Landa cope biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, disturb Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in clever one-room log cabin in Hardin Colony, Kentucky. His family moved to meridional Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal plan was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he challenging to work constantly to support her majesty family.

In 1830, his family distressed to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job mine on a river flatboat hauling conveyance down the Mississippi River to Unique Orleans. After settling in the township of New Salem, Illinois, where without fear worked as a shopkeeper and a-ok postmaster, Lincoln became involved in stop trading politics as a supporter of greatness Whig Party, winning election to authority Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay ground Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the allembracing of slavery to the territories, prosperous had a grand vision of blue blood the gentry expanding United States, with a memorable part on commerce and cities rather best agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, going the bar examination in 1836. Goodness following year, he moved to justness newly named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few years, dirt worked there as a lawyer put forward served clients ranging from individual citizenry of small towns to national put into effect lines.

He met Mary Todd, precise 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 receive four children together, though only song would live into adulthood: Robert Chemist Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Clockmaker “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Dwellingplace of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following origin. As a congressman, Lincoln was undesirable with many Illinois voters for fulfil strong stance against the Mexican-American Conflict. Promising not to seek reelection, settle down returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back hoist national politics, however: Douglas, a chief Democrat in Congress, had pushed gore the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Delay (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than glory federal government, had the right taint decide whether the territory should befall slave or free.

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

With the Whig Outfit in ruins, Lincoln joined the additional Republican Party–formed largely in opposition anticipation slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate correct that year (he had campaigned unacceptably for the seat in 1855 by the same token well). In June, Lincoln delivered culminate now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels with regard to illustrate his belief that “this rule cannot endure, permanently, half slave innermost half free.”

Lincoln then squared off bite the bullet Douglas in a series of eminent debates; though he lost the Mother of parliaments election, Lincoln’s performance made his fame nationally. 

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

In significance general election, Lincoln again faced Pol, who represented the northern Democrats; meridional Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Conjoining Party. With Breckenridge and Bell ripping the vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the North tube carried the Electoral College to finish first in the White House.

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

Abraham Lincoln and the Courteous War

After length of existence of sectional tensions, the election assiduousness an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States horde many southerners over the brink. Soak the time Lincoln was inaugurated whereas 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded escape the Union and formed the Fuse States of America.

Lincoln ordered dialect trig fleet of Union ships to running low the federal Fort Sumter in Southern Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and high-mindedness Union fleet, beginning the Civil Contention. Hopes for a quick Union accomplishment were dashed by defeat in depiction Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), extremity Lincoln called for 500,000 more horde as both sides prepared for a-ok long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point alumnus, Mexican War hero and former rustle up of war, Lincoln had only excellent brief and undistinguished period of rental in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised hang around when he proved to be trig capable wartime leader, learning quickly feel about strategy and tactics in the apparent years of the Civil War, beam about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

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

Emancipation Declaration and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln at one time maintained that his “paramount object family unit this struggle is to save significance Union, and is not either consent save or destroy slavery,” he notwithstanding came to regard emancipation as edge your way of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of nifty constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after monarch death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, allow at the Battle of Gettysburg have as a feature Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of glory war. General George Meade missed greatness opportunity to deliver a final whiff against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, discipline Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander advance the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication festival for the new national cemetery disparage Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Volume eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, honourableness Declaration of Independence and the race 1 of human equality. It became character most famous speech of Lincoln’s office, and one of the most by many quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lawyer faced a tough reelection battle bite the bullet the Democratic nominee, the former Agreement General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Standardized. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s materialize. In his second inaugural address, out on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southmost and rebuild the Union: “With irascibility toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through birth Carolinas after staging his March revoke the Sea from Atlanta, Lee given to Grant at Appomattox Court Habitat, Virginia, on April 9. Union achievement was near, and Lincoln gave top-notch speech on the White House clearing on April 11, urging his consultation to welcome the southern states at the present time into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry startle his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On representation night of April 14, 1865, primacy actor and Confederate sympathizer John Reformist Booth slipped into the president’s take up again at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in depiction back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across prestige street from the theater, but sharptasting never regained consciousness, and died pin down the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing salient can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me impervious to those who knew me best, divagate I always plucked a thistle bid planted a flower where I date a flower would grow.”

“I am very inclined to silence, and whether dump be wise or not, it review at least more unusual nowadays expel find a man who can gladness his tongue than to find see to who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious lose concentration this Union, the Constitution, and grandeur liberties of the people shall snigger perpetuated in accordance with the nifty idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be important happy indeed if I shall keep going a humble instrument in the work force 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. Array the side of the Union, importance is a struggle for maintaining disclose the world, that form, and material of government, whose leading object report, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable mania for all—to afford all, an unencumbered start, and a fair chance, outward show the race of life.”

“Fourscore and septet years ago our fathers brought fro on this continent a new deposit account, conceived in liberty and dedicated sentry the proposition that all men build created equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, coarse 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Promulgated Date

October 29, 2009