Abraham Lincoln, born in 1809 and dying in 1865, spent his years from age seven to twenty one in what is now Spencer County in southern Indiana, where from 1816 to 1830 he roamed the woods, cut down trees, and worked the fields of the family farm near Little Pigeon Creek. There his love of learning, his skillful use of language and storytelling, his sense of fairness, his opposition to slavery, and his ability to lead took root. As a lawyer, politician, and ultimately president of the United States during the Civil War, these values, strengths, and abilities served him well.
