Abraham Lincoln was badass!
I ran across an interesting page on Lincoln and, thinking of my previous amusement with Cracked.com's list of most badass presidents, found this of interest:
http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/special_feature_250/265b_5-things-you-didnt-know-abraham-lincoln.html
Number 1 is the only one worth a damn, in my opinion, but it states:
"In 1842, Lincoln wrote a series of letters criticizing a Democrat named James Shields...Shields responded in the most reasonable manner available in 1842: He challenged Lincoln to a duel. Lincoln accepted, but with an intentionally frightening stipulation: that the duel be fought on Bloody Island, a small island in the Mississippi River in Illinois. Shields arrived to find he'd be fighting with broadswords, at the bottom of a pit. His titanically huge opponent was chopping stuff apart and generally looking fearsome. Faced with Abraham Lincoln's death pit, Shields suddenly found himself open to compromise and accepted a pseudo-apology."
Why do I suddenly realize that Abraham Lincoln kinda resembles Leonard Nemoy? "If we do not fight to the death, they will kill us both."
http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/special_feature_250/265b_5-things-you-didnt-know-abraham-lincoln.html
Number 1 is the only one worth a damn, in my opinion, but it states:
"In 1842, Lincoln wrote a series of letters criticizing a Democrat named James Shields...Shields responded in the most reasonable manner available in 1842: He challenged Lincoln to a duel. Lincoln accepted, but with an intentionally frightening stipulation: that the duel be fought on Bloody Island, a small island in the Mississippi River in Illinois. Shields arrived to find he'd be fighting with broadswords, at the bottom of a pit. His titanically huge opponent was chopping stuff apart and generally looking fearsome. Faced with Abraham Lincoln's death pit, Shields suddenly found himself open to compromise and accepted a pseudo-apology."
Why do I suddenly realize that Abraham Lincoln kinda resembles Leonard Nemoy? "If we do not fight to the death, they will kill us both."