Abraham Lincoln Is Famous for Many Things. Name One: Civics Question 94

Name one thing. “He freed the slaves” is the shortest accepted answer.

Question 94 says Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things and asks you to name one. Accepted answers include that he freed the slaves through the Emancipation Proclamation, that he saved or preserved the Union, that he led the United States during the Civil War, that he was the 16th president of the United States, and that he delivered the Gettysburg Address. This is a starred question, so it can also appear on the shorter test for applicants who are 65 or older.

What He Is Famous For

Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed enslaved people in the Confederate states. It took effect on January 1, 1863.

He kept the country from splitting permanently. Eleven Southern states had left the Union, and the war ended with them back in it. That is what “saved the Union” and “preserved the Union” mean.

He was president during the Civil War, from 1861 until his death in 1865, and he led the United States through all four years of it. He was the 16th president, and that number is an accepted answer on its own.

He also delivered the Gettysburg Address in 1863, the short speech given at the battlefield cemetery, and naming it counts.

Why the Officer Asks This

Lincoln is the president attached to the end of slavery in the United States, and this is a starred question, so applicants taking the 65/20 version of the test see it as well.

His answers also join up with the rest of this section. Question 95 asks what the Emancipation Proclamation did. Question 96 asks which war ended slavery. Lincoln stands behind both answers.

How to Remember Lincoln

Every accepted answer describes the same four years. Lincoln became president in 1861, the war began that year, and both ended in 1865.

So you do not have to remember separate facts. Remember the war, then ask what he did in it: he led the country through it, he held the country together, he freed enslaved people during it, and he spoke at Gettysburg. Led, held, freed, spoke.

Any one of those, said as a sentence, is a full answer.

What to Say on Test Day

Say “he freed the slaves.” Three words, then stop.

If you prefer a longer answer, say “he led the United States during the Civil War.” Both are accepted.

Do not string the answers together. One accepted answer, said once, finishes the question.