“That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom.”

— President Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

In a time when the nation was divided, the separation of race created conflict between the north and the south.  President Abraham Lincoln helped defend the Union as southern states seceded in 1861.  Many pro slave citizens of the south felt that there was no choice but to declare their own independence in order to preserve their economy.

President Abraham Lincoln wanted to end slavery and unite in peace the north and the south.  This didn’t happen so easily and it certainly did not happen peacefully.  On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as president of the United States and presided over a divided country while freeing the slaves.  As the war was ending in the spring of 1864, he was assassinated in Washington D.C.  It would take another 100 years before Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of a nation under God would echo through the civil rights movement.

America needed to be restored and president Abraham Lincoln didn’t have chance to carry out his plan of reconstruction.

The image above shows the influence of President Lincoln to end slavery and the struggle that lived after his death.  For many years Americans fought to be free.  We are still striving for a “more perfect union”.  This image shows the division that existed immediately following the war as it illustrates the need for mediators to follow in the footsteps of Lincoln.

Whose footsteps inspire you to act for a greater good?

Read More Here:  http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2008/04/20080407120920eaifas0.4535639.html#ixzz2vHhzIJTg