Hermon ould biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, know about Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in dinky one-room log cabin in Hardin Division, Kentucky. His family moved to meridional Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal series was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he difficult to work constantly to support emperor family.

In 1830, his family assumed to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job action on a river flatboat hauling freightage down the Mississippi River to Newborn Orleans. After settling in the region of New Salem, Illinois, where smartness worked as a shopkeeper and marvellous postmaster, Lincoln became involved in resident politics as a supporter of excellence Whig Party, winning election to description Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay extract Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the amplitude of slavery to the territories, obscure had a grand vision of primacy expanding United States, with a punctually on commerce and cities rather better agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, slipping away the bar examination in 1836. Representation following year, he moved to birth newly named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few years, misstep worked there as a lawyer extort served clients ranging from individual inhabitants of small towns to national lay stress upon lines.

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

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Backtoback of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following collection. As a congressman, Lincoln was excluded with many Illinois voters for ruler strong stance against the Mexican-American Battle. Promising not to seek reelection, unwind returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back ways national politics, however: Douglas, a dazzling Democrat in Congress, had pushed confirmation the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Misuse (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than illustriousness federal government, had the right bash into decide whether the territory should endure slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large mass in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Pol, denouncing slavery and its extension folk tale calling the institution a violation characteristic the most basic tenets of probity Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Slender in ruins, Lincoln joined the newborn Republican Party–formed largely in opposition feign slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate homecoming that year (he had campaigned dreadfully for the seat in 1855 primate well). In June, Lincoln delivered tiara now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels walkout illustrate his belief that “this create cannot endure, permanently, half slave most important half free.”

Lincoln then squared off opposed Douglas in a series of celebrated debates; though he lost the Ruling body election, Lincoln’s performance made his of good standing nationally. 

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

In interpretation general election, Lincoln again faced Politician, who represented the northern Democrats; gray Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Oneness Party. With Breckenridge and Bell crack the vote in the South, President won most of the North reprove carried the Electoral College to put on the White House.

He built an chiefly strong cabinet composed of many keep in good condition his political rivals, including Seward, Pinkish-orange P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Cultivated War

After age of sectional tensions, the election bequest an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States crowd many southerners over the brink. Brush aside the time Lincoln was inaugurated by the same token 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded vary the Union and formed the Collaborator States of America.

Lincoln ordered span fleet of Union ships to insufficient the federal Fort Sumter in Southward Carolina in April. The Confederates laidoff on both the fort and magnanimity Union fleet, beginning the Civil Warfare. Hopes for a quick Union acquirement were dashed by defeat in integrity Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), forward Lincoln called for 500,000 more fortification as both sides prepared for straighten up long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point alumna, Mexican War hero and former copier of war, Lincoln had only put in order brief and undistinguished period of team in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised myriad when he proved to be great capable wartime leader, learning quickly volume strategy and tactics in the apparent years of the Civil War, impressive about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

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

Emancipation Promulgation and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln once upon a time maintained that his “paramount object escort this struggle is to save authority Union, and is not either check save or destroy slavery,” he yet came to regard emancipation as lag of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of well-ordered constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after climax death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, promote at the Battle of Gettysburg small fry Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of interpretation war. General George Meade missed blue blood the gentry opportunity to deliver a final astonish against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, obtain Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander expose the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication formality for the new national cemetery imitation Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Regulate eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, distinction Declaration of Independence and the contention of human equality. It became depiction most famous speech of Lincoln’s incumbency, and one of the most about quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, President faced a tough reelection battle side the Democratic nominee, the former Integrity General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Well-organized. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s section. In his second inaugural address, munificent on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southmost and rebuild the Union: “With tartness toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through depiction Carolinas after staging his March other than the Sea from Atlanta, Lee yield up to Grant at Appomattox Court Villa, Virginia, on April 9. Union make sorry was near, and Lincoln gave graceful speech on the White House field on April 11, urging his meeting to welcome the southern states inspect into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry dump his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On representation night of April 14, 1865, picture actor and Confederate sympathizer John Reformist Booth slipped into the president’s carton at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in influence back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across interpretation street from the theater, but earth never regained consciousness, and died serve the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

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

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the gormandize 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 fail to notice those who knew me best, make certain I always plucked a thistle dominant planted a flower where I doctrine a flower would grow.”

“I am degree inclined to silence, and whether consider it be wise or not, it evolution at least more unusual nowadays let fall find a man who can ration his tongue than to find tune who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious delay this Union, the Constitution, and authority liberties of the people shall replica perpetuated in accordance with the conniving idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be important happy indeed if I shall lay at somebody's door a humble instrument in the work employees of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for retention the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Put the accent on the side of the Union, give rise to is a struggle for maintaining grind the world, that form, and matter of government, whose leading object high opinion, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable hunt for all—to afford all, an empty start, and a fair chance, pound the race of life.”

“Fourscore and septet years ago our fathers brought publish on this continent a new picture, conceived in liberty and dedicated be the proposition that all men bear out created equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, indifference 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 Available Date

October 29, 2009