Dear Young People,
I’ve been keeping an eye on this country of ours ever since I was president, almost eight score years ago, and jotting down notes about what I’ve seen. I like to put them in my stovepipe hat and carry them around up there for safekeeping, but since today is President’s Day, it’s a good time to take a few out and arrange them into a letter to you.
I’ve noticed lots of “help wanted” signs all over this land, in shops, offices, and factories. That tells me this is still the land of opportunity, more opportunity than ever before.
The first thing I want to tell you is this: take advantage of all the marvelous opportunities this great country offers.
You probably know that I was born in a log cabin and grew up pretty poor. I had less than a year of schooling. But I loved reading and learning, and I used to walk miles to borrow a book if I could.
I determined to make something of myself, so I took every opportunity that came my way. I split logs to make fence rails, and I guided a flatboat down the Mississippi River with a load of goods to sell in New Orleans. For a while, I was a postmaster, a surveyor, and a clerk in a frontier general store.
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I got it into my head to become a lawyer, so I got hold of a law book and went to work studying. Whenever I had a free minute, I sat on a fence rail or tree stump, studying away, until I turned myself into an attorney, and a pretty successful one, too.
Along the way, I discovered a secret of success. It’s a pretty simple one: hard work carries you a long way in life. In any job you tackle, work, work, work, is the main thing. And always bear in mind that your resolution to succeed makes all the difference.
Abraham Lincoln (standing) in one of a series of seven debates regarding slavery with Stephen Douglas (at Lincoln’s right), his rival for a seat in the Senate.
There’s something else I want to tell you. You live in an extraordinary country, and in an extraordinary time. I hope you know and appreciate that. It’s sometimes easy to forget because of all the negative talk.
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There’s much criticism of our country these days. A lot of finger-pointing on television and online. A lot is written in schoolbooks about all the wrongs done in America’s past.
Some of the talk aims to divide people. It tries to convince Americans that some groups want to keep others down, and that the country is full of people who can’t tolerate anyone who’s not like them.
Don’t let all that negativity discourage you or make you think less of your fellow Americans. That’s not going to help you one bit. It’s only going to hold you back in life.
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It’s true that our country has serious problems that need fixing. And it’s true that some great wrongs have happened in the past. When I was president, we fought a terrible war to right the wrong of slavery.
But when I look around today, I’m amazed at all the good I see and at how far the country has come since my time. I see a nation full of people who want the best for their fellow citizens.
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I once told Americans that a house divided against itself cannot stand. That is still true today. Our strength is in our union. We are all brothers and sisters in our common country. Let’s remember to live together as friends.
Let’s also remember to be proud of this great land, and to be grateful to live here. There is no better place in the world to live.
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America has helped millions of people make good lives for themselves and their families. It has raised millions out of poverty. It has welcomed millions to its shores and brought freedom to more people than any other nation in history.
Our strength is in our union. We are all brothers and sisters in our common country. Let’s remember to live together as friends.
That freedom is the blessing we should be most thankful for. It’s easy to take it for granted, but throughout most of history, liberty has been a rare thing. Even today, millions around the world live without basic rights.
Freedom can quickly slip away, so it needs guarding. As long as we Americans stand fast for freedom, this country will remain, as I like to say, the last best hope of earth.
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I leave you hoping that the lamp of liberty will always burn in your hearts. Love this great nation and take care of it. It can help you, as it did me, go a long way in life.
A. Lincoln
