Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, with humility and gentle grit, guided his country through the most heart-wrenching experience in its national history - the Civil War. It is no wonder that he is considered by many historians to have been the greatest American president, as the man's character is told in his own words: "All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind."