Abraham Lincoln: The man who paved the way for Obama’s presidency
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Did you know that…
- Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican elected to
the presidency?
- he saved the Union and ended slavery?
- his formal education consisted of only 18 months of
schooling?
- he was the first President to have a beard?
- he was the tallest President?
Introduction
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1. What else comes to mind when you think of Abraham Lincoln?
2. And what do you already know about Barack Obama?
3. What differences between these two Presidents are obvious?
A
Some biographical and historical parallels between Lincoln and Obama
Lincoln and Obama have more in common than you may think. Let’s have a closer look at some
parallels between the two of them.
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1. On the Internet, read the first page of the article “Two Speeches on Race” by Garry Wills that
was published in The New York Review of Books, Volume 55, Number 7 at http://www.nybooks.
com/articles/21290.
2. Now list at least five biographical and historical parallels you have found between Lincoln and
Obama.
B
The causes of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery
The abolition of slavery in 1865 is attributed to President Lincoln. What events led to four million
slaves being freed in the US? When he took office in 1860 as the 16th President of the United
States, Abraham Lincoln was not planning to abolish slavery. Read about the much debated
causes leading to the Civil War (1861–1865) and finally to the abolition of slavery.
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1. Read http://americancivilwar.com/kids_zone/causes.html and summarize the causes in 6–7 sentences.
Some new words from the website before you begin:
tariff a tax on goods that come into a country or go out of a country
awkward difficult
portion part
sectionalism Partikularismus
abolitionist someone who wants to put an end to a system or law
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Abraham Lincoln: The man who paved the way for Obama’s presidency
C
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address1 and its historical significance
The ability to analyze political speeches is an important key qualification for students.
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1. What is important to notice when you are asked to analyze a political speech?
List five aspects that are important to consider.
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a. ______________________________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________________________
d. ______________________________________________________________
Vo
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ns
e. ______________________________________________________________
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, contains carved inscriptions of the
16th President’s Second Inaugural Address and his Gettysburg Address.
The short speech Lincoln gave at the Soldier’s National Cemetery in Gettysburg, PA, on
November 19, 1863, is one of the most famous speeches in American history.
2. a) Read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on the next page.
Some new words from Lincoln’s speech before you begin:
to conceive here: to create
to dedicate to devote
score twenty
address here: formal speech
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© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2009 | www.klett.de | Alle Rechte vorbehalten
Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten. Autor: Arnd Nadolny, Gifhorn
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Abraham Lincoln: The man who paved the way for Obama’s presidency
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
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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 battlefield 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.
2. b) Go to http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/politics/08text-obama.html and read the
concession speech which Obama held in New Hampshire on January 8, 2008. Then compare
Lincoln’s speech with Obama’s.
Vo
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3. Write down the keywords and allusions in Obama’s speech that are recognizable aspects of the
American Dream.
4. Now go to http://dipdive.com and watch the “Yes.We.Can” sung version of Obama’s speech
which “will.i.am”, the singer and producer of the Black Eyed Peas, made to honor Obama. It is
based on the last third of Obama’s speech.
Comment on this version. How did it make you feel?
D
Future outlook for Obama’s Presidency
1. What expectations do you have of Obama and his presidency?
2. Speculate on the possible expectations Obama must meet in the eyes of the American people.
3. Go to http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0105/p05s01-wogn.html and list some expectations
that people in other countries have of Obama
© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2009 | www.klett.de | Alle Rechte vorbehalten
Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten. Autor: Arnd Nadolny, Gifhorn
Quellen: Wikimedia Foundation Inc.; ShutterStock.com RF
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