The Self Made Man

Abraham Lincoln. When most people hear this name I would imagine they think of our 16th President, the man who pulled a nation through Civil War and essentially ended slavery. Maybe you think of Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg. I won’t pretend that this post isn’t partially driven by the success of the recent movie about the legendary man. I would like to focus not on his accomplishments so much, but more on how he was able to put himself in a position to make them happen. 

Abraham Lincoln was born to a poor farm family in Kentucky. He lived in a series of small cabins with his family in the woods of the Midwest and spent only a small amount  of time in a classroom  in his youth. He learned to read and write with help from his step-mother and became literate through self-perseverance. He had a rough childhood, his father wasn’t exactly a warm and supportive man, especially after his mother passed away when he was just a boy. If not for the love of his stepmother, he may have been lost in a world of grief and anger.

Can you imagine what kinds of sorrow he must have experienced? A life of hard labor as a young man, a father hardened by the work he had to endure just to keep his family alive, and then losing his mother? Of course, death was more common in the early 1800’s, many common ailments we endure today often resulted in death back then. Even so, I imagine that a young man’s loss would have the same impact then as it does today. Many historians agree that Abe probably battled depression throughout his life, enduring bouts of sadness and despair.

Abe never let his struggles keep him down for long. He was determined to make something of himself, and he left home shortly after he came of age. He found work where he could, as a clerk in a general store, working his way up to postmaster, doubling as a land surveyor, all the while educating himself in law and politics. He gained notoriety and eventually threw his hat into the political ring and was elected a member of the Illinois House of Representatives on his second try (Basler, Roy P.).

In the midst of his growing success came the news of the death of his sister. Another tragedy that must have deeply saddened and troubled the young man. But onward he pushed and after a stall in his political career, he began to practice law in Springfield, Illinois. He couldn’t stay out of the ring for long, however, and he was soon back in the Illinois House of Representatives. He was then elected to Congress and from there, as we know, he was chosen to move into the biggest house on Pennsylvania Avenue (Basler, Roy P.).

Wow. Inspiring to say the least. A young man comes from the woods of Kentucky, escapes his most likely fate of a life of farming rocky soil, educates himself and busts his hump all the way into the White House. He started with no money and no means, often struggling to pay debts. He was no doubt filled with resentment, working hard and long hours, battling the pangs of depression and sorrow from years of loss. Yet, he persevered.

Think about what it would take today for someone to come from a farm in Illinois with no education and end up the most important man in the country. It would be the equivalent of President Obama having only attended kindergarten. It’s simply not possible. Were people dumber back then? No that can’t be true, we elected Arnold and Jesse “The Body.” Are there just too many distractions nowadays? No that can’t be true either, we have the answers to everything at our fingertips (I just found the names of Jesse Ventura’s wife and kids on my phone). So how did Abe Lincoln do it?

Simply put, he was one of a kind. Now I know that 1850 was much different than 2013, that argument is not lost on me. Everything is more complicated and technological. Becoming the POTUS now is a completely different endeavor. But that shouldn’t take away from what Abraham Lincoln endured to change his future and even our own. He is a model of success that every man, woman and child should admire.


I think we all have times when we feel like  life has given us the short end of the stick. At those moments we should think of this example and remember that our fate is largely in our own hands. Of course there are outside factors and other people who influence us along the way, but what we put into life with our own hard work has the greatest importance.      
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Basler, Roy P. “Timeline of Abraham Lincoln’s Political Career.” Timeline of Abraham Lincoln’s Political Career. N.p., 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2013.