Obama honors Lincoln, orders flags at half-staff
U.S. flags across the country are flying at half-staff Wednesday to honor the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's death, pursuant to an order by President Obama.
"President Abraham Lincoln believed that we are, at heart, one Nation and one people," Obama said in a proclamation. "At a time when America was torn apart and our very future was in doubt, he knew our country was more than a collection of States, and that we shared a bond that would not break."
Lincoln died on April 15, 1865, the morning after being shot while watching a play at Ford's Theater.
Obama, the nation's first African-American president, praised Lincoln for an array of accomplishments, and understanding "the immense sacrifices required to give meaning to our founding principles."
From leading the nation through the Civil War to signing the Emancipation Proclamation, from creating land grant colleges to promoting the trans-continental railroad, Lincoln "knew a united America could serve the hopes of all its people if they seized the opportunity of their time," Obama wrote.
Echoing Lincoln's words at Gettysburg, Obama said: "Today, we reflect on the extraordinary progress he made possible, and with one voice, we rededicate ourselves to the work of ensuring a government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."