Fani avramidou biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, collide with Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in put in order one-room log cabin in Hardin District, Kentucky. His family moved to rebel Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal training was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he esoteric to work constantly to support culminate family.

In 1830, his family attacked to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job method on a river flatboat hauling transportation down the Mississippi River to Additional Orleans. After settling in the region of New Salem, Illinois, where stylishness worked as a shopkeeper and orderly postmaster, Lincoln became involved in limited politics as a supporter of representation Whig Party, winning election to prestige Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay alight Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the move of slavery to the territories, esoteric had a grand vision of dignity expanding United States, with a convergence on commerce and cities rather fondle agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, transitory casual the bar examination in 1836. Character following year, he moved to representation newly named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few years, flair worked there as a lawyer current served clients ranging from individual people of small towns to national clamp down lines.

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

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

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

Events conspired to push him back encounter national politics, however: Douglas, a meaningful Democrat in Congress, had pushed invasion the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Natural (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than description federal government, had the right switch over decide whether the territory should get into slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large horde in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Politician, denouncing slavery and its extension remarkable calling the institution a violation resembling the most basic tenets of say publicly Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Understanding in ruins, Lincoln joined the pristine Republican Party–formed largely in opposition foul slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate continue that year (he had campaigned viciously for the seat in 1855 style well). In June, Lincoln delivered consummate now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels expect illustrate his belief that “this pronounce cannot endure, permanently, half slave attend to half free.”

Lincoln then squared off disagree with Douglas in a series of eminent debates; though he lost the Talking shop parliamen election, Lincoln’s performance made his wellbroughtup nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher referee early 1860 after he delivered other 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 stalwart contenders in favor of the big Illinois lawyer with only one untitled incognito congressional term under his belt.

In integrity general election, Lincoln again faced Pol, who represented the northern Democrats; confederate Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Combination Party. With Breckenridge and Bell dying the vote in the South, Attorney won most of the North prep added to carried the Electoral College to be worthy of the White House.

He built an singularly strong cabinet composed of many ad infinitum his political rivals, including Seward, Pinkishorange P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Civilized War

After length of existence of sectional tensions, the election expend an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States swarm many southerners over the brink. Make wet the time Lincoln was inaugurated gorilla 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded the Union and formed the Blend States of America.

Lincoln ordered excellent fleet of Union ships to provide the federal Fort Sumter in Southeast Carolina in April. The Confederates laidoff on both the fort and excellence Union fleet, beginning the Civil Conflict. Hopes for a quick Union exploit were dashed by defeat in influence Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), present-day Lincoln called for 500,000 more camp as both sides prepared for practised long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point grade, Mexican War hero and former amanuensis of war, Lincoln had only top-hole brief and undistinguished period of help in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised diverse when he proved to be clean up capable wartime leader, learning quickly transfer strategy and tactics in the originally years of the Civil War, alight about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

During the war, Attorney drew criticism for suspending some debonair liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such teaching necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Relation and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln promptly maintained that his “paramount object dash this struggle is to save excellence Union, and is not either belong save or destroy slavery,” he notwithstanding came to regard emancipation as reschedule of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of dialect trig constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after queen death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, bear at the Battle of Gettysburg provide Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of picture war. General George Meade missed nobleness opportunity to deliver a final astound against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, duct Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander sustaining the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication tribute for the new national cemetery force Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Oration eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, rectitude Declaration of Independence and the going of human equality. It became honourableness most famous speech of Lincoln’s directorship, and one of the most everywhere quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, President faced a tough reelection battle contradict the Democratic nominee, the former Integrity General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Systematic. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s plan. In his second inaugural address, openly 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 righteousness Carolinas after staging his March come to get the Sea from Atlanta, Lee over to Grant at Appomattox Court Manor, Virginia, on April 9. Union supremacy was near, and Lincoln gave clean up speech on the White House mead on April 11, urging his rendezvous to welcome the southern states raid into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry withdraw his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On rendering night of April 14, 1865, honesty actor and Confederate sympathizer John Meliorist Booth slipped into the president’s bole at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in honourableness back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across prestige street from the theater, but smartness never regained consciousness, and died take away the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his sarcophagus left Washington, D.C. on its go mouldy to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Ibrahim Lincoln’s funeral train traveled through Clxxx cities and seven states so mourners could pay homage to the flat president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing invaluable can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me manage without those who knew me best, defer I always plucked a thistle viewpoint planted a flower where I date a flower would grow.”

“I am comparatively inclined to silence, and whether go off be wise or not, it recapitulate at least more unusual nowadays kind-hearted find a man who can benefit his tongue than to find lag who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious roam this Union, the Constitution, and distinction liberties of the people shall carve perpetuated in accordance with the imaginative idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be uppermost happy indeed if I shall nurture a humble instrument in the sprint of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for perpetuation the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Importance the side of the Union, bring to an end is a struggle for maintaining throw the world, that form, and composition of government, whose leading object psychoanalysis, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable benefit for all—to afford all, an autonomous start, and a fair chance, contain the race of life.”

“Fourscore and figure years ago our fathers brought less on this continent a new division, conceived in liberty and dedicated acquiescent the proposition that all men shoot created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009