6. Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln is chiefly remembered for freeing the slaves, though his Emancipation Proclamation freed only those in the states involved in the insurrection. It was the Thirteenth Amendment, which he lobbied for, which ended slavery in the United States. A less well-known achievement of his administration continues to influence American life. The Morrill Acts of 1862, which Lincoln strongly supported and signed into law, set aside federal land in the states for the creation of colleges and universities, the list of which includes Cornell, Michigan State, Penn State, Auburn, and more than one hundred other universities in the United States.
