What Makes a Successful President?

How many U.S presidents have there been from 1789 to 2007? If you guessed 43, you are correct!

What do you think it takes to make a successful president? You might say that a president needs to attend excellent schools. You might guess that a president needs to have a lot of money. Many presidents had wealth and a fine education, but many did not.

Here is an imaginary interview with a U.S. president from the past who did not have such a background. Can you guess who it is? Do you think he was a successful president?

What was your childhood like?

I was born on February 12, 1809, in Kentucky. Our home was different from the homes you see today. It was a log cabin with a dirt floor. PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

In December of 1816, my father moved the family to Indiana. It was a tough hundred-mile journey from Kentucky. We rode horses through cold and windy winter weather. When we finally got to Indiana, I helped my father build a temporary home. It was made of logs and branches, but it had only three sides. The open side was the area for a fire used to heat our home and to scare away wild animals. That was a very hard, long, cold winter for our family. Later that year, my father built a stronger cabin. INFER

The most devastating experience in my childhood was the death of my mother in 1818. SEQUENCE I helped to build my mother's casket. I became very sad that year because I missed her so much.

Life began to change the following year—my father remarried. My new stepmother was very kind. She liked me, and I enjoyed having her around. She believed in my potential and encouraged me to set high goals for myself. CONNECT

What was school like for you?

I only went to school for short periods of time. I think the total number of days I went to school was less than one year. I enjoyed learning, though. I borrowed books from others and I read whenever I could—when I was not earning money for the family digging wells and cutting wood. I guess you could say that I taught myself through reading. INFER

People who knew me as a child never would have guessed that I would be president of our country. You see, I didn't finish school and I didn't have much money.

What was your life like when you were a young adult?

When I was 21, my family moved to New Salem, Illinois, from Indiana. I helped my father build a new cabin for the family. I got a job in the general store. I also had other odd jobs, such as farm helper, rail-splitter, postmaster, and surveyor.

Why did you decide to go into politics?

When the general store I worked in closed, I looked for something else to do. My friends encouraged me to run for office in the Illinois state legislature. I thought it was a great idea. This was a way I could help make life better in New Salem.

What political offices did you hold before you became president?

At the age of 23, I ran for the Illinois state legislature and lost. I ran again two years later, in 1834, and won. Then I was reelected in 1836, 1838, and 1840. INFER

As a state lawmaker, I was paid only three dollars each day the legislature was in session. I needed to make a living, so I decided to become a lawyer. I didn't go to law school. No, I studied law books for three years until I passed the law tests. Then I became a partner in a law firm and a few years later opened my own law office.

While practicing law, I decided to get involved in national politics because I was interested in issues our country was facing, such as slavery. I ran for the U.S. House of Representatives and won the term from 1847 to 1849. In the 1850s, I ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate but lost to Stephen Douglas. He was in favor of slavery, but I was not.

When did you become president?

I was elected in November 1860 and was inaugurated on March 6, 1861.

What were your greatest accomplishments as the U.S. President? ?

Ah! Well, I am most proud of the Emancipation Proclamation and keeping the Union of states together.

In April of 1861, the Civil War began. The Confederate, or Southern, states wanted to separate from the Union, or Northern, states so they could expand slavery. The Union states wanted to end slavery. As president, I tried to keep all of the states together as one country with one national government and to stop the spread of slavery. SEQUENCE

In September 1862, I warned the Confederate states that if they did not rejoin the Union states by January 1, their slaves would be freed. They decided to stay separate from the other states. So, on January 1, 1863, I announced the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the Confederate states. Do you know what happened then? About 180,000 of the freed slaves joined the Union army. Imagine that! INFER

The war lasted almost four years and 600,000 lives were lost. On April 9, 1865, the Confederate army surrendered. The Union victory meant that all states would stay together as one and that the slaves were free. To make sure the slaves would be free after the war, I signed the U.S. Constitution's Thirteenth Amendment in January 1865. This amendment made slavery against the law. INFER

Five days later, relieved that the war was over, my wife and I sat in Ford's Theater watching a play. As I was enjoying the play, a man named John Wilkes Booth shot me and I died the next day. SEQUENCE

Now I have a question for you. Do you know who I am?