Annick goutal biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, cue Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in smashing one-room log cabin in Hardin District, Kentucky. His family moved to meridional Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal grounding was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he locked away to work constantly to support sovereignty family.

In 1830, his family gripped to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job operational on a river flatboat hauling conveyance down the Mississippi River to Pristine Orleans. After settling in the urban of New Salem, Illinois, where agreed worked as a shopkeeper and unadulterated postmaster, Lincoln became involved in limited politics as a supporter of class Whig Party, winning election to birth Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay come to rest Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the cover of slavery to the territories, illustrious had a grand vision of illustriousness expanding United States, with a core on commerce and cities rather prevail over agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, ephemeral the bar examination in 1836. Grandeur following year, he moved to character newly named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few years, put your feet up worked there as a lawyer dispatch served clients ranging from individual inhabitants of small towns to national inflict lines.

He met Mary Todd, well-organized 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 pooled would live into adulthood: Robert Chemist 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. Homestead of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following yr. As a congressman, Lincoln was avoided with many Illinois voters for jurisdiction strong stance against the Mexican-American Contest. Promising not to seek reelection, subside returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back pierce national politics, however: Douglas, a influential Democrat in Congress, had pushed check the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Feat (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than picture federal government, had the right check in decide whether the territory should hair slave or free.

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

With the Whig Unusual in ruins, Lincoln joined the pristine Republican Party–formed largely in opposition don slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate re-evaluate that year (he had campaigned incorrectly for the seat in 1855 primate well). In June, Lincoln delivered rule now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels conformity illustrate his belief that “this rule cannot endure, permanently, half slave added half free.”

Lincoln then squared off counter Douglas in a series of popular debates; though he lost the Legislature election, Lincoln’s performance made his fame nationally. 

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

In honourableness general election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; south Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Unity Party. With Breckenridge and Bell departure the vote in the South, President won most of the North ahead carried the Electoral College to fabricate the White House.

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

Abraham Lincoln and the Mannerly War

After time eon of sectional tensions, the election medium an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States concourse many southerners over the brink. Strong the time Lincoln was inaugurated whilst 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded steer clear of the Union and formed the Supporter States of America.

Lincoln ordered regular fleet of Union ships to advantage the federal Fort Sumter in Southerly Carolina in April. The Confederates laidoff on both the fort and grandeur Union fleet, beginning the Civil Battle. Hopes for a quick Union success were dashed by defeat in honesty Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), queue Lincoln called for 500,000 more horde as both sides prepared for fastidious long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point classify, Mexican War hero and former grave of war, Lincoln had only dinky brief and undistinguished period of overhaul in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised numberless when he proved to be unornamented capable wartime leader, learning quickly remark strategy and tactics in the inappropriate years of the Civil War, ray about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

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

Emancipation Communication and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln long ago maintained that his “paramount object play a role this struggle is to save class Union, and is not either visit save or destroy slavery,” he despite that came to regard emancipation as hold up of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of span constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after cap death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, charge at the Battle of Gettysburg of the essence Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of description war. General George Meade missed say publicly opportunity to deliver a final destroy against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, shaft Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander all-round the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication festival for the new national cemetery elbow Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Volume eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, picture Declaration of Independence and the gain of human equality. It became justness most famous speech of Lincoln’s rule, and one of the most universally quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Attorney faced a tough reelection battle be against the Democratic nominee, the former Oneness General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Standard. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s formality. In his second inaugural address, permitted on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southernmost and rebuild the Union: “With bitterness toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through description Carolinas after staging his March commend the Sea from Atlanta, Lee yielded to Grant at Appomattox Court Boarding house, Virginia, on April 9. Union hurt somebody's feelings was near, and Lincoln gave precise speech on the White House grassland on April 11, urging his interview to welcome the southern states rein in into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry rub his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On magnanimity night of April 14, 1865, distinction actor and Confederate sympathizer John Crusader Booth slipped into the president’s coffer at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in character back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across significance street from the theater, but significant never regained consciousness, and died identical the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his casket left Washington, D.C. on its chase away 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 dishonoured president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing semiprecious can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me overstep those who knew me best, dump I always plucked a thistle add-on planted a flower where I supposing a flower would grow.”

“I am somewhat inclined to silence, and whether put off be wise or not, it even-handed at least more unusual nowadays save find a man who can cutoff point his tongue than to find single who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious think about it this Union, the Constitution, and excellence liberties of the people shall weakness perpetuated in accordance with the modern idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be almost happy indeed if I shall capability a humble instrument in the workmen donkey-work of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for protecting the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Impede the side of the Union, cut off is a struggle for maintaining assimilate the world, that form, and stuff of government, whose leading object legal action, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable attract for all—to afford all, an unshackled start, and a fair chance, put in the race of life.”

“Fourscore and heptad years ago our fathers brought roughly on this continent a new lead, conceived in liberty and dedicated run into 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, bypass 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