Happy 200th Birthday, Abraham Lincoln!

February 12, 2009, will mark the bicentennial (200th) birthday of Abraham Lincoln. There are a lot of interesting facts about President Lincoln:

• Did you know that President Lincoln started our national Thanksgiving holiday? He issued a proclamation saying that the last Thursday of each year would be a national Thanksgiving Day holiday?
• Did you know that Abraham Lincoln didn't like the name Abe and that even his wife called him by the name Lincoln?

Use this cyber hunt to learn a few more facts about out 16th president.  Click on the  online links to find answers to these questions.  Write your answers on the paper answer sheets your teacher will give you.

1. Before going into politics as a congressman from the state of Illinois, Lincoln worked as a lawyer. What was Lincoln's favorite sport? Go to this site to learn the answer: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_Abraham_Lincoln's_favorite_sport

2. Abraham Lincoln loved animals.  He had pet rabbits, cats, dogs, and even goats. When he was a boy, Mr. Lincoln saw classmates torturing an animal.  What kind of animal? How did Lincoln respond? What animal did Lincoln shoot as a boy that made him never hunt again? Go to this site to learn the answers: http://www.btsb.com/utilities/BookDetails.php?TitleNo=482430&AddTitle=1Booklist

3. Young Lincoln really liked the weekly spelling bees at school because the winner got to take a book home for the weekend. What word did the class have difficulty spelling? What did his teacher threaten to do if no one in the class could spell the word?  What hint did Lincoln give to his classmate to help her spell the word so the class could go home?  Go to this site to learn the answers: http://www.rickwalton.com/lincoln/linc294.htm

4. Lincoln once helped replace two young birds back into their nest which the wind had knocked out. He got the nickname Honest Abe while working in a store. What did the woman purchase that Abe over charged?  What did he do?  Go to this site to learn the answers: http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/presidents-day/abraham-lincoln/short-stories/why-lincoln-was-called-honest-abe.html

5. Grace Bedell was eleven years old when she wrote a letter to Abe Lincoln, a candidate for the president of the United States in 1860. What did she suggest he do? What was her reason for this suggestion? What did she say would happen if he took her suggestion? Go to this site to learn the answers: http://cjonline.com/stories/101208/con_343076738.shtml

6. Lincoln promised to end slavery if he was elected president in 1860. What was the document which Lincoln signed in 1863? What did this document say? Go to this site to learn the answers: http://www.presidentialmuseums.com/Presidents/16.htm

7. Standing at 6 ft 4 inches, Lincoln was our tallest president. He was also the first president to be photographed at his inauguration ceremony and was the first president to be assassinated. Where was Lincoln on the night he was killed by John Wilkes Booth? What reason did Booth give for his actions?  Go to this site to learn the answers: http://home.att.net/%7Erjnorton/Lincoln75.html

8. Martin Luther King gave his famous "I had a Dream Speech" at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Our new President Barack Obama looks at Lincoln as a role model and made many visits to the Lincoln Memorial.  What statue (sculpture) is found in the Lincoln Memorial?  Go to this site to learn the answers:  http://www.aviewoncities.com/washington/lincolnmemorial.htm