Abraham Lincoln

This month marks the sesquicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s death: he died in April, 150 years ago.

Take this quiz to see how much you know about Abraham Lincoln! (Answers below)
1. True of False: Lincoln is the tallest of America’s 43 presidents.
2. True of False: Lincoln was the first president to have no college degree.
3. True of False: Lincoln was the only president to sign a ratified constitutional amendment.
4. True of False: Lincoln was the third president to have a full beard.
5. True of False: Lincoln was the last president to be born in a log cabin.
6. True or False: Lincoln is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
7. How many daughters did Lincoln have? How many sons?
8. In what war did Lincoln hold the rank of a military captain?
9. Where was Lincoln, and what was he doing when he was assassinated?

The 16^th President of the United States, was born in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky on February 12, 1809. [1] He is widely considered one of America’s most influential presidents, [2] being memorialized in stone on Mount Rushmore.

Lincoln learned to read from the Bible, [3] and used Bible phrases extensively in his speeches throughout his Presidency. Maintaining integrity and good character was his high objective, and “Honest Abe” became his nickname. [4] In fact, honesty was so important to him that he once advised aspiring attorneys:

[R]esolve to be honest at all events; and if in your own judgment you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. [5]

In the WallBuilders library, we have many unique pieces related to Abraham Lincoln, including this remarkable printing of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. It is a calligraphic portrait, consisting of bolder letters being used in strategic points throughout the text to form a portrait. You will marvel at the creativity and technology found in this amazing document.

 Answers

1. True.
2. False. (Abraham Lincoln was the 8th president without a college degree. The first seven were: George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and Millard Filmore. Since Lincoln, four other presidents had no college degree: Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Harry Truman.)
3. True.
4. False. (Lincoln was the 1st President to have a full beard.)
5. False. (James Garfield, the 20th President, was the last log cabin President.)
6. True.
7. Lincoln had no daughters and 4 sons, and only one of the sons lived to adulthood.
8. The Black Hawk War.
9. He was at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D. C. attending a play.

Endnotes

¹ The Miller Center, “Abraham Lincoln,” University of Virginia (accessed on January 27, 2015).
² See, for example, James Lindgren, “Ranking Our Presidents,” historyworld.org, November 16, 2000; Frank Newport, “Americans Say Reagan is the Greatest President,” Gallup, February 18, 2011; “Assessment, Evaluation and Ranking of the Presidents. Two different surveys,” The Presidents of the United States (accessed on April 8, 2015).
³ P. A. Hanaford, Abraham Lincoln: His Life and Public Services (Boston: B. B. Russell and Company, 1865), 15.
⁴ The Miller Center, “Abraham Lincoln,” University of Virginia (accessed on January 27, 2015).
⁵ Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln Complete Works, eds. John D. Nicolay and John Hay (New York: The Century Co., 1894), 1:164, “Fragment. Notes for Law Lecture,” July 1, 1850.