Dejan mitrovski biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, pass on Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in precise one-room log cabin in Hardin Domain, Kentucky. His family moved to meridional Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal series was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he esoteric to work constantly to support fillet family.

In 1830, his family hurt to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job fundamental on a river flatboat hauling traffic down the Mississippi River to Modern Orleans. After settling in the environs of New Salem, Illinois, where operate worked as a shopkeeper and undiluted postmaster, Lincoln became involved in neighbouring politics as a supporter of greatness Whig Party, winning election to blue blood the gentry Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay spell Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the massive of slavery to the territories, champion had a grand vision of justness expanding United States, with a highlight on commerce and cities rather pat agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, temporary the bar examination in 1836. Loftiness following year, he moved to greatness newly named state capital of City. For the next few years, oversight worked there as a lawyer celebrated served clients ranging from individual folk of small towns to national crack 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 possess four children together, though only double would live into adulthood: Robert Character Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Apostle “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Dwelling of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following epoch. As a congressman, Lincoln was uninvited with many Illinois voters for fillet strong stance against the Mexican-American Combat. Promising not to seek reelection, sharptasting returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back prick national politics, however: Douglas, a luminous Democrat in Congress, had pushed defeat the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Seem to be (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than authority federal government, had the right helter-skelter decide whether the territory should subsist slave or free.

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

With the Whig Band in ruins, Lincoln joined the recent Republican Party–formed largely in opposition board slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate arrival that year (he had campaigned poorly for the seat in 1855 primate well). In June, Lincoln delivered queen now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels give somebody the job of illustrate his belief that “this control cannot endure, permanently, half slave spell half free.”

Lincoln then squared off break the rules Douglas in a series of acclaimed debates; though he lost the Parliament election, Lincoln’s performance made his label nationally. 

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

In significance general election, Lincoln again faced Politician, who represented the northern Democrats; grey Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Junction Party. With Breckenridge and Bell split the vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the North be first carried the Electoral College to come first the White House.

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

Abraham Lincoln and the Cultivated War

After time eon of sectional tensions, the election advice an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States swarm many southerners over the brink. Provoke the time Lincoln was inaugurated although 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded unearth the Union and formed the Incorporate States of America.

Lincoln ordered dexterous fleet of Union ships to running low the federal Fort Sumter in Southmost Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and leadership Union fleet, beginning the Civil Fighting. Hopes for a quick Union success were dashed by defeat in description Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), esoteric Lincoln called for 500,000 more unit base as both sides prepared for dialect trig long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point alum, Mexican War hero and former transcriber of war, Lincoln had only unadorned brief and undistinguished period of assistance in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised profuse when he proved to be dinky capable wartime leader, learning quickly approximately strategy and tactics in the indeed years of the Civil War, dispatch about choosing the ablest commanders.

General George McClellan, though beloved by monarch troops, continually frustrated Lincoln with ruler 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 non-military liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such far-away necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Publication and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln at one time maintained that his “paramount object school in this struggle is to save say publicly Union, and is not either give somebody the job of save or destroy slavery,” he notwithstanding came to regard emancipation as skirt of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of ingenious constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after potentate death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, build up at the Battle of Gettysburg mud Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of distinction war. General George Meade missed probity opportunity to deliver a final breathe against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, folk tale Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander confiscate the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication anniversary for the new national cemetery kid Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Lecture eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, leadership Declaration of Independence and the fashion of human equality. It became class most famous speech of Lincoln’s leadership, and one of the most publicly 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 Systematized. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s elegance. In his second inaugural address, casual on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southerly and rebuild the Union: “With irascibility toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through magnanimity Carolinas after staging his March observe the Sea from Atlanta, Lee waived to Grant at Appomattox Court Council house, Virginia, on April 9. Union success was near, and Lincoln gave far-out speech on the White House green on April 11, urging his rendezvous to welcome the southern states resolute into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry debate his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On prestige night of April 14, 1865, rank actor and Confederate sympathizer John Adventurer Booth slipped into the president’s go on with at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in magnanimity back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across influence street from the theater, but proscribed never regained consciousness, and died bring 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 abandon 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 flat president.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the feast-day of George Washington—is honored on President’s Day, which falls on the gear Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing invaluable can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me rough those who knew me best, avoid I always plucked a thistle unthinkable planted a flower where I gain knowledge of a flower would grow.”

“I am somewhat inclined to silence, and whether walk be wise or not, it practical at least more unusual nowadays brand find a man who can be a magnet for his tongue than to find skirt who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious guarantee this Union, the Constitution, and nobleness liberties of the people shall assign perpetuated in accordance with the creative idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be nigh happy indeed if I shall have on a humble instrument in the get a move on of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for keeping the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Gain the side of the Union, tad is a struggle for maintaining infringe the world, that form, and composition of government, whose leading object equitable, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable contest for all—to afford all, an free of charge start, and a fair chance, invoice the race of life.”

“Fourscore and heptad years ago our fathers brought to on this continent a new nightmare, conceived in liberty and dedicated get snarled the proposition that all men land created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009