15. Abraham Lincoln
Born into dire poverty in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln would rise to become one of the most important figures in American, and world, history. He was elected to the Senate before becoming President of the United States, just before the Civil War broke out. In his Emancipation Proclamation, he declared that slavery was no longer a valid institution and all slaves were free. He was assassinated shortly before the war ended, but his legacy is impossible to understate.
