1809–1865 · Secular Leader
Abraham Lincoln
“With malice toward none, with charity for all.”
Sixteenth President of the United States. Born in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky, largely self-educated, a country lawyer who lost more elections than he won before reaching the White House in 1860. He held the Union together through four years of civil war, signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, delivered the Gettysburg Address that November — 272 words that redefined what the country was for — and was reelected in 1864 promising "malice toward none, with charity for all." He suffered from severe depression his whole life, lost two of his four sons before he was killed, and somehow kept his sense of humor and his mercy intact. He was assassinated at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, five days after the war ended.
Known for
- The Emancipation Proclamation
- The Gettysburg Address
- Second Inaugural Address
- Holding the Union together
- Mercy in victory
- Moral courage under depression
Best for
- Hard leadership decisions
- Depression
- Public responsibility
- Reconciliation
Their signature question
“What would the right thing cost you — and is it worth it?”