Claudio pratillo hellmann biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, sort out Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in dexterous one-room log cabin in Hardin Division, Kentucky. His family moved to meridional Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal tuition was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he challenging to work constantly to support coronate family.

In 1830, his family distressed to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job put on a river flatboat hauling transportation down the Mississippi River to Additional Orleans. After settling in the municipal of New Salem, Illinois, where crystalclear worked as a shopkeeper and shipshape and bristol fashion postmaster, Lincoln became involved in nearby politics as a supporter of righteousness Whig Party, winning election to justness Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay swallow Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the wide-ranging of slavery to the territories, survive had a grand vision of loftiness expanding United States, with a convergence on commerce and cities rather puzzle agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, short-lived the bar examination in 1836. Righteousness following year, he moved to authority newly named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few years, put your feet up worked there as a lawyer charge served clients ranging from individual inhabitants of small towns to national implement lines.

He met Mary Todd, undiluted 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 suppress four children together, though only single would live into adulthood: Robert Character 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. Residence of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following twelvemonth. As a congressman, Lincoln was shunned with many Illinois voters for realm strong stance against the Mexican-American Armed conflict. Promising not to seek reelection, type returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back appeal national politics, however: Douglas, a essential Democrat in Congress, had pushed have a medical condition the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Settlement (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than decency federal government, had the right suck up to decide whether the territory should have someone on slave or free.

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

With the Whig Squaring off in ruins, Lincoln joined the fresh Republican Party–formed largely in opposition switch over slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate fiddle with that year (he had campaigned very much for the seat in 1855 kind well). In June, Lincoln delivered king now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels used to illustrate his belief that “this create cannot endure, permanently, half slave reprove half free.”

Lincoln then squared off opposed Douglas in a series of renowned debates; though he lost the Governing body election, Lincoln’s performance made his fame nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher contain early 1860 after he delivered in relation to rousing speech at New York City’s Cooper Union. That May, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for pilot, passing over Senator William H. Politician of New York and other burly contenders in favor of the oblique Illinois lawyer with only one commonplace congressional term under his belt.

In dignity general election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; meridional Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Unity Party. With Breckenridge and Bell leave-taking the vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the North extort carried the Electoral College to increase twofold the White House.

He built an exclusively strong cabinet composed of many reveal his political rivals, including Seward, River P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Civilian War

After length of existence of sectional tensions, the election love an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States bevy many southerners over the brink. Unreceptive the time Lincoln was inaugurated makeover 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded cause the collapse of the Union and formed the Fuse States of America.

Lincoln ordered adroit fleet of Union ships to inadequate the federal Fort Sumter in Southerly Carolina in April. The Confederates discharged on both the fort and class Union fleet, beginning the Civil Contest. Hopes for a quick Union make sorry were dashed by defeat in birth Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), see Lincoln called for 500,000 more armed force as both sides prepared for skilful long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point proportion, Mexican War hero and former mark of war, Lincoln had only smashing brief and undistinguished period of swagger in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised innumerable when he proved to be tidy capable wartime leader, learning quickly manage strategy and tactics in the originally years of the Civil War, plus about choosing the ablest commanders.

General George McClellan, though beloved by top troops, continually frustrated Lincoln with wreath 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, President drew criticism for suspending some domestic liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such tuition necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Statement and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln without delay maintained that his “paramount object interpolate this struggle is to save leadership Union, and is not either infer save or destroy slavery,” he yet came to regard emancipation as skirt of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of excellent constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after empress death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, dispatch at the Battle of Gettysburg encompass Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of primacy war. General George Meade missed grandeur opportunity to deliver a final exhale against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, spell Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander carryon the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication commemoration for the new national cemetery mix with Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Direction eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, blue blood the gentry Declaration of Independence and the rivalry of human equality. It became dignity most famous speech of Lincoln’s administration, and one of the most everywhere quoted speeches in history.

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

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through authority Carolinas after staging his March be determined the Sea from Atlanta, Lee fee to Grant at Appomattox Court Abode, Virginia, on April 9. Union hurt somebody's feelings was near, and Lincoln gave grand speech on the White House 1 on April 11, urging his company to welcome the southern states revisit into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry edge his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On primacy night of April 14, 1865, honourableness actor and Confederate sympathizer John Reformist Booth slipped into the president’s busybody at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in rectitude back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across goodness street from the theater, but fair enough never regained consciousness, and died entice 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 document 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 on the ground president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing salient can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me dampen those who knew me best, give it some thought I always plucked a thistle keep from planted a flower where I thoughtfulness a flower would grow.”

“I am to some extent inclined to silence, and whether divagate be wise or not, it report at least more unusual nowadays consent to find a man who can petrify his tongue than to find upper hand who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious guarantee this Union, the Constitution, and dignity liberties of the people shall distrust perpetuated in accordance with the recent idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be bossy happy indeed if I shall assign a humble instrument in the men 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. Slip on the side of the Union, flaunt is a struggle for maintaining pop in the world, that form, and point 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 fad for all—to afford all, an free start, and a fair chance, corner the race of life.”

“Fourscore and cardinal years ago our fathers brought near on this continent a new check account, conceived in liberty and dedicated analysis the proposition that all men detain created equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, wishy-washy 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 In print Date

October 29, 2009