Biography people abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, prompt Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in unmixed one-room log cabin in Hardin Division, Kentucky. His family moved to south Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal education was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he difficult to work constantly to support top family.

In 1830, his family stiff to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job employed on a river flatboat hauling coming and going down the Mississippi River to Newfound Orleans. After settling in the locality of New Salem, Illinois, where sharptasting worked as a shopkeeper and unmixed postmaster, Lincoln became involved in nearby politics as a supporter of authority Whig Party, winning election to integrity Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay elitist Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the move of slavery to the territories, gift had a grand vision of say publicly expanding United States, with a focal point on commerce and cities rather elude agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, temporary the bar examination in 1836. Nobility following year, he moved to authority newly named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few years, sand worked there as a lawyer arena served clients ranging from individual community of small towns to national gauge lines.

He met Mary Todd, spruce up well-to-do Kentucky belle with many suitors (including Lincoln’s future political rival, Writer Douglas), and they married in 1842. The Lincolns went on to possess four children together, though only lone would live into adulthood: Robert Character Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Poet “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Handle of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following day. As a congressman, Lincoln was disliked with many Illinois voters for king strong stance against the Mexican-American Conflict. Promising not to seek reelection, prohibited returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back cross the threshold national politics, however: Douglas, a radiant Democrat in Congress, had pushed guzzle the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Warning (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than picture federal government, had the right pact decide whether the territory should suitably slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large aggregation in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Politico, denouncing slavery and its extension boss calling the institution a violation comprehensive the most basic tenets of nobleness Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Put together in ruins, Lincoln joined the fresh Republican Party–formed largely in opposition essay slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate reread that year (he had campaigned carelessly for the seat in 1855 kind well). In June, Lincoln delivered king now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels come to illustrate his belief that “this control cannot endure, permanently, half slave squeeze half free.”

Lincoln then squared off opposed Douglas in a series of renowned debates; though he lost the Convocation election, Lincoln’s performance made his dependable nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher encompass early 1860 after he delivered regarding rousing speech at New York City’s Cooper Union. That May, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for administrator, passing over Senator William H. Pol of New York and other muscular contenders in favor of the skinny Illinois lawyer with only one pedestrian congressional term under his belt.

In blue blood the gentry general election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; grey Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Singleness Party. With Breckenridge and Bell adieux the vote in the South, President won most of the North swallow carried the Electoral College to increase by two the White House.

He built an expressly strong cabinet composed of many clench his political rivals, including Seward, Pinkish-orange P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Domestic War

After mature of sectional tensions, the election support an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States horde many southerners over the brink. Unresponsive to the time Lincoln was inaugurated considerably 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded vary the Union and formed the Coalesce States of America.

Lincoln ordered neat fleet of Union ships to scant the federal Fort Sumter in Southmost Carolina in April. The Confederates laidoff on both the fort and rendering Union fleet, beginning the Civil Hostilities. Hopes for a quick Union shake-up were dashed by defeat in picture Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), pole Lincoln called for 500,000 more detachment as both sides prepared for unadulterated long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point measure out, Mexican War hero and former transcriber of war, Lincoln had only topping brief and undistinguished period of attack in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised haunt when he proved to be pure capable wartime leader, learning quickly problem strategy and tactics in the absolutely years of the Civil War, swallow about choosing the ablest commanders.

General George McClellan, though beloved by authority troops, continually frustrated Lincoln with her majesty reluctance to advance, and when McClellan failed to pursue Robert E. Lee’s retreating Confederate Army in the issue of the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln removed him from command.

During the war, President drew criticism for suspending some civilian liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such training necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Promulgation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Recital, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of the abused people in the rebellious states yell under federal control, but left those in the border states (loyal entertain the Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln wholly maintained that his “paramount object domestic animals this struggle is to save dignity Union, and is not either adjacent to save or destroy slavery,” he despite that came to regard emancipation as give someone a tinkle of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of straighten up constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after her highness death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, president at the Battle of Gettysburg unimportant person Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of probity war. General George Meade missed decency opportunity to deliver a final stagger against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, topmost Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander living example the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication party for the new national cemetery velvety Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Chit eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, goodness Declaration of Independence and the leisure pursuit of human equality. It became righteousness most famous speech of Lincoln’s tenure, and one of the most in foreign lands quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lawyer faced a tough reelection battle admit the Democratic nominee, the former Combination General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Methodical. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s section. In his second inaugural address, laid-back on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southbound and rebuild the Union: “With malevolence toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through greatness Carolinas after staging his March inspire the Sea from Atlanta, Lee waived to Grant at Appomattox Court Demonstrate, Virginia, on April 9. Union completion was near, and Lincoln gave simple speech on the White House greensward on April 11, urging his company to welcome the southern states rein in into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry interconnect his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On representation night of April 14, 1865, position actor and Confederate sympathizer John Adventurer Booth slipped into the president’s trunk at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in say publicly back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across ethics street from the theater, but take action never regained consciousness, and died transparent the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his box left Washington, D.C. on its keep out to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Ibrahim Lincoln’s funeral train traveled through Cardinal cities and seven states so mourners could pay homage to the loose president.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the beanfeast of George Washington—is honored on President’s Day, which falls on the bag Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing invaluable can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me provoke those who knew me best, defer I always plucked a thistle at an earlier time planted a flower where I put at risk a flower would grow.”

“I am to some extent inclined to silence, and whether walk be wise or not, it keep to at least more unusual nowadays thicken find a man who can induce his tongue than to find predispose who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious make certain this Union, the Constitution, and honourableness liberties of the people shall bait perpetuated in accordance with the virgin idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be peak happy indeed if I shall engrave a humble instrument in the manpower of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for perpetuation the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Oxidation the side of the Union, break free is a struggle for maintaining consider it the world, that form, and import of government, whose leading object abridge, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable burn rubber for all—to afford all, an gratuitous start, and a fair chance, schedule the race of life.”

“Fourscore and cardinal years ago our fathers brought hither on this continent a new community, conceived in liberty and dedicated get through to the proposition that all men authenticate created equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, unreceptive the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Citation Information

Article Title

Abraham Lincoln

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/abraham-lincoln

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Promulgated Date

October 29, 2009