Throughout 2009, the nation will celebrate President Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. The boy born in 1809 in a log cabin in present-day Hodgenville, Kentucky would have only one year of formal education before becoming America's 16th and perhaps greatest president.
Lincoln was inaugurated shortly before the start of the Civil War in 1861, although several states had already seceded by the time he moved into the White House. Despite this tough start, President Lincoln's legacy is one of freedom, equality, and respect for the rule of law.
Toward the end of his life, President Lincoln fought to identify the legal basis for mandating racial equality throughout the nation. This quest came to a head in his drafting of the Emancipation Proclamation (1863). Although most people know that this document freed slaves from Southern states that had seceded from the Union and not yet come back under Union control, few realize that the Proclamation actually involves a technical legal argument. Rather than just focusing on the morality of the question, President Lincoln was careful to find the legal justifications for banning slavery. This balanced approach is a perfect demonstration of Lincoln's understanding of the importance of the rule of law. Ultimately it led to the Thirteenth Amendment, which, upon being passed just a few months after his assassination, finally abolished slavery In the United States.
Individuals and organizations across the nation are using this anniversary as an opportunity to celebrate a great American. For example, both the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Mint have released special commemorative collections in honor of President Lincoln: stamps and pennies respectively. On May 1st. the annual Law Day celebrations will focus on Lincoln's Legacy (www.lawday.org). Many state and local bar associations, as well as historical societies, have also planned activities celebrating President Lincoln throughout the spring.
This year marks the birth of Lincoln; but it is even more important to celebrate his life and legacy. President Lincoln perhaps framed his own legacy best in the 1863 Gettysburg Address when he stated"... 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."