A meal as large as Lincoln's heart by Christopher

A meal as large as Lincoln's heart by Christopher - October 2017 Scholarship Essay

If I received the honor of being able to share a meal with one U.S. president, I would have no shortage of brilliant candidates to choose from. I conducted an analysis and studied the attributes of these great men in order to discover which one I believed to be the overall strongest and most influential leader of our nation. The qualities of being a great president consist of integrity, honesty, confidence, passion, respect, wisdom, possessing a great deal of strength through adversity, and a caring nature for our country and the people within it. If given the opportunity to speak to and to eat with one president, I would chose the president that best wielded all of these attributes, the man I consider to be the central compass of what it truly means to be a president. No other president has gained as much respect and admiration from me as much as good ole honest Abraham Lincoln.
I would happily share a hearty meal of chicken fricassee, oyster stew, and apple pie with Abe Lincoln, which studies show were some of his favorite foods. One of the many reasons why I respect Lincoln is because of his upbringing and how Lincoln persevered through pain in order to create something of himself. He was born into a very poor household and was forced to educate himself. Lincoln was very studious and he taught himself to read. He was very interested in studying mathematics, literature, and law. Lincoln worked on the farm during his early years, but suffered tragedy when his mother passed away from milk sickness when he was nine. Losing a mother at such a young age is something no child should suffer, and gives me sympathy towards the youthful Lincoln. The lightning of tragedy struck Lincoln twice when his sister passed away during childbirth later in his life. It’s a testament to Lincoln’s character to witness such traumatizing losses while building such a strong legacy for himself, despite the pain that Lincoln suffered he was able to become an incredible leader. Lincoln served as a boatman, clerk, soldier, and lawyer before his presidency. Lincoln was a very hardworking individual and a role model for many. I connect with Lincoln because he was a lawyer, and becoming a lawyer is the path I believe I want to pursue. It would be engrossing to have a first hand experience of what law was like back in the 1800s. I would ask how legal practice worked, what were the requirements, how society viewed lawyers, and if he had any advice about entering the field. It would be endlessly interesting to have that first person account of how law worked in the past and relating it to today’s world.
Along with his upbringing and journey into adulthood, Lincoln has gained admiration from me as a result of his adversity and leadership, and these attributes would very much be a topic of our conversation. He was the 16th president of the United States, and he had to undergo the challenge of becoming president during one of the most daunting time frames in United States history. On November 1860, Lincoln was elected to be the first republican president of the United States. Being the first republican president is a fascinating milestone, and I would love to know how he managed to best his opponents in the campaign after 15 straight presidential elections resulting in candidates of rivaling parties. Lincoln began his presidency being thrust into a divided nation with the issue of slavery devastating the country. Being president of both sides, Lincoln caught himself in the middle of a great war between the south, who favored the concept of slavery, and the north, who wanted to end the practice of slavery. Two great quotes from Lincoln are “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” and “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” These quotes are gleaming with wisdom and proved that Lincoln feared for the sake of the currently divided country, and he had to the obstacle of pulling the two sides of the country back into one united nation.
Lincoln taking the task of becoming president during this stressful time is commendable enough, but the sheer amount of accomplishments that Lincoln was able to achieve before his death is unbelievable. Before becoming president, Lincoln gained support from the people during the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, in which Lincoln battled against Stephen Douglas for the Senate. After a series of seven debates, Lincoln didn’t win the election but he gained a national reputation that proved astonishingly beneficial in his presidential debate that would come later. Lincoln was a commander in chief during the war and ensured that nothing would interfere with the Union, and issued the Emancipation Proclamation which first began the process of gaining freedom for slaves. He signed the Homestead Act, the Morrill Act, the National Banking Act, and the Bill that chartered the transcontinental railroad. Abraham Lincoln was a model of character, leadership, adversity, and honesty which set an example for future presidents to follow. Even Barack Obama claims that Lincoln is one of his role models. Abe Lincoln is a hero for ending slavery and for the influences he made on society. Lincoln created a legacy, and he will always have a seat at my table.