Changes

===The Rail-Splitter===

===The Rail-Splitter===

[[Image:Railsplitter.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An artist's impression of a young Abe Lincoln, splitting the rails for the farms where he lived.]]

[[Image:Railsplitter.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An artist's impression of a young Abe Lincoln, the ''Rail-Splitter''.]]

The Lincolns moved to Illinois in March, 1830, with Abraham driving the team of oxen himself, a young man of 21, rawboned and lanky at six feet four inches tall.  But the years working on the Indiana farm have also made him physically powerful, and on his arrival in Illinois he was soon to demonstrate the skill with which he could wield an axe, putting it to good use by clearing the trees and laying the fence on his father’s new farm; the speed with which he could take tree trunks and split them into the rails needed for the fencing just by using his axe earned him the nickname “rail-splitter.”  He could make an axe flash and bite deep; one neighbor saying “He could sink an axe deeper into wood than any man I ever saw.”  And after a good deal of chopping, he could take the axe by its handle and hold it straight out away from his body, without a single quiver.  (Sandburg, pg. 14)  Good-natured as well, he would make friends easily, despite his awkward-looking stride and backwoods language.

The Lincolns moved to Illinois in March, 1830, with Abraham driving the team of oxen himself, a young man of 21, rawboned and lanky at six feet four inches tall.  But the years working on the Indiana farm have also made him physically powerful, and on his arrival in Illinois he was soon to demonstrate the skill with which he could wield an axe, putting it to good use by clearing the trees and laying the fence on his father’s new farm; the speed with which he could take tree trunks and split them into the rails needed for the fencing just by using his axe earned him the nickname “rail-splitter.”  He could make an axe flash and bite deep; one neighbor saying “He could sink an axe deeper into wood than any man I ever saw.”  And after a good deal of chopping, he could take the axe by its handle and hold it straight out away from his body, without a single quiver.  (Sandburg, pg. 14)  Good-natured as well, he would make friends easily, despite his awkward-looking stride and backwoods language.

Soon, he signed on as a deckhand on a flatboat, and made a voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.  When he returned he settled in a small town on the Sangamon River called New Salem, working as a store keeper, surveyor, or a postmaster, the later of which allowed him to be the first to read the arriving newspapers.  Then talk went about town of Lincoln’s utter honesty, how he would walk six miles to return a few cents to a customer he had accidentally overcharged, or the woman that had bought some tea, and having used the wrong weight for the purchase, Lincoln made the correction and walked the many miles to her house to ensure she got the right order (Sandburg, pp 24-25).

Soon, he signed on as a deckhand on a flatboat, and made a voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.  When he returned he settled in a small town on the Sangamon River called New Salem, working as a store keeper, surveyor, or a postmaster, the later of which allowed him to be the first to read the arriving newspapers.  Then talk went about town of Lincoln’s utter honesty, how he would walk six miles to return a few cents to a customer he had accidentally overcharged, or the woman that had bought some tea, and having used the wrong weight for the purchase, Lincoln made the correction and walked the many miles to her house to ensure she got the right order (Sandburg, pp 24-25).

In 1832 he enlisted in the Black Hawk War, and was elected captain of his company, but the only fighting he admitted seeing action in was the “many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.”  After he was mustered out of his company, he aspired for the state legislature, losing the contest the first time he ran, then getting elected and re-elected several times afterward.  He had briefly thought about practicing the trade of blacksmithing, but his craving of reading led him to law books, which caused some serious studying.  Lincoln passed the bar in 1836, and began a new career practicing law.  

In 1832 he enlisted in the Black Hawk War, and was elected captain of his company, but the only fighting he admitted seeing action in was the “many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.”  After he was mustered out of his company, he aspired for the state legislature, losing the contest the first time he ran, then getting elected and re-elected several times afterward.  He had briefly thought about practicing the trade of blacksmithing, but his craving of reading led him to law books, which caused some serious studying.  Lincoln passed the bar in 1836, and began a new career practicing law.

==Springfield==

==Springfield==