Page 27 - Reading Success B7

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, is considered one of
the greatest, if not the greatest, of all American presidents. As an outspoken
opponent against the expansion of slavery and a political leader in the western

states, he won the Republican Party nomination in 1860 and was elected
president later that year. During his term in Presidency, Lincoln helped preserve
the United States by leading the defeat of the secessionist Confederacy in the
American Civil War. Also, he introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of
slavery. His famous Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 helped promote the

passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery in the
new country.

Alongside his achievements in the presidency, Abraham Lincoln is also known

as the first American president to be assassinated while in office . His murder
took place on April 14th, 1865 while attending a play at Ford’s theatre with his wife
and two friends. His assassin, John Wilkes Booth, one of the actors in the play
and also a Confederate sympathizer , shot Lincoln. The President died later the

following day.

The President’s assassination had a long lasting impact on the American

people. He was mourned around the country. There were attacks in many cities
against those who expressed support for Booth. After Lincoln’s death, clergymen
around the country praised him in their sermons. Millions of people came to
Lincoln’s funeral procession in Washington D.C., and his body was transported
1,700 miles to his hometown in Springfield, Illinois. After Lincoln’s death, Ulysses

S. Grant said of him, "Incontestably the greatest man I ever knew." The Lincoln
Memorial was later erected to honor the late President’s sacrifices and
contributions for his country.

Main Idea

What is the main idea of this story?

a. the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

b. the life of John Wilkes Booth
c. Lincoln’s role in the Civil War

d. the presidency and assassination of Abraham Lincoln

30_Reading Success B 7