Of all the presidents in the history of the United States, Abraham Lincoln is probably the one that Americans remember the best and with deepest affection. His childhood in the frontier of Indiana set the course for his character and motivation later in life. He brought a new honesty and integrity to the White House, He would always be remembered as "honest Abe." Most of all, he is associated with the final abolition of slavery. Lincoln became a virtual symbol of the American dream whereby an ordinary person from humble beginnings could reach the pinnacle of society as president of the country.

His first name comes from the word that means "blessed by God" in Arabic. He is the first African American to hold the office. The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Kentucky, and spent the first seven years of his life there. They were difficult years in which Thomas Lincoln, Abe's father tried to make a living as a carpenter and farmer. The Lincolns moved from farm to farm around Kentucky, until 1816, when the family left to settle in Indiana. The United States was still young, and the Midwest was a wild, unsettled frontier. They stopped in the middle of a forest in Spencer County, Indiana. Neighbors were few and far away, and the family lived in a three-sided shelter until Abe's father cleared enough land and built a log cabin.Abe and his sister helped with the heavy daily tasks that came with farming.

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961 to a Kenyan father and an American mother. Obama spent his early years in Honolulu before moving to Indonesia at the age of six. Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old. His mother later married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian. The family moved to Jakarta in 1967. After staying for four years in Indonesia, Obama returned to

Honolulu to study at the Punahou school.

Hard childhood

"The Railsplitter"

He cleared the woods for farmland with his father, and became so skilled at splitting logs that neighbors settling into the Indiana territory paid him to split logs. Later he earned the nickname “the Railsplitter”. The name recalled Lincoln's humble origins. An unknown artist used this romantic imagery to create a larger-than-life portrait of Lincoln that includes a vision of the White House in the distance - Lincoln's final destination. This painting embodies the American belief that a common citizen can rise to lead the nation.

The Baskin-Robbins seller

He doesn’t like ice-cream. He worked in Baskin-Robbins as a teenager. That’s where his distaste for ice-cream comes from. He experimented with drugs. Back in his early years he tried marijuana and cocaine. According to his own words he is not proud of it and considers it a mistake

as a young man.

At the time, he confessed that he did not really like manual labor. He wrote later that although he was very young, an axe was put into his hand, and he "was almost constantly handling that most useful instrument. Like many ambitious men in the 1830s, Lincoln entered politics. He served as a Whig member of the Illinois legislature (1834-42), campaigned actively for his party's presidential candidates.

In 1996, Obama was elected to the Illinois senate. He was elected again in 1998 and 2002. In 2000, he lost a primary for the United States House of Representatives. In 2003, Obama was appointed the chairman of the Illinois Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee.

In 1834 he was elected into the House of Representatives and began studying to become a lawyer.

In 1988, Obama joined the Harvard Law School. He went on to become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated from the law school in 1991. Between 1993 and 2004 he worked as a lawyer for the law firm.He also worked as a part-time lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 to 2004 .

In 1991, while being in-charge of a voter registration drive in Chicago, Obama began writing a book of memoirs that was later published in 1995 as Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. Obama wrote another book later that was published in 2006. The book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream went on to become a part of the New York Times Best Seller list.

Throughout his life, Abraham Lincoln was an avid reader of poetry. As a teenager, however, Lincoln also began to cultivate an interest in writing poetry. During his teens and early twenties, Lincoln wrote a number of crude and satirical verses. The poem that Lincoln's neighbors best remembered from this period was the "Chronicles of Reuben," which his neighbor, Joseph C. Richardson, claimed was "remembered here in Indiana in scraps better than the Bible."

In 1839, Abraham met his future wife Mary Todd. Coincidentally, she had been born in Kentucky, and her family had recently moved to Illinois. They had a long and unstable courtship, because Abe was indecisive about marrying. They finally exchanged their vows in Mary's home in November 1842.

Barack Obama met Michelle Robinson in 1989, whom he married in 1992. Michelle and Barack have two daughters. According to his wife Michelle he is very romantic. He is not a door opener but he remembers every anniversary and brings her flowers all the time.

Abraham Lincoln began a long road to become the sixteenth president of the United States. He practiced law all across the state for the next few years, traveling far on horseback to different counties. In 1847 he was elected into Congress, but his opinions did not ensure him a long stay there. He was vehemently against slavery and took stands on other controversial issues. He was not elected for a second term, so he returned to his law practice.

Once elected into the state Senate of Illinois, Obama took deep interest in reforms and policies, making and changing some consequently. In 2008 he ran for President, and despite having only four years of national political experience, he won.

A few years later, slavery became a stronger issue, and more people were willing to abolish it. Lincoln joined the Republicans, a new political party that was opposed to slavery.

The Republicans nominated A.Lincoln for the U.S. Senate in 1858, and in his acceptance speech, he stated:

"A house divided against itself cannot stand...

This government cannot endure, permanently half-slave and half-free...

I do not expect the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall - but I do

expect it will cease to be divided."

Nominated by the Republican Party in 1860 as its candidate for the Presidency of the United States, Lincoln won by a small margin

On March 4, 1861 Chief Justice Roger B. Taney administered the oath of office as president of the United States to Abraham Lincoln. The Bible was provided by William Thomas Carroll, Clerk of the Supreme Court, because the Lincolns' family Bible was packed with other belongings that were traveling from Springfield. On January 20, 2009, the Bible was used a second time at the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Abraham Lincoln's oratorical powers brought him to the attention of the nation. He challenged the Democratic nominee to the Senate to a series of debates. Using the simple language that he used to communicate with people all his life, he defeated Douglas in the debates but lost to him in the election.

Barack Obama has declared his position on many political issues through his public comments and legislative record.

“…THAT THIS NATION, UNDER GOD SHALL HAVE A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM… AND THAT GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE,BY THE

PEOPLE,FOR THE PEOPLE,SHALL NOT PERISH

FROM THE EARTH.”

The Obama Administration has stated that its general agenda is to "revive the economy; provide affordable, accessible health care to all; strengthen our public education and social security systems; define a clear path to energy independence and tackle climate change; end the war in Iraq responsibly and finish our mission in Afghanistan; and work with our allies to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear ."

On April 14, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln attended a play at the Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C.A few minutes past ten o'clock, an actor who disagreed with Lincoln's political opinions stepped into the Presidential box and shot the President. He died the following morning.

The last photo of Abraham Lincoln, made on the 10th of April 1865, five days before death.

American poet Walt Whitman, along with the rest of the country, mourned the death of Abraham Lincoln. He wrote this poem in his honor.

O Captain! My Captain!