Lincoln #3

In November of 1863, Abraham Lincoln was invited to deliver remarks, which later became known as the Gettysburg Address, at the dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, on the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. This speech is called the Gettysburg address. It is a well remembered piece of writing, and was named one of the most important speeches in history. This is how it goes:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
 It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- 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.

That is the Gettysburg Address, one of the major things Lincoln did before his death. It was to the dispute of slavery, one of the main things Lincoln stood against. The states argued for a long time over slavery and freedom until Lincoln passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, allowing freedom at last.

The Gettysburg battle was not the smartest war, but it WAS the bloodiest one by far. Many people died, and many were missed. Lincoln gave the Address 4 months after the battle was over. Not only did it honor those who had sacrificed their lives, it showed WHY they had sacrificed. Preservation of the Union, and as I said before, the end of slavery.

Lincoln, who was an inspiring writer and orator, wrote the speech himself, and though in it he said, "the world will little note nor long remember what we say here," the ten sentences of the Gettysburg Address have become among the best known, not just in America, but around the world.

Abe Lincoln Part 2

Abraham Lincoln responded to the crisis wielding powers like no other president before him. He distributed over two million dollars from the Treasury for war materials without an appropriation from Congress; he called for 75,000 volunteers into military service without declaring a war; and he suspended the right of habeas corpus, arresting and imprisoning suspected Confederate sympathizers without a warrant or warning.

 Crushing ANY rebellion would be difficult under any circumstances, but the Civil War, with its many decades of red-hot partisan politics, was especially difficult. From all directions, Lincoln faced anger and defiance. He was often fighting with his generals, his Cabinet, his party, and a majority of the American people.

The Union Army’s first year and a half of battlefield defeats made it especially difficult to keep hopes held high and support strong for a reunification the nation. With the hopeful, but by no means conclusive victory at Antietam on September 22^nd of 1862, Lincoln felt confident enough to reshape the cause of the war from “union” to abolishing slavery.

 Very slowly, the war effort improved for the North, though more by attrition then by brilliant military victories. But by 1864, the Confederacy had hunkered down to a steady war and Lincoln was convinced he would be a one-term president. His nemesis, George B. McClellan, the former commander of the Army of the Potomac, challenged him for the presidency, but the contest wasn’t even close.

 Lincoln received 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 243 Electoral votes. On March 28^th, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Virginia, surrendered his forces to Union General Ulysses S. Grant and the war for all intents and purposes was over.

On April 14^th of 1865, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Booth had been a former actor, taking the lead in many famous Shakespeare plays. He was against Lincoln, as he stood for everything that Booth hated. He gathered up people like him to help him kidnap Lincoln and hold him prisoner so that he might change his ways.

Booth and his conspirators planned to kidnap him March 17^th, 1865, when he went to a local hospital play in town. They were all set up and ready when they found out that the play had been canceled, and that Lincoln would not be attending. Therefore, their kidnapping plan did not work.

This enraged Booth still further. It was about a month before he had his chance. This time, he succeeded. At about 10:50, Booth crept into Ford Theater, where Lincoln and his family were watching the play. Booth knew his way around the theater since he had previously acted there, and crept up to the state box.

With one shot, Lincoln was dead. Booth jumped down to the stage, an 11 foot fall, breaking his ankle. He held his knife up to the audience, then worked his way across the stage in front of over 1000 people. He escaped using the Navy Bridge.

5 page series on Abraham Lincoln Page 1

Report on Abraham Lincoln By Madison Nef

When it comes to Abraham Lincoln, I don’t know where to start. He was such a great man, and did such wonderful things for our country. But even the greatest leaders start as children, so I suppose I’ll start there. He was born on February 12^th of 1809, on the floor of a one room log cabin. His father was Thomas Lincoln, and his mother was Nancy Lincoln.

Nancy brought young Abe and his older sister Sara up until Abe was 9. She died of milk sickness in 1818. After this, his older sister took care of him until his father remarried in 1819. His father remarried to Sarah Bush Johnston, who had 3 children of her own.  Lincoln warmed up to her very quickly, and was very close with her. He called her mother.

As Lincoln got into his pre-teens, he became lazy, and hated the thought of any frontier work at all. As he became a teenager however, he changed his personality and looked for jobs to do continuously. He gained respect for brawn after defeating the leader of a renowned street gang, The Clarys Grove boys in a wrestling match.

As Lincoln’s family was poor, he self taught himself a lot of things. He learned to read, and soon began reading everything and loving it. He loved learning new things, and experimenting. In 1830, an outbreak of milk sickness once again struck the Ohio River, and The Lincoln family packed up bags and moved to Illinois, another slave-free state.

Once he reached Illinois, Lincoln decided it was time to have a life of his own, and set out canoeing down Sangamon River. Lincoln soon arrived in New Salem, where he got a job as a river salesman. He traveled all over selling goods until he got to New Orleans and witnessed slavery in process. He then turned tail and walked all the way home to Illinois.

Abraham’s first love died of typhoid fever shortly after he moved to New Salem. Soon after her death he met Mary Owens, a lady from Kentucky who was visiting her sister. They began dating, but then Mary moved away. Abe agreed to marry her, should she ever return to New Salem. She soon sent him a letter, saying that she no longer wished to date him.

Soon after, Lincoln became engaged to Mary Todd, a lady of wealthy background. The marriage was called off by Lincoln, who was not comfortable. They met again at a party later in the year and were married.  By then, Lincoln was already elected president. The couple had 4 children together: Willie, Tad, Edward, and Robert. Robert, the eldest, was the only one who survived into adulthood.

The Lincoln’s were very loose parents. They let their kids do whatever they wanted. Once, Lincoln was holding a very important meeting, and one of his kids ran in, saying that one of their dolls needed to be officially killed and that they needed the president’s signature. Lincoln let them write out a death sentence on official White House paper, and then signed it himself, all in the middle of a business meeting. 

Lucky's Dream

When my dog Lucky is asleep, I assume that he dreams. He always drools, and occasionally, he will bark and it looks like he is running. I am guessing that other dog owners wonder what THEIR dog dreams about. Here is a chart that I created.

CAUTION: THIS CHART WAS MADE BY MADDIE AND WILL NOT ACTUALLY TELL WHAT YOUR DOG DREAMS ABOUT. THIS WAS MADE AS A FUN CHART TO WHAT I THINK.


Maddies Think A Thought Dreams For Dogs Chart

Dream Motion	Dream	Should You Wake Your Dog???
Drool	Probably food… what else do dogs slobber over???	Yes, probably. Wake them up and promptly give them real food!
Whimpers	A bigger, intimidating dog- or you scolding your dog.	Yes, of course! Why let your dog suffer a nightmare? Do we like them? No. So I doubt that dogs do either.
Barking	Probably a cat. Or dreaming of running after a squirrel. For Lucky, probably being put on his chain.	No. Do not wake your dog if he is barking or growling. Lucky almost bit Dad once when he tried to wake him.
Sleep-running	Chasing something. Why else would a dog run???	No. Chasing is a good dream for your dog. Leave him be and let him have his good dream.

80 Days

Has anyone checked out my newest blog, Around The World In 80 Days? Based on the book, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, this blog is my internet exploration of the world. Every day I travel to a new place. Recently, I visited Egypt. Here is a part of my blog from Egypt:


Hello Egypt! I have found many interesting places to visit, including my first stop: Pompey's Pillar.  Often mistaken for a memorial to someone, this is actually a remaining piece from an old worshipping temple, taken down by the Christians when Paganism was driven out. Only one pillar was left standing, and the catacombs underneath were left in decent shape. Once I found out that they gave tours, I was all over it.


I decided I would go to a museum and do some research on Alexandria. Not only did the museum house over 1000 beautiful Egyptian artifacts, it gave me just the things I wanted to know. Alexandria was founded in 331 B.C. by Alexander the Great (hence the name). It's most famous attraction, Lighthouse of Pharos, was one of the original 7 wonders of the world.



My rule is only to go 1000 miles a day. I must find history and different things to do in each place. It is a very fun project for me. I hope you will check it out and follow my blog. It teaches you good world facts and is a fun read.

The Old House

This is a story that I wrote about an abandoned house down the street from me.

It was 1999. The wind was blowing on East Main Street, and a storm was brewing. Little Emily Ponnely sat in her room, huddled under the covers. She had never liked lightning and thunder that accompanied the brutal thunder storms. She hugged her pillow tight, and fell asleep. She had a horrible nightmare, of murder and ghosts and witchcraft. Lightning crashed and she woke up with a start.

Her door creaked open. She dared to peak her head out from under the covers. She looked. Her door was wide open. She screamed, but there was no answer form either of her parents. Suddenly, she looked up and saw him. He stood over her with a jagged knife in his hand, the psychotic grin on his face. He laughed a menacing laugh, the last thing that Emily ever heard before her throat was slashed open.

The burglar was caught half an hour later. He was sentenced to life in prison. He died there of starvation.    After the murder, a rockstar moved into the house. Not 5 days later he moved out, claiming that the place had too much weirdness for him. More families came, the last being the Hals. They left after seeing objects move around in midair with no reason. Stories spread, and soon, no one wanted to buy the house. 


It sat there for years before it was turned over to the bank. By then, it had broken windows, spray painting, caving in floors, and rickety stairs, and the bank wanted nothing to do with it. It has sat there til this day, in disrepair, waiting for a new family to take care of it.

The Dalai Lama

A Report on the Dalai Lama

By Madison Nef

The Dalai Lama is a Tibetan monk said to have been reincarnated 14 times over the past 700 years.Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. Gyatso was born in July of 1935 to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, and northeastern Tibet.  At the age of two, Tenzin, who was named Lhamo Dhondup at that time was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and official saint of Tibet.  Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed going to heaven and chosen to take rebirth in order to help others. The 14^th Dalai Lama is our current one.

At 6 years old poor Lhamo started going to school at a monastery. At age 15 he was given full political power after China attacked Tibet. At 19, he was allowed to go to China and do peace talks to have China stop attacking. In September 1987, Dalai Lama #14 proposed the Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet as the first step towards a peaceful solution to the worsening situation in Tibet. He envisaged that Tibet would become a sanctuary; a zone of peace at the heart of Asia, where all sentient beings can exist in harmony and the delicate environment can be preserved. China has failed to respond to the different peace proposals put forward by the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama is a man of peace. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his peacful struggle for the freedom of Tibet. He has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of extreme stress and sadness. He also became the first Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for environment problems. Dalai Lama has travelled to more than 62 countries, covering  6 of the seven continents.  He has met with presidents (Tibet has presidents???), prime ministers, and crown rulers of major nations.  He has had various conversations with the heads of different religions and many well-known scientists. Since 1959, he has received over 84 awards, honorary doctorates, prizes, etc., in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion. The Dalai Lama has also authored more than 72 books (yikes!). The Dalai Lama describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk.

The Dalai Lama has received many awards through the years, many for peace and peace talks. Dalai Lama made his first foreign visit outside Tibet in 1954 when he spent almost a year in China meeting with its leaders and touring various places (and lets not forget doing peace talks). In 1956, he made his second visit abroad to India at the invitation of the Mahabodhi Society of India to attend the 2500th Celebrations of Lord Buddha (little did he know, he would soon return to India as an exile). In 1959, he returned to India once more, this time escaping the brutal Chinese occupation of Tibet, and beginning his life in exile.

With the initial years of exile being focused on the rehabilitation of tens of thousands of Tibetan refugees in India, he made many visits within India visiting the refugees and their newly established camps. In 1967, he made his first visit abroad since becoming an exile, visiting Japan and Thailand. In 1973, he made his first visit to the West, visiting 12 European countries within 75 days! His first visit to America was in 1979. (Why anyone would give up heaven to do THIS life all over again, I don’t know.)

Dalai Lama had to leave Tibet because China attacked, wanting more control over land. Some Tibetan monks were very attached to their land, as it had been handed down through ancestors.  They did not want some strange culture taking their family’s land away. So they fought for it. Since the Dalai Lama was the one who gave the peace talks, it enraged the Chinese. He only barely escaped Tibet in time.

 The Dalai Lama has three main commitments in his life.

Firstly, The Dalai Lama's commitments is the promotion of human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline.  All humans are the same (No we are not, idiot!!!).  We all want happiness and do not want suffering.  Even people who do not believe in religion recognize the importance of these human values in making life happier.  The Dalai Lama refers to these human values as secular ethics.  He remains committed to talk about the importance of these human values and share them with everyone he meets.

( Dalai Lama is walking down the street.)
(He sees a man.)
(Dalai Lama: starts talking about the importance of human values)
(Man: ?!?)

Secondly, on the level of a religious practitioner, The Dalai Lama’s next commitment is the promotion of religious harmony and understanding the world’s major religious traditions.  Despite religious differences, all major world religions have the same potential to create good human beings.  It is very important for all religious traditions to respect one another and recognize the value of each other’s respective traditions.  As far as one truth, one religion is concerned; this is relevant on an individual level.  However, for the community at large, several truths and religions are necessary.

Thirdly, The Dalai Lama is a Tibetan and carries the name of the ‘Dalai Lama’.  Tibetans place their trust in him.  Therefore, his third commitment is to the Tibetan issue.  The Dalai Lama has a responsibility to act as the free spokesperson of the Tibetans in their struggle for justice.