Slavery is when a person is owned by another person and has complete control over that person based on where they live or how they work and is generally classified as property. Presidents have not had much say in the law due to the lack of power over it (articles.latimes.com). Slavery has happened throughout history such as the Aztecs, Incas, and Romans, who all had slaves. (abolition.e2bn.org) Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky. He went to school there for only a few weeks (Leland, pg. 20), but had to move to Illinois because his father had a problem with the landowner. Lincoln's mother died when he was only 9 years old in 1818, her maiden name was Nancy Hanks (Leland, p.9). He died of "Miller fever," as the disease common in the American West was called. Before the age of 20 he had lost his mother, his older sister and his newborn brother (Guelzo page 123). Lincoln distinguished himself as a writer after realizing that he had made spelling his favorite subject. He was then about six feet six inches tall and only 16 years old (Leland, p.21). Lincoln worked as a ferryman for a person named James Taylor in 1825, on top of that he was also a farmer, cooked for his mistress and studied mostly until midnight (Leland, pg. 25-26). Among other candidates, Lincoln was given permission to enter his name to apply for the legislature. Just 10 days before the election, soldiers arrived in Sangamon County. (Leland page 40). By receiving the largest number of tickets, Lincoln became a good candidate for the second time in 1834 (Leland, p.44). Lincoln fell into depression after the death of a young girl he liked in 1835, but then became enthusiastic when he was elected to the legislature. During his term,...... middle of paper... so far a wonderful Friday, but it didn't last long. In a theater in Washington, Lincoln was seated in a special booth and moments after the first scene occurred, Lincoln was killed. Since the assassination occurred during the show, many people thought it was part of the scene, but sadly it wasn't. The next morning he died around 7.20am at his home but had already been unconscious by the time he was shot (Leland, page 226). Thus, we have seen that Lincoln's childhood experiences living in Salem, Illinois with his family helped him develop his feelings about slavery, which he carried into his presidency when he helped free slaves in the United States with the Emancipation Proclamation. He knew that slavery was harmful to the nation. People today (usually black) doubt that Lincoln and the Civil War had any effect on the history of slavery (articles.latimes.com).