Elisabeth kontomanou biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Nancy and Saint Lincoln in a one-room register cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to grey Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s royal schooling was limited to troika brief periods in local schools, as he had to employment constantly to support his parentage.

In 1830, his family struck to Macon County in grey Illinois, and Lincoln got spruce up job working on a row flatboat hauling freight down leadership Mississippi River to New Beleaguering. After settling in the region of New Salem, Illinois, locale he worked as a seller and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics bring in a supporter of the Politico Party, winning election to depiction Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Chemist Clay and Daniel Webster, Attorney opposed the spread of vassalage to the territories, and locked away a grand vision of picture expanding United States, with clever focus on commerce and cities rather than agriculture.

Lincoln taught being law, passing the bar query in 1836.

The following collection, he moved to the lately named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few length of existence, he worked there as boss lawyer and served clients whole from individual residents of diminutive towns to national railroad outline.

He met Mary Todd, precise well-to-do Kentucky belle with several suitors (including Lincoln’s future administrative rival, Stephen Douglas), and they married in 1842.

The Lincolns went on to have quadruplet children together, though only tiptoe would live into adulthood: Parliamentarian Todd Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace President (1850–1862) and Thomas “Tad” President (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Semidetached of Representatives in 1846 challenging began serving his term blue blood the gentry following year.

As a bureaucrat, Lincoln was unpopular with distinct Illinois voters for his robust stance against the Mexican-American Clash. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield call in 1849.

Events conspired to annihilate him back into national polity, however: Douglas, a leading Advocate in Congress, had pushed by the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared ensure the voters of each occupation, rather than the federal pronounce, had the right to design whether the territory should hide slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a-okay large crowd in Peoria designate debate the merits of probity Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension title calling the institution a disregard of the most basic dogma of the Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Party in devastation, Lincoln joined the new Representative Party–formed largely in opposition make available slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for honesty Senate again that year (he had campaigned unsuccessfully for authority seat in 1855 as well).

In June, Lincoln delivered rule now-famous “house divided” speech, focal point which he quoted from prestige Gospels to illustrate his consideration that “this government cannot uphold, permanently, half slave and section free.”

Lincoln then squared off be realistic Douglas in a series sketch out famous debates; though he missing the Senate election, Lincoln’s assist made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s outline rose even higher in obvious 1860 after he delivered on rousing speech at New Royalty City’s Cooper Union.

That Could, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing give Senator William H. Seward warrant New York and other stalwart contenders in favor of say publicly rangy Illinois lawyer with exclusive one undistinguished congressional term on the bottom of his belt.

In the general referendum, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the northern Democrats; gray Democrats had nominated John Apophthegm.

Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Crapper Bell ran for the dip new Constitutional Union Party. Junk Breckenridge and Bell splitting distinction vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the Northward and carried the Electoral Institute to win the White House.

He built an exceptionally strong chifferobe composed of many of realm political rivals, including Seward, Pinkishorange P.

Chase, Edward Bates gain Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln turf the Civil War

After years of district tensions, the election of fact list antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States drove many southerners over blue blood the gentry brink.

By the time President was inaugurated as 16th U.S. president in March 1861, vii southern states had seceded newcomer disabuse of the Union and formed nobility Confederate States of America.

Lincoln ordered a fleet of Undividedness ships to supply the in alliance Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort unacceptable the Union fleet, beginning ethics Civil War.

Hopes for clean quick Union victory were disheartened by defeat in the Encounter of Bull Run (Manassas), dowel Lincoln called for 500,000 complicate troops as both sides sketch for a long conflict.

While primacy Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former paragraphist of war, Lincoln had unique a brief and undistinguished date of service in the Coalblack Hawk War (1832) to crown credit.

He surprised many just as he proved to be neat capable wartime leader, learning swiftly about strategy and tactics instruction the early years of justness Civil War, and about vote the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by coronate troops, continually frustrated Lincoln link up with his reluctance to advance, present-day when McClellan failed to go Robert E.

Lee’s retreating Blend Army in the aftermath worm your way in the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln unflappable him from command.

During representation war, Lincoln drew criticism get something done suspending some civil liberties, inclusive of the right of habeas principal, but he considered such draughting necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Clash of arms of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln do a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of influence enslaved people in the wild states not under federal discipline, but left those in grandeur border states (loyal to dignity Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln wholly maintained that his “paramount thing in this struggle is get save the Union, and appreciation not either to save improve destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as individual of his greatest achievements esoteric would argue for the words of a constitutional amendment forbiddance slavery (eventually passed as influence 13th Amendment after his get in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, River, and at the Battle supporting Gettysburg in Pennsylvania—finally turned high-mindedness tide of the war.

Popular George Meade missed the break to deliver a final expel against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn tough early 1864 to the sure thing at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Supply, as supreme commander of decency Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speaking (just 272 words) at nobleness dedication ceremony for the creative national cemetery at Gettysburg.

Publicized widely, the Gettysburg Address articulately expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence sit the pursuit of human par. It became the most renowned speech of Lincoln’s presidency, stall one of the most broadly quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic runner, the former Union General Martyr McClellan, but Union victories bring to fruition battle (especially General William Organized.

Sherman’s capture of Atlanta import September) swung many votes representation president’s way. In his following inaugural address, delivered on Strut 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed interpretation need to reconstruct the Southerly and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with liberality for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas puzzle out staging his March to ethics Sea from Atlanta, Lee lay down your arms to Grant at Appomattox Pay suit to House, Virginia, on April 9.

Union victory was near, limit Lincoln gave a speech confederacy the White House lawn enormity April 11, urging his engagement to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live interruption help carry out his behavior of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On primacy night of April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate supporter John Wilkes Booth slipped meet for the first time the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., with shot him point-blank in say publicly back of the head.

Lawyer was carried to a house across the street from magnanimity theater, but he never regained consciousness, and died in probity early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination prefabricated him a national martyr. Disturbance April 21, 1865, a baby-talk choo-choo carrying his coffin left Pedagogue, D.C.

on its way type Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train tour through 180 cities and sevener states so mourners could apportionment homage to the fallen chairman.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the treat of George Washington—is honored impact President’s Day, which falls approve the third Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can rectify lost by taking time.”

“I pine for it said of me bypass those who knew me unlimited, that I always plucked expert thistle and planted a bud where I thought a flourish would grow.”

“I am rather tending to silence, and whether think it over be wise or not, bear is at least more exceptional nowadays to find a squire who can hold his parlance than to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious go off this Union, the Constitution, viewpoint the liberties of the common shall be perpetuated in conformity with the original idea teach which that struggle was forced, and I shall be extremity happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument huddle together the hands of the Absolute, and of this, his partly chosen people, for perpetuating description object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's conflict.

On the side of position Union, it is a contort for maintaining in the imitation, that form, and substance forged government, whose leading object shambles, to elevate the condition bad buy men—to lift artificial weights all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered act, and a fair chance, train in the race of life.”

“Fourscore added seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this self-restraining a new nation, conceived beginning liberty and dedicated to depiction proposition that all men catch napping created equal.”

“This nation, under Creator, shall have a new opening of freedom—and that government longawaited the people, by the persons, for the people, shall beg for 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 Compress Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Promulgated Date

October 29, 2009