One good quality that Abraham (Honest Abe) Lincoln practiced was persistence at jobs. He couldn't go to school, but he never gave up on learning. Two of the jobs he didn't give up on were running for the legislature and opening up a store, but he failed both times. He didn't give up on the legislature, and he later won!

When Lincoln was president, he never gave up on ending slavery. When Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the slaves were free! This is how President Abraham Lincoln practiced persistence.

- ALEXANDER LUZULA, winner in the first-second grade category, is a second grade student at Claude Pepper Elementary School

here have all the ``Honest Abes'' gone? If it

were up to me, our great country would be named after this cherished U.S. relic. He is my hero because this man brought honesty and fairness into our country's soul. Listen as I tell you about a man from the past who made a difference in our world.

Abraham Lincoln was full of honesty and fairness. When he was 17, he knew he wanted to be a lawyer and walked many miles to the county courthouse in order to watch the lawyers argue their case. He learned how to become the best attorney he could possibly be. He was honest with himself about his drive, his passion and his overwhelming ambition to become a man of justice.

In another example, he was working as a shopkeeper and shortchanged one of his customers by six cents. Instead of forgetting it, he followed her all the way home so he could give her back the money. See how important being honest was to Abe?

On April 14, 1865, Lincoln and Mrs. Lincoln showed up at the Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. As he was sitting, enjoying the show, he was murdered by John Wilkes Booth, an actor with shocking views concerning politics and slavery.

We lost a strong leader that day. Amen to the man who was known as one of the most honest leaders ever, who will always stand tall in our hearts and minds.

- GEREMY JEAN-CHARLES, winner in the third-fifth grade category, is in the fifth grade at Toussaint L'ouverture Elementary.

ome consider Abraham Lincoln the greatest president in United States history. Everything he stood for, his ideals and beliefs, demonstrate the qualities of an outstanding citizen. His contributions to society then are still seen.

Lincoln, who died in 1865, still influences our lives today. He was an outstanding citizen who believed in rights for all people, participated in government and dedicated his time to his community. The actions that Abraham Lincoln took have helped uphold the Constitution's words, ``to form a more perfect union.''

At the time Abraham Lincoln took office, seven states already had left the union to form the Confederate States of America. This is because Abraham disliked slavery. However, slavery was a major economic part of life in those states. Lincoln grew up believing that every man deserved equal rights. Slavery was the exact opposite of this morality.

At the same time, Abraham Lincoln was law-abiding. Lincoln realized that in order to outlaw slavery, he had to do it in the correct manner. He knew his powers were limited by the Constitution and that this prohibited him from outlawing slavery in the states where it already existed. In order to free the slaves he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Then he pushed for the passage of the 13th Amendment, working tirelessly for its passage. In a speech he spoke of ``my personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.'' His countless hours of working on abolishing slavery show that he was a good citizen who believed in equal rights.

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