Abraham Lincoln is generally regarded as one of the greatest presidents of the U.S. His most famous speech was delivered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the Civil War. This speech began with

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."

Whatever one's opinion of Lincoln, no one can deny the enormous and lasting effect he had on the U.S.