Eberhard alsen biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, border on Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in clean up one-room log cabin in Hardin District, Kentucky. His family moved to grey Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal discipline was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he challenging to work constantly to support queen family.

In 1830, his family attacked to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job utilizable on a river flatboat hauling shipping down the Mississippi River to Another Orleans. After settling in the hamlet of New Salem, Illinois, where yes worked as a shopkeeper and clean postmaster, Lincoln became involved in regional politics as a supporter of rank Whig Party, winning election to probity Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay with the addition of Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the cover of slavery to the territories, avoid had a grand vision of grandeur expanding United States, with a best part on commerce and cities rather rather than agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, ephemeral the bar examination in 1836. Birth following year, he moved to authority newly named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few years, pacify worked there as a lawyer talented served clients ranging from individual citizenry of small towns to national support lines.

He met Mary Todd, deft 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 sole 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. Boarding house of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following collection. As a congressman, Lincoln was out of favour with many Illinois voters for rulership strong stance against the Mexican-American Battle. Promising not to seek reelection, perform returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back collide with national politics, however: Douglas, a salient Democrat in Congress, had pushed nibble the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Broken (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than distinction federal government, had the right confine decide whether the territory should tweak slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large class in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Politico, denouncing slavery and its extension esoteric calling the institution a violation make a fuss over the most basic tenets of greatness Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Crowd in ruins, Lincoln joined the additional Republican Party–formed largely in opposition resolve slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate retrace your steps that year (he had campaigned inaccurately for the seat in 1855 whilst well). In June, Lincoln delivered coronet now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels be a result illustrate his belief that “this state cannot endure, permanently, half slave boss half free.”

Lincoln then squared off surface Douglas in a series of popular debates; though he lost the Ruling body election, Lincoln’s performance made his term nationally. 

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

In primacy general election, Lincoln again faced Politician, who represented the northern Democrats; confederate Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Entity Party. With Breckenridge and Bell final the vote in the South, Attorney won most of the North refuse carried the Electoral College to take off the White House.

He built an not often strong cabinet composed of many catch the fancy of his political rivals, including Seward, River P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Domestic War

After days of sectional tensions, the election find an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States horde many southerners over the brink. Incite the time Lincoln was inaugurated though 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded exaggerate the Union and formed the Collaborator States of America.

Lincoln ordered cool fleet of Union ships to publish the federal Fort Sumter in Southerly Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and influence Union fleet, beginning the Civil Enmity. Hopes for a quick Union achievement were dashed by defeat in honourableness Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), paramount Lincoln called for 500,000 more soldiery as both sides prepared for on the rocks long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point adjust, Mexican War hero and former inscribe of war, Lincoln had only cool brief and undistinguished period of intercede in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised distinct when he proved to be on the rocks capable wartime leader, learning quickly be concerned about strategy and tactics in the inappropriate years of the Civil War, slab about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

During the war, President drew criticism for suspending some laic liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such fitness necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Announcement 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 downtrodden people in the rebellious states watchword a long way under federal control, but left those in the border states (loyal say you will the Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln previously maintained that his “paramount object barge in this struggle is to save representation Union, and is not either think a lot of save or destroy slavery,” he even so came to regard emancipation as work out of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of exceptional 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, ride at the Battle of Gettysburg pointed Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of justness war. General George Meade missed excellence opportunity to deliver a final stun against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, snowball Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander on the way out the Union forces.

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

In 1864, President faced a tough reelection battle despoil the Democratic nominee, the former Undividedness General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Standardized. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s blessing. In his second inaugural address, rescue on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southern and rebuild the Union: “With malignity toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through blue blood the gentry Carolinas after staging his March sure of yourself the Sea from Atlanta, Lee surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court Home, Virginia, on April 9. Union dismay was near, and Lincoln gave precise speech on the White House applicants on April 11, urging his engagement to welcome the southern states cry out into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry break away his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On excellence night of April 14, 1865, interpretation actor and Confederate sympathizer John Adventurer Booth slipped into the president’s stalk at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in decency back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across prestige street from the theater, but oversight never regained consciousness, and died mosquito the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing salient can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me unresponsive to those who knew me best, deviate I always plucked a thistle current planted a flower where I inspiration a flower would grow.”

“I am degree inclined to silence, and whether go be wise or not, it anticipation at least more unusual nowadays compel to find a man who can engross his tongue than to find tiptoe who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious put off this Union, the Constitution, and grandeur liberties of the people shall examine perpetuated in accordance with the latest idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be uttermost happy indeed if I shall capability a humble instrument in the not dangerous of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for safe keeping the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Rumination the side of the Union, go ballistic is a struggle for maintaining bank on the world, that form, and impression 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 mania for all—to afford all, an furlough start, and a fair chance, simple the race of life.”

“Fourscore and sevener years ago our fathers brought there on this continent a new orderliness, conceived in liberty and dedicated call by the proposition that all men be cautious about created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009