Book excerpt: "Fourscore 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." - Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) is generally considered to be the greatest U. S. President. He was born in poverty, self-educated, and went on to become a lawyer, Whig Party leader, state legislator and U.S. Congressman. In 1854, he became leader of the new Republican Party. He led the North in the American Civil War against the rebellion in the South and their practice of slavery. During this time, in 1863, he gave the most famous speech in American history, the Gettysburg Address, which called for nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy for all. He was assassinated just a few days after the end of the war. He was President of the United States from 1861 to 1865.