Lincoln then and now:  One teacher's account of immersion into president's life and legacy

Thanks to Horace Mann’s Abraham Lincoln Fellowship, in which one lucky teacher from each state gets to be fully immersed in the life and legacy of Lincoln, I spent five packed days in Springfield, Ill.

But now, what will I, a high-school math and journalism teacher, do with all of this newfound knowledge? What will I tell my students about the life of Lincoln? It is that, both then and now, education opens doors, and perseverance pays off.

Lincoln (who, I learned, did not like to be called by his first name) was self-taught. Though he received less than a year of formal education, he loved to read. Sometimes he would walk for miles to borrow and then to return a book; even at night, he read by the light of the fire as his family slept. This learning allowed him to rise from a simple farmer to a store clerk, then merchant and postmaster, all the way to president.

At only 22 years old, he made two trips down the Mississippi River to New Orleans on a flat-bottom boat. He is the only president to apply for and be granted a patent, designing  a boat that could go in shallow waters. He was an explorer and always eager to learn about the unknown. Lincoln kept trying new things - another good lesson.

Lincoln also failed repeatedly…but kept trying. From failed business ventures to unsuccessful runs for Senate, he never quit. Why was he called “Honest Abe?” Credit was an important commodity. Nearly everyone bought things, intending to pay for them later, so much so that, in 1800, the nation’s first Bankruptcy Act was enacted. Most people filed, but not Lincoln. After his business partner passed away, Lincoln was left with all the debts from their business. He could not bring himself to jilt his creditors. He worked for years to pay everyone he owed because he felt it was the right thing to do.

In addition to listening to Lincoln scholars, I was able to tour the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the Lincoln Home, the Old State Capitol where Lincoln served in the Legislature and argued legal cases, the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office, the reconstructed village of New Salem, and Lincoln’s Tomb in the Oakridge Cemetery. Everything showed a life of purpose.

Lincoln’s education opened doors all the way to the White House. I learned that Lincoln was a political genius; he held the ideals of the U.S. Constitution above all. Even during the Civil War, perseverance paid off.  Lincoln and the team of rivals that he selected to make up his Cabinet saved the Union. Even though he couldn’t please anybody, it seemed, as he received criticism and unsolicited advice from all sides, Lincoln held a belief in the greater good. It is that compassion for human beings that continues to inspire us both then and now.