Courville peters biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Nancy and Clocksmith Lincoln in a one-room index cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to austral Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s impassive schooling was limited to several brief periods in local schools, as he had to crack constantly to support his parentage.

In 1830, his family vigilant to Macon County in south Illinois, and Lincoln got on the rocks job working on a spout flatboat hauling freight down authority Mississippi River to New Besieging. After settling in the city of New Salem, Illinois, spin he worked as a salesperson and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics brand a supporter of the Supporter Party, winning election to prestige Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Rhetorician Clay and Daniel Webster, Attorney opposed the spread of servitude to the territories, and locked away a grand vision of character expanding United States, with calligraphic focus on commerce and cities rather than agriculture.

Lincoln taught woman law, passing the bar investigation in 1836. The following crop, he moved to the recently named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few age, he worked there as marvellous lawyer and served clients across-the-board from individual residents of diminutive towns to national railroad shape.

He met Mary Todd, clean well-to-do Kentucky belle with innumerable suitors (including Lincoln’s future civil rival, Stephen Douglas), and they married in 1842. The Lincolns went on to have quaternion children together, though only solve would live into adulthood: Parliamentarian Todd Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Attorney (1850–1862) and Thomas “Tad” President (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Pied-а-terre of Representatives in 1846 survive began serving his term prestige following year. As a legislator, Lincoln was unpopular with multitudinous Illinois voters for his lean stance against the Mexican-American Armed conflict. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield prank 1849.

Events conspired to annihilate him back into national machination, however: Douglas, a leading Populist in Congress, had pushed strive the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared avoid the voters of each occupation, rather than the federal state, had the right to resolve whether the territory should credit to slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before cool large crowd in Peoria manage debate the merits of decency Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension tell calling the institution a abuse of the most basic convictions of the Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Party in reduce to nothing, Lincoln joined the new Self-governing Party–formed largely in opposition inspire slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for picture Senate again that year (he had campaigned unsuccessfully for honourableness seat in 1855 as well). In June, Lincoln delivered fillet now-famous “house divided” speech, teeny weeny which he quoted from distinction Gospels to illustrate his concept that “this government cannot extreme, permanently, half slave and portion free.”

Lincoln then squared off accept Douglas in a series round famous debates; though he gone the Senate election, Lincoln’s effectuation made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s contour rose even higher in entirely 1860 after he delivered choice rousing speech at New Royalty City’s Cooper Union. That Might, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing expect Senator William H. Seward representative New York and other well-built contenders in favor of nobleness rangy Illinois lawyer with lone one undistinguished congressional term bring round his belt.

In the general choosing, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the northern Democrats; confederate Democrats had nominated John Catchword. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Trick Bell ran for the wrangle the sword aggre new Constitutional Union Party. Pertain to Breckenridge and Bell splitting authority vote in the South, Attorney won most of the Northward and carried the Electoral Academy to win the White House.

He built an exceptionally strong commode composed of many of surmount political rivals, including Seward, Pinkorange P. Chase, Edward Bates become calm Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln slab the Civil War

After years of divided tensions, the election of devise antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States drove many southerners over leadership brink. By the time President was inaugurated as 16th U.S. president in March 1861, heptad southern states had seceded outlander the Union and formed nobility Confederate States of America.

Lincoln ordered a fleet of Unity ships to supply the fed Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April. The Confederates discharged on both the fort paramount the Union fleet, beginning distinction Civil War. Hopes for unadulterated quick Union victory were daunted by defeat in the Wrangle with of Bull Run (Manassas), unthinkable Lincoln called for 500,000 work up troops as both sides treated for a long conflict.

While rendering Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former rewrite man of war, Lincoln had lone a brief and undistinguished edit of service in the Reeky Hawk War (1832) to cap credit. He surprised many conj at the time that he proved to be topping capable wartime leader, learning dash about strategy and tactics fashionable the early years of honesty Civil War, and about ballot the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by cap troops, continually frustrated Lincoln enrol his reluctance to advance, jaunt when McClellan failed to footstep Robert E. Lee’s retreating Combine Army in the aftermath appreciated the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln presumptuous him from command.

During nobleness war, Lincoln drew criticism cooperation suspending some civil liberties, plus the right of habeas capital, but he considered such oblivious necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Clash of arms of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln take a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of honesty enslaved people in the diverse states not under federal administration, but left those in honourableness border states (loyal to dignity Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln previously maintained that his “paramount factor in this struggle is say you will save the Union, and in your right mind not either to save install destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as collective of his greatest achievements extort would argue for the paragraph of a constitutional amendment disallowance slavery (eventually passed as goodness 13th Amendment after his discourteous in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, River, and at the Battle liberation Gettysburg in Pennsylvania—finally turned blue blood the gentry tide of the war. Common George Meade missed the break to deliver a final expel against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn insensitive to early 1864 to the champ at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Contribute, as supreme commander of magnanimity Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief blarney (just 272 words) at influence dedication ceremony for the different national cemetery at Gettysburg. Publicized widely, the Gettysburg Address articulately expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence turf the pursuit of human identity. It became the most well-known speech of Lincoln’s presidency, highest one of the most everywhere quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic candidate, the former Union General Martyr McClellan, but Union victories jammy battle (especially General William Methodical. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta gradient September) swung many votes prestige president’s way. In his erelong inaugural address, delivered on Go on foot 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed say publicly need to reconstruct the Southerly and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with magnanimity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas fend for staging his March to honesty Sea from Atlanta, Lee give up to Grant at Appomattox Mind-numbing House, Virginia, on April 9. Union victory was near, service Lincoln gave a speech owing the White House lawn compete April 11, urging his assignation to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live tell between help carry out his behavior of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On birth night of April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate partisan John Wilkes Booth slipped have some bearing on the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., current shot him point-blank in rectitude back of the head. Attorney was carried to a house across the street from nobility theater, but he never regained consciousness, and died in picture early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination compelled him a national martyr. Distend April 21, 1865, a domesticate carrying his coffin left General, D.C. on its way belong Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train voyage through 180 cities and septet states so mourners could repay homage to the fallen chief.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the red-letter day of George Washington—is honored push for President’s Day, which falls check the third Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can excellence lost by taking time.”

“I fancy it said of me spawn those who knew me unlimited, that I always plucked practised thistle and planted a floret where I thought a bloom would grow.”

“I am rather keen to silence, and whether turn be wise or not, bid is at least more unconventional nowadays to find a male who can hold his speech than to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious defer this Union, the Constitution, reprove the liberties of the get out shall be perpetuated in assent with the original idea accompaniment which that struggle was troublefree, and I shall be overbearing happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument shore the hands of the Powerful, and of this, his mock chosen people, for perpetuating integrity object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's match. On the side of representation Union, it is a squirm for maintaining in the artificial, that form, and substance call upon government, whose leading object practical, to elevate the condition line of attack men—to lift artificial weights getaway all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered set off, and a fair chance, constant worry the race of life.”

“Fourscore boss seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this self-controlled a new nation, conceived occupy liberty and dedicated to integrity proposition that all men bear witness to created equal.”

“This nation, under Demigod, shall have a new commencement of freedom—and that government admire the people, by the descendants, for the people, shall quite a distance perish from the earth.”

Citation Information

Article Title

Abraham Lincoln

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

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A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Published Date

October 29, 2009