1. The passage is from "The Everyday Life of Abraham Lincoln" by Francis Fisher Browne.
2. Lincoln wrote the sketch at the urgent request of Hon. Jesse W. Fell of Bloomington, Illinois, to be used during the campaign of 1860.
3. Lincoln stated that he wished the sketch to be modest and not go beyond the material because there was not much to tell about his life.
4. Lincoln’s father died when Lincoln was six years old, and he grew up with little education in a wild region near Spencer County, Indiana.
5. Lincoln had no formal schooling; he learned to read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three on his own, mostly under pressure of necessity.
6. He worked on a farm until he was twenty-two, then moved to New Salem, Illinois, where he worked as a clerk in a store.
7. During the Black Hawk War, Lincoln was elected Captain of Volunteers—a success that gave him more pleasure than any other achievement.
8. He ran for the Legislature for the first time in 1832 and was beaten, but won the next three biennial elections, becoming a member of the Legislature.
9. Lincoln was not a candidate afterward during that legislative period, implying he chose not to run again after serving multiple terms.
10. The tone of the passage is humble and factual, reflecting Lincoln’s modesty and straightforward account of his early life and political beginnings.
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of seventh grade reading worksheet.
