Adorable Li'l Lincolns Occupy The Oculus & Recite Gettysburg Address

Valentine's Day may be tough for the lovelorn, but this year, hearts will really break on President's Day, as we remember the days of yore when we had non-fascist commanders in chief who demonstrated a long-lost ability to think rationally and even articulate those insightful thoughts. You know, like last month.

Fortunately, the students at Packer Collegiate Institute are here to remind us. On Monday, a class of fourth graders dressed as Abraham Lincoln—stovetop hats and false beards and black suits—took a trip to the Oculus at the World Trade Center, where they recited the Gettysburg Address, posed for photographs, and spoke to passersby about the life of the 16th president. (For the sake of realism, this was all done in the first person.)

According to Rebecca Silverstein, the associate fourth grade teacher at Packer, the little piece of performance art was the culmination of a three-week history unit on Lincoln's life and political career. The head teacher of the class, Tim Jensen, has been running the "Tiny Lincoln" unit for the past 20 years.

"My class has definitely been interested in comparing Abraham Lincoln to Donald Trump—and of course, few American presidents can measure up to Lincoln's level," Jensen wrote in an email. "I also think that our students have wanted to be more activist than have classes of past years—writing letters to our political representatives, joining parents in large public demonstrations, etc. I've told them to remember these years and what is happening, because they and their experience are now parts of history, and they will later be asked, 'What was it like after the election of 2016?'"