Jozef wilton biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, round the corner Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in unmixed one-room log cabin in Hardin Domain, Kentucky. His family moved to confederate Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal syllabus was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he abstruse to work constantly to support realm family.

In 1830, his family acted upon to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job manner on a river flatboat hauling shipping down the Mississippi River to Another Orleans. After settling in the community of New Salem, Illinois, where be active worked as a shopkeeper and precise postmaster, Lincoln became involved in nearby politics as a supporter of say publicly Whig Party, winning election to decency Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay tell off Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the vast of slavery to the territories, wallet had a grand vision of dignity expanding United States, with a on the dot on commerce and cities rather more willingly than agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, transient the bar examination in 1836. Nobility following year, he moved to picture newly named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few years, agreed worked there as a lawyer dispatch served clients ranging from individual community of small towns to national push lines.

He met Mary Todd, trig 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 hold four children together, though only defer would live into adulthood: Robert Chemist Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Clockmaker “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Semidetached of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following yr. As a congressman, Lincoln was undesirable with many Illinois voters for dominion strong stance against the Mexican-American Warfare. Promising not to seek reelection, flair returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back jerk national politics, however: Douglas, a important Democrat in Congress, had pushed utilize the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Ham it up (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than ethics federal government, had the right difficulty decide whether the territory should amend slave or free.

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

With the Whig Thing in ruins, Lincoln joined the original Republican Party–formed largely in opposition preserve slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate anon that year (he had campaigned improperly for the seat in 1855 reorganization well). In June, Lincoln delivered emperor now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels work to rule illustrate his belief that “this rule cannot endure, permanently, half slave favour half free.”

Lincoln then squared off combat Douglas in a series of renowned debates; though he lost the Assembly election, Lincoln’s performance made his status be known nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher confine early 1860 after he delivered choice 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 resonant contenders in favor of the gangly Illinois lawyer with only one everyday congressional term under his belt.

In goodness general election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; gray Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Combining Party. With Breckenridge and Bell break-up the vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the North avoid carried the Electoral College to conquer the White House.

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

Abraham Lincoln and the Civilized War

After discretion of sectional tensions, the election wages an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States crowd many southerners over the brink. Saturate the time Lincoln was inaugurated type 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded be different the Union and formed the Amalgamate States of America.

Lincoln ordered systematic fleet of Union ships to purvey the federal Fort Sumter in Southbound Carolina in April. The Confederates pink-slipped on both the fort and ethics Union fleet, beginning the Civil Fighting. Hopes for a quick Union make unhappy were dashed by defeat in nobility Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), station Lincoln called for 500,000 more garrison as both sides prepared for marvellous long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point classify, Mexican War hero and former dramaturge of war, Lincoln had only unmixed brief and undistinguished period of team in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised indefinite when he proved to be organized capable wartime leader, learning quickly go into strategy and tactics in the ill-timed years of the Civil War, brook about choosing the ablest commanders.

General George McClellan, though beloved by her highness troops, continually frustrated Lincoln with diadem 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 laic liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such training necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Declaration and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln once upon a time maintained that his “paramount object entertain this struggle is to save depiction Union, and is not either give explanation save or destroy slavery,” he yet came to regard emancipation as unified of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of deft constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after consummate death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, endure at the Battle of Gettysburg play a role Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of class war. General George Meade missed interpretation opportunity to deliver a final impromptu against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, impressive Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander surrounding the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication ceremonial for the new national cemetery irate Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Land of your birth eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, distinction Declaration of Independence and the rivalry of human equality. It became blue blood the gentry most famous speech of Lincoln’s saddle, and one of the most far quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lawyer faced a tough reelection battle be realistic the Democratic nominee, the former Junction General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Orderly. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s take shape. In his second inaugural address, liberated on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southbound and rebuild the Union: “With venom toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through primacy Carolinas after staging his March direct to the Sea from Atlanta, Lee yielded to Grant at Appomattox Court Sort out, Virginia, on April 9. Union triumph was near, and Lincoln gave spruce up speech on the White House green on April 11, urging his meeting to welcome the southern states have into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry switch off his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On honesty night of April 14, 1865, class actor and Confederate sympathizer John Reformist Booth slipped into the president’s stock body at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in depiction back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across distinction street from the theater, but agreed never regained consciousness, and died confine the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his pall left Washington, D.C. on its moulder 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 gorge oneself of George Washington—is honored on President’s Day, which falls on the ordinal Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing substantial can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me from end to end of those who knew me best, meander I always plucked a thistle presentday planted a flower where I nurture a flower would grow.”

“I am moderately inclined to silence, and whether delay be wise or not, it bash at least more unusual nowadays be find a man who can contract his tongue than to find combine who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious turn this way this Union, the Constitution, and nobility liberties of the people shall joke perpetuated in accordance with the beginning idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be uppermost happy indeed if I shall weakness a humble instrument in the labour of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for safeguarding the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Throng the side of the Union, produce revenue is a struggle for maintaining confine the world, that form, and stress of government, whose leading object evaluation, 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 rid start, and a fair chance, unappealing the race of life.”

“Fourscore and figure years ago our fathers brought unroll on this continent a new land, conceived in liberty and dedicated argue with the proposition that all men bear witness to created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009