Real Men of Genius

Abraham Lincoln

16th president

Real Men of Genius - Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln takes his place in Real Men of Genius as the sixteenth president of the United States of America.  Born in a one-roomed log cabin, he had a passion for freedom and honesty, was a powerful speaker and faithfully believed that slavery was an evil to be abolished.

Question

You were born, sir, on 12 February 1809.  Would you kindly tell us a little of your family circumstances?

Answer

My father encountered some land difficulties when I was young and we moved to Indiana.  My mother died of milk sickness when I was just nine.  My sister, Sarah, looked after me until father remarried.  Sarah was just a young lady when she died in childbirth.

Question

You married in 1842?

Answer

Yes, I married Mary Todd and we had four sons, three of whom died and it grieved us greatly.  It was something we never got over.

Real Men of Genius – self-educated

Question

We understand you were largely self-educated?

Answer

I didn’t have what you would these days describe as a formal education, just a few lessons from itinerant teachers, but I obtained whatever books I could and read and reread them.

Question

And you turned to the law?

Answer

In 1831 I had moved to Salem, Illinois, where I worked as a storekeeper, surveyor and postmaster.  It was there that I studied for a law degree which I acquired in 1836.  I also developed an interest in politics.

Real Men of Genius – election to Congress

Question

You were, of course, well known for your speeches.  When were you elected to Congress?

Answer

That was 1847.  I tried unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1855 and 1858.

Real Men of Genius – against slavery

Question

You strongly disapproved of slavery?

Answer

Indeed, I did.  By the 1850s it had been generally outlawed in the Northern states but not in the South.  I frequently spoke against it and I hated it not only because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself but because it deprived our republican example of its just influence in the world.

Question

In 1860 you were elected as 16th president.  That could be described as a catalyst in the “war” against slavery, couldn’t it?

Answer

Well, yes.  I was elected because of the support I received in the North and West.  I won only two of the very many counties in the Southern states.  But I received over 1.8 million votes and won decisively in the electoral college.

Real Men of Genius – secession of the Southern states

Question

Within a month of your election South Carolina declared its secession from the United States?

Answer

That is so, and by early 1861 it was joined by Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.  Together they formed the Confederate States of America and elected Jefferson Davis as their president.

They drew their own constitution and, although it was based on the constitution of the founding fathers, it contained safeguards for slavery.

Question

And war broke out?

Answer

That was when I decided to resupply Fort Sumter and the confederacy took the decision to open fire upon it.  Positions hardened and it was necessary to launch a recruiting campaign.

Virginia then voted to secede from the Union and North Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee followed.

Real Men of Genius – Emancipation Proclamation

Question

The first couple of years of civil war saw neither side gain any real advantage over the other, it seems?

Answer

It was at that stage that I proclaimed emancipation, although I had proposed it some time earlier.  Slavery was banned on all federal territory. Measures were afterwards taken to free all slaves in the Confederate states.

By the spring of 1863 I was hopeful that we could end the war before long.  As we moved South more black slaves were liberated and soon General Thomas had recruited 20 regiments of black soldiers.

Question

And it was in 1863, I believe, that you fixed the Thanksgiving holiday?

Answer

It had been a regional holiday in England since the 17th century and, before my presidency, federal government had proclaimed the holiday on irregular dates.  It hadn’t been proclaimed for 50 years. 

I declared that the last Thursday in November to be a day of Thanksgiving, and I believe it has remained that way ever since.

Question

It is right to say, isn’t it, that after the Emancipation Proclamation over 180,000 black men served in the Union armies?

Answer

I might add that black regiments such as the 107th Colored Infantry and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry distinguished themselves in the field of action.  This was in spite of the fact that the Confederate orders were that all black officers were to be put to death on capture.

Question

And a large number of them lost their lives whilst fighting?

Answer

Around 66,000 of those gallant men.

Real Men of Genius - Gettysburg

Question

Then came the battle of Gettysburg?

Answer

There was a resounding victory for the Union army and a turning point.  I asserted in my address at Gettysburg that the nation was born in 1776, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equal. 

The deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain, slavery would end and the future of democracy assured.

Question

And soon afterwards, following the failure to capture General Lee’s army as it retreated from the Gettysburg, you appointed General Ulysses Grant as head of the Union army?

Answer

Real Men of Genius - Abraham Lincoln

That is right.  In the coming months there were very heavy losses on both sides.  I was re-elected president in November 1864.  Sherman took Georgia in the May and by the time of my re-election had cut through the heart of Georgia.

In February 1865 Sherman reached Columbia, the South Carolina state capital, which he razed and by March he was in North Carolina.

Real Men of Genius – General Lee’s surrender

Question

Then Lee was forced to surrender Petersburg to Grant?

Answer

Yes; Richmond could no longer be defended and it was evacuated.  The Union troops and I moved in shortly afterwards.

Question

And then the final surrender?

Answer

Lee was no longer able to continue the war and he met Grant at Appomattox Court House to discuss terms of surrender.  Grant offered generous terms, and Lee’s men were disbanded and permitted to go back to their farms.

Real Men of Genius - assassination

Question

On 14 April 1865 you attended Ford’s Theater, and that is where you died?

Answer

Almost; it is certainly where I was shot.  My bodyguard left the theater during the intermission and, whilst I was sitting in the state box in the balcony, John Wilkes Booth crept up from behind and shot me in the back of the head.

I was attended by an army surgeon, taken across the street to Petersen House and died nine hours later.


Keep your eyes open for more Real Men of Genius as they are added to this site and also look at Real Women of Genius for further examples.

Read Modelling Genius and remember also to see where you can identify the talents of these people within yourself.  You will have them all.  You may just need to search a little:


Gain FREE access to my self-confidence video

To gain free access to my self-confidence video enter your email address and first name in the box below.  This will also keep you up-to-date with my free newsletter Inspirations.

As a bonus for subscribing you'll receive the first three chapters of my book Towards Success, where you can learn more about NLP techniques, from Anchors to Modelling, and my 50 favourite inspirational quotations.

Enter Your E-mail Address
Enter Your First Name (optional)
Then

Don't worry — your e-mail address is totally secure.
I promise to use it only to send you Inspirations.


Return from Real Men of Genius - Abraham Lincoln - to

The Secret of Mindpower & NLP Home 



Return to Site Search & Contents Page

The Secret of Mindpower & NLP 


New! Comments

Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.




Change your life in just 5 weeks

Discover the pathway to success with my online video course. Learn more

View Cart

Download NEW ebook Your Genius Within and find out how to  uncover your own inner genius

Towards

Real Men of Genius Articles:

Real Women of Genius Articles:

Articles on GENIUS and MIND POWERS:

NLP Articles

Articles on HYPNOSIS:

Articles about THE SECRET of:

Articles about MEMORY:

Articles about RELATIONSHIPS:

Articles about COACHING:

Articles on WEIGHT LOSS:

Articles on WEALTH:

Articles on SECRET and INSPIRATIONAL TEACHERS: