Change Maker Assignment Abraham Lincoln

Written By Sunshine Tanphiphat

The wintry breeze drifted past my freezing face. I began to haul the rusty pail filled with chopped lumber into
the cabin where my downhearted family cuddle close together in front of the fire. Scarlet blisters started to
swallow my hand in numbness; feeling despondent but yet determined, I staggered through the snow in hope
to support my family. I never knew that in the future, people would remember me as the Greatest Change
Maker in history. My name is Abraham Lincoln. I was born in a single room log cabin in Hardin County,
Kentucky. I had little formal education but I was interested in books and thrive in learning. At the age of
twenty five, I won a seat in the Illinois legislature and began to inquire into politics. A few years later, I
became a member of the Republican Party and started to debate about human rights. I got elected as
President in 1860 and performed my political role to the best of my ability.

I have enacted the Homestead Act, the Morrill Act, National Banking Act and the bill which chartered the First
Transcontinental Railroad. My domestic and political policies including the Homestead Act allowed western
migration. This helped to conquer the West and build the region up as a humanized and civilized territory. I
also sponsored the Transcontinental railroad. The Transcontinental Railroad made America a smaller world
(figuratively) because Americans could travel linking by rail roads from one side of America to another in just
a few weeks. This changed the lives of thousands of people for the transcontinental railroad opened new
opportunities for many and triggered the economic growth of the nation.

My desire to end and ban slavery throughout the whole United States of America conserved the United States
of America as one nation. Flesh trading should be abolished for the better because truthfully, there is no
superior race, it is the mentality of the people that needs a change and I was the person who changed it. How
could a race that should be treated as an equal be brutally maltreated and savagely punished. If the
Confederates had won the war and slavery still sustained, the United States of America would never be able to
develop into a country that has significant influence in international affairs, and never would have the
superpower of the twenty first century. If America was an unstable nation, the world would have become a
far different place.

As a result of the Proclamation of Emancipation, millions of enslaved African Americans were liberated and
free to work, live and eat on American soil. Consequently, the revolution of change has affected a change in
economics, change in cultural and social structure and a psychological change which results in a change in the
mentality of the people towards more racial acceptance. This revolution touched thousands of hearts and
were deeply felt worldwide.

I also demonstrated a variety of IB Learner Profile Characteristics. I was a Caring person because I saw the
inequality in slavery and published the Proclamation Emancipation which provided slaves with equal rights
as anyone else. In addition to that, I am also a Thinker because I planned tactics the Union troops could use to
defeat the Confederates. An IB Learner Profile Characteristic that suits me well is Open-Mindedness because I
signed into bills of law that positively impacted Americans and opened new opportunities for many. Lastly, I
am a Communicator because I communicated my thoughts, perspectives and ideas through my influential
quotes, encouraging speeches and warm actions. All in all, throughout my life, I demonstrated many IB
Learner Profile Characteristics. My influential quotes and speeches which existed 150 years ago, are greatly
admired and are still used as inspiration in the modern day. The quotes inspire people to look at the world
through lens of equity and justice so we could all live together in a harmonious and prosperous environment.

Exactly 100 years later when the Emancipation Proclamation was established, Martin Luther King Jr gave his
famous speech revolving around civil rights: I Have A Dream. Martin Luther was influenced by my approach
towards civil rights and racial discrimination. Barack Obama, the current President of the United States was
also inspired by my resolute character and exceptional leadership skills.

Certainly, I have revolutionized America and changed millions of lives. The world would have been a far
different place than what it is in the modern day without my determination to sculpture America with my own
loving hands as a positive and leading nation. All in all, I will always be remembered as The Savior Of The
Union and The Greatest Emancipator Of The Slaves; with that, I changed the world.