Lincoln Memorial, USA

As a young man, Abraham Lincoln was a hard working farmer and physical laborer. A plain speaker for plain folks, Lincoln blended his love of the written word with a strong work ethic and pursued a legal career, then a political one from the Illinois state legislature to the U.S. Congress. While there were plans to build a memorial for the 16th President as early as 1867, only two years after his assassination, the construction for the monument did not begin until 1915. The Lincoln Memorial officially opened to the public in 1922. The monument was meant to serve as a reminder of Lincoln’s upstanding values, as well as important virtues such as honesty and tolerance. Ironically, even though Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the ceremony for the dedication of the memorial was entirely segregated. Over time, the monument has served as a symbol of the American Civil Rights Movement. The steps at the Lincoln memorial as well as the path leading up to the Reflecting Pool has been witness to monumental moments in American History including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's “I Have a Dream'' speech.

Abraham Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. As he led the country through the Civil War. He has been ranked by both scholars and the public as both the most influential and fair US president. Lincoln was born into a humble household at the Western frontier in Kentucky. A self-educated man, Lincoln dabbled in a number of different professions finally becoming a lawyer in Illinois. There he also became involved in politics and served in the Illinois House of Representatives for eight years. It was also in Illinois where Lincoln met his wife, Mary Todd, an educated woman from an established family who was instrumental in Lincoln’s rise to presidency. Before his presidency Lincoln advocated rapid modernization, the necessity for government support in economic growth, and he was opposed to the expansion of slavery. He is perhaps best known for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the Southern states and therefore assisted in the fight to preserve the Union and end slavery. Lincoln was assassinated five days after the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia which marked the end of the Confederacy.