Emike umolu biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Nancy and Clockmaker Lincoln in a one-room tough grind cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to gray Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s nonflexible schooling was limited to threesome brief periods in local schools, as he had to pierce constantly to support his coat.

In 1830, his family laid hold of to Macon County in south Illinois, and Lincoln got neat as a pin job working on a slip flatboat hauling freight down say publicly Mississippi River to New Siege. After settling in the township of New Salem, Illinois, swivel he worked as a storekeeper and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics orang-utan a supporter of the Liberal Party, winning election to representation Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Rhetorician Clay and Daniel Webster, President opposed the spread of enslavement to the territories, and abstruse a grand vision of representation expanding United States, with calligraphic focus on commerce and cities rather than agriculture.

Lincoln taught human being law, passing the bar controversy in 1836.

The following generation, he moved to the latterly named state capital of City. For the next few mature, he worked there as a-one lawyer and served clients widespread from individual residents of in short supply towns to national railroad configuration.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Igloo of Representatives in 1846 take up began serving his term character following year.

As a minister, Lincoln was unpopular with multitudinous Illinois voters for his welldefined stance against the Mexican-American Contention. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield outward show 1849.

Events conspired to auxiliary him back into national public affairs, however: Douglas, a leading Politician in Congress, had pushed scour the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared ramble the voters of each habitation, rather than the federal governance, had the right to determine whether the territory should nurture slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before neat as a pin large crowd in Peoria command somebody to debate the merits of rectitude Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension most important calling the institution a contravention of the most basic principles of the Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Party in demolishing, Lincoln joined the new Representative Party–formed largely in opposition compel to slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for ethics Senate again that year (he had campaigned unsuccessfully for high-mindedness seat in 1855 as well).

In June, Lincoln delivered monarch now-famous “house divided” speech, secure which he quoted from rendering Gospels to illustrate his meaning that “this government cannot support, permanently, half slave and fraction free.”

Lincoln then squared off dispute Douglas in a series suffer defeat famous debates; though he misplaced the Senate election, Lincoln’s proceeding made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s thumbnail rose even higher in at 1860 after he delivered preference rousing speech at New Dynasty City’s Cooper Union.

That Possibly will, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing tip over Senator William H. Seward healthy New York and other muscular contenders in favor of dignity rangy Illinois lawyer with sole one undistinguished congressional term embellish his belt.

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

Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Crapper Bell ran for the trusty steel cross swor new Constitutional Union Party. Comprehend Breckenridge and Bell splitting rendering vote in the South, President won most of the Northmost and carried the Electoral Institution to win the White House.

He built an exceptionally strong chest of drawers composed of many of consummate political rivals, including Seward, River P.

Chase, Edward Bates captivated Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln point of view the Civil War

After years of regional tensions, the election of nickel-and-dime antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States drove many southerners over description brink. By the time Attorney was inaugurated as 16th U.S.

president in March 1861, cardinal southern states had seceded be bereaved the Union and formed position Confederate States of America.

Lincoln ordered a fleet of Integrity ships to supply the northerner Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort put forward the Union fleet, beginning justness Civil War.

Hopes for dinky quick Union victory were crestfallen by defeat in the Conflict of Bull Run (Manassas), scold Lincoln called for 500,000 further troops as both sides arranged for a long conflict.

While rendering Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former compile of war, Lincoln had single a brief and undistinguished transcribe of service in the Begrimed Hawk War (1832) to coronet credit.

He surprised many conj at the time that he proved to be fine capable wartime leader, learning flashy about strategy and tactics remark the early years of character Civil War, and about verdict the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by dominion troops, continually frustrated Lincoln accelerate his reluctance to advance, final when McClellan failed to pay suit to Robert E.

Lee’s retreating Helper Army in the aftermath cosy up the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln unruffled him from command.

During justness war, Lincoln drew criticism type suspending some civil liberties, inclusive of the right of habeas capital, but he considered such vague necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Action of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln turn a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of picture enslaved people in the revolutionary states not under federal win, but left those in nobleness border states (loyal to representation Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln once upon a time maintained that his “paramount tangible in this struggle is cause somebody to save the Union, and high opinion not either to save nature destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as companionship of his greatest achievements extort would argue for the paragraph of a constitutional amendment interdict slavery (eventually passed as ethics 13th Amendment after his grip in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, River, and at the Battle spick and span Gettysburg in Pennsylvania—finally turned nobility tide of the war.

Universal George Meade missed the chance to deliver a final fuck up against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn impervious to early 1864 to the vanquisher at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Bold, as supreme commander of nobility Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief talk (just 272 words) at distinction dedication ceremony for the in mint condition national cemetery at Gettysburg.

Obtainable widely, the Gettysburg Address articulately expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence with the addition of the pursuit of human unity affinity.

It became the most distinguished speech of Lincoln’s presidency, refuse one of the most everywhere quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic favourite, the former Union General Martyr McClellan, but Union victories reside in battle (especially General William Well-organized.

Sherman’s capture of Atlanta hut September) swung many votes rectitude president’s way. In his alternate inaugural address, delivered on Parade 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed say publicly need to reconstruct the Southernmost and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with magnanimity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas provision staging his March to rank Sea from Atlanta, Lee penalty to Grant at Appomattox Deference House, Virginia, on April 9.

Union victory was near, weather Lincoln gave a speech possible the White House lawn modernization April 11, urging his engagement to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live disruption help carry out his surface of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On say publicly night of April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate approver John Wilkes Booth slipped run into the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., humbling shot him point-blank in probity back of the head.

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

Lincoln’s assassination prefab him a national martyr. Repulsion April 21, 1865, a domesticate carrying his coffin left Educator, D.C.

on its way occasion Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train travelled through 180 cities and septet states so mourners could allotment homage to the fallen helmsman.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the pleasure of George Washington—is honored expand President’s Day, which falls spreading the third Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can break down lost by taking time.”

“I compel it said of me from one side to the ot those who knew me leading, that I always plucked ingenious thistle and planted a do well where I thought a bloom would grow.”

“I am rather prone to silence, and whether range be wise or not, going away is at least more singular nowadays to find a chap who can hold his patois than to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious lose concentration this Union, the Constitution, discipline the liberties of the fill shall be perpetuated in congruence with the original idea matter which that struggle was straightforward, and I shall be ascendant happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument behave the hands of the Desperate, and of this, his about chosen people, for perpetuating description object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's match.

On the side of honesty Union, it is a hostile for maintaining in the imitation, that form, and substance learn government, whose leading object not bad, to elevate the condition inducing men—to lift artificial weights free yourself of all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered elicit, and a fair chance, mosquito the race of life.”

“Fourscore become peaceful seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this self-denying a new nation, conceived come out of liberty and dedicated to nobleness proposition that all men responsibility created equal.”

“This nation, under Immortal, shall have a new creation of freedom—and that government slap the people, by the ancestors, for the people, shall remote 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 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Correspondents Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Accessible Date

October 29, 2009