the ・ Union. Lincoln 、 sure that, once the nat10n 、 reunited, it would be possible t0 end slavery in the whole country. But that had to be done by Congress. As president, he only had power to act against states that 、 rebelling. Of course there 、 Mas no 、 vay tO enforce the Emancipation proclamatlon until the Union had 、 MOn the 、 var. Just because the proclamatlon tOld Southerners tO free their slaves, it didn't mean they would. Lincoln knew this. He said he felt like someone trying tO make a law tO change the 69
Mary. They thought she showed 0 圧 People 、 vhispered mean rumors. Some even said She 、 a Confederate spy. After all, she had brothers and sisters 、 MhO sided with the South. The rumors 、 completely unfair. Mary may have been and irritating, but she was always loyal to her husband and tO the ・ Union. Anyone 、 MhO was Lincoln's enemy 、 her enemy, too—even her 0 、 brother. But she was so unpopular that some people actually said maybe Willie's death wasn't all bad. lt might stop Mary 伝 om making a 応 ol of herself in public. Lincoln 、 as brokenhearted over WiIIie's death as Mary. Sometimes he hid in hiS roor れ SO he could weep ln peace. But after the first day, he never broke dO 、 in public.
ln 1832 , Lincoln's friends convinced him to run for the lllinois State Legislature. He didn't win, but he came close. ln the meantime, Offutt's store failed, and Lincoln lost his job. Just then, a war broke out bet 、 veen the lllinois settlers and Native Americans. LinCOln JOined the militia. He never actually fought any battles. But he boasted about all the b100d he'd shed—because of the mosquitoes ・ He decided to run for the state legislature again. He could count on support from all his friends in New Salem. But some farmers thought he was Just a town 日 1 。 w who didn't know how to work in the fields. So LincoIn pitched in with the harvest. . 、 .9 3 心勹ィ
boat got stuck on a dam in front Of the town Of New Salem in central lllinois. lt began filling with water. Lincoln and the Others onboard couldn't free it. Suddenly Lincoln had a brilliant idea. He bored a hole in the front of the boat and shifted all the supplies to that end. The boat tipped toward the hOle and all the water ran out until the boat 、 vas high enough to go over the dam. Denton Offutt, the boat's 0 、 Mner, 、 Mas SO impressed that he offered to put Lincoln in business. He decided to build a store in New Salem. LinCOln 、 vould manage it. NE ` SALEYL New Salem was a small village. But to Lincoln it seemed large and bustling. The store was a place 14
Union. Union soldiers had stopped the rebels from pushing their way north. But more than three thousand ・ Union soldiers and almost five thousand Confederate soldiers had been killed, and a special cemetery 、 created tO bury them all. The dedication of the cemetery took place on November 19 , 1863. Even though Lincoln was the president, he 、 Mas not the main speaker. That was Edward Everett, a man famous for long, fancy speeches. Everett talked for almost t 、 MO hours. Lincoln spoke for only two minutes. His words were simple and direct. He began by quoting a line 伝 om the Declaration of lndependence: "All men are created equal. '' He reminded his audience that the United States 、 Mas the first country founded on that idea of equality. ln 1776 , no one had known if such a country could work. Now people were wondering if it could last. Maybe it was about to 信Ⅱ apart. Lincoln could not give in to the rebels' demands, because the country had tO survlve. 76
with slavery directly. Now he realized he had to face the issue. . Abolitionists supported the 、 var because they thought it would end slavery. They wanted Lincoln to make it illegal once and for all. But even in the North, a lot of people were against this idea. LinCOln 、 afraid tO lose their support. So he hesitated. He wasn t sure that the president had the po 、 tO outlaw slavery. He had sworn tO protect the laws of the United States, and slavery in the South was legal. The president couldn't Just over- turn laws all by himself. That had to come 伝 om the people. Only the citizens of the country could change the ・ United States Constitut10n. At last, Lincoln came upon a way to do what he thought was right and at the same time obey the Constitution. A country at 、 var 、 vas allO 、 Med tO seize property that the enemy was using to fight the 、 var. Southern states were using slave labor in many ways that helped the war effort. Lincoln 67
E スー 0 02 R00 を L びゞ LOFT His father, Thomas Lincoln, was hardworking and quiet, and famous for his honesty. He'd had little schooling—Just enough to sign his name. Abraham's mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, was intelligent and curious. She could read a little, but couldn't write at all. を′
Sarah Bush Johnston was a widow with three children. She brought her furniture with her—real beds, a table, and chairs that seemed like amazing luxuries to the Lincoln children. Much as he missed his own mother, Abraham quickly came to love Sarah. She encouraged all his interests. He called her "Mama" and was much closer to her ーーこメ、つ
Booth thought what he'd done was noble and heroic. However, all over the nation, people mourned the dead president. Clocks were stopped tO mark the moment Of his death. Millions came to Washington, D. C. , to pay their respects. Then Lincoln's bOdy 、 vas put on a special train back tO Springfield. That was where he would be buried. His son Willie's coffin was dug up and traveled ニ三三 ン一三三