Legacy of Lincoln: 35 Enlightening Facts About Abraham Lincoln and His Impact

Abraham Lincoln wrote poems throughout his life, including this one at the age of seventeen: Abraham Lincoln is my nam[e], And with my pen I wrote the same, I wrote in both hast and speed and left it here for fools to read.

2. A few days before delivering the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln saw John Wilkes Booth perform as a villain in a play at Ford's Theatre. Someone told Lincoln, "He almost seems to be reciting these lines to you." To which Lincoln replied, "He does talk very sharp at me, doesn't he?"

3. Abraham Lincoln had a nightmare in which mourners grieved a corpse in the White House. He asked "Who is dead in the White House?" and a soldier answered "The President. He was killed by an assassin." 10 days later, Lincoln was assassinated.

4. Abraham Lincoln successfully defended a criminal defendant by using an almanac to challenge a man's assertion that he saw the murderer "By the light of the moon."

5. A few weeks before Abraham Lincoln was elected president, 11-year-old Grace Bedell sent Lincoln a letter encouraging him to grow a beard, writing, "All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you..." By the time of his inauguration, Lincoln had a full beard.

In August 1864, a sniper tried to shoot Abraham Lincoln as he left the White House. They had missed by inches and shot through Lincoln’s hat, knocking it off his head. Lincoln had left without guards. He was just riding out to an evening retreat.

7. Early in his life, when Abraham Lincoln used to wrestle, a local gang leader named Jack Armstrong heard of him. He challenged ‘The Honest One’ to a match. It ended with Abe grabbing him by the throat, hoisting him up, giving a little shake, then throwing him to the dirt. It was the first chokeslam used in wrestling.

8. Someone tried and failed to save President Abraham Lincoln. His name was Major Henry Rathbone. After Booth fired the shot, Rathbone tried to tackle him to the ground, but Booth was able to get free by slicing Rathbone in the arm with a dagger. Rathbone was never free of the guilt till his death.

9. Abraham Lincoln replied to a critic questioning emancipation by writing: "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that."

10. A secret message was engraved inside Lincoln's pocket watch by a jeweler, and it was not discovered until 2009.

In 1840, Abraham Lincoln and four other legislators jumped out of a window in order to prevent a vote that would have eliminated the Illinois state bank.

12. Abraham Lincoln used to tell a long joke about a man carving a turkey at a fancy party who puts so much force into the effort that he rips a huge fart in front of everyone.

13. Abraham Lincoln gave great prominence to hats as they would protect him from bad weather, help store important documents, and make his height advantage more prominent.

14. Abraham Lincoln once pranked his stepmother (Sarah Bush Lincoln) by leaving muddy footprints on the ceiling.

15. Young Abraham Lincoln considered joining the Donner Party in California. The group is notorious for mass cannibalism after becoming trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for 5 months during the winter. He eventually declined due to a budding political career, a toddler, and a pregnant wife.

In 1863, President Lincoln signed the "Order of Retaliation". For every US soldier killed or enslaved in violation of the laws of war, a Confederate prisoner was to be killed or enslaved.

17. Abraham Lincoln's interest in law started at the bottom of a barrel. Lincoln was running a store when he bought a barrel full of rubbish from a traveler. Upon emptying the barrel Lincoln found a complete set of 'Blackstone's Commentaries' which he spent more time reading than manning the store.

18. Abraham Lincoln did not instantly die from being shot in the head. He stayed alive until 7:22 am the next morning.

19. In an 1855 letter, Abraham Lincoln feared the "Know-Nothings" would expand discrimination, "I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy."

20. Abraham Lincoln did not invite his father, Thomas Lincoln, to his wedding nor did he ever introduce him to his wife and kids due to his abusive nature.

Abraham Lincoln was a big fan of John Wilkes Booth and even invited him to The White House once.

22. Abraham Lincoln arrested pro-confederate members of Maryland's legislature as they were headed to a vote on whether Maryland would secede from the Union, in order to prevent Maryland from seceding.

23. Abraham Lincoln is the only president in U.S. history to also have been a licensed bartender.

24. Abraham Lincoln had dual citizenship. His second citizenship was granted to him by the San Marino government at the beginning of the American Civil War.

25. Abraham Lincoln donated $10 to Ireland during the Great Famine.