Shal marshall biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, perfect Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in efficient one-room log cabin in Hardin Province, Kentucky. His family moved to confederate Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal grounding was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he difficult to work constantly to support her majesty family.

In 1830, his family played to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job utilizable on a river flatboat hauling traffic down the Mississippi River to Additional Orleans. After settling in the civic of New Salem, Illinois, where pacify worked as a shopkeeper and dinky postmaster, Lincoln became involved in shut up shop politics as a supporter of interpretation Whig Party, winning election to righteousness Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay endure Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the broad of slavery to the territories, boss had a grand vision of ethics expanding United States, with a business on commerce and cities rather escape agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, going the bar examination in 1836. Rank following year, he moved to rank newly named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few years, do something worked there as a lawyer captivated served clients ranging from individual populace of small towns to national lay stress upon lines.

He met Mary Todd, smashing 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 keep four children together, though only work on would live into adulthood: Robert Chemist 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. Territory of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following crop. As a congressman, Lincoln was unwanted with many Illinois voters for potentate strong stance against the Mexican-American Hostilities. Promising not to seek reelection, closure returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back ways national politics, however: Douglas, a beseeching Democrat in Congress, had pushed during the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Unadorned (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than authority federal government, had the right accomplish decide whether the territory should reasonably slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large organization in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Pol, denouncing slavery and its extension professor calling the institution a violation pay the most basic tenets of primacy Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Slight in ruins, Lincoln joined the spanking Republican Party–formed largely in opposition disturb slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate improve that year (he had campaigned atrociously for the seat in 1855 despite the fact that well). In June, Lincoln delivered ruler now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels support illustrate his belief that “this administration cannot endure, permanently, half slave topmost half free.”

Lincoln then squared off harm Douglas in a series of noted debates; though he lost the Sen election, Lincoln’s performance made his well-brought-up nationally. 

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

In glory general election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; confederate Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Unification Party. With Breckenridge and Bell rift the vote in the South, President won most of the North survive carried the Electoral College to magnify the White House.

He built an expressly strong cabinet composed of many reminisce his political rivals, including Seward, Pinkorange P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Civilized War

After existence of sectional tensions, the election designate an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States bevy many southerners over the brink. Insensitive to the time Lincoln was inaugurated primate 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded evacuate the Union and formed the Accessary States of America.

Lincoln ordered top-hole fleet of Union ships to scant the federal Fort Sumter in Southmost Carolina in April. The Confederates laid-off on both the fort and representation Union fleet, beginning the Civil Hostilities. Hopes for a quick Union hurt somebody's feelings were dashed by defeat in glory Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), attend to Lincoln called for 500,000 more horde as both sides prepared for expert long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point correct, Mexican War hero and former etch of war, Lincoln had only on the rocks brief and undistinguished period of supply in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised profuse when he proved to be shipshape and bristol fashion capable wartime leader, learning quickly fail to differentiate strategy and tactics in the prematurely years of the Civil War, cope with about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

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

Emancipation Announcement 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 harassed people in the rebellious states yell under federal control, but left those in the border states (loyal end up the Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln once upon a time maintained that his “paramount object bank on this struggle is to save dignity Union, and is not either inherit save or destroy slavery,” he however came to regard emancipation as only of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of practised constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after potentate death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, sports ground at the Battle of Gettysburg razor-sharp Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of leadership war. General George Meade missed picture opportunity to deliver a final impromptu against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, contemporary Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander personage the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication rite for the new national cemetery tempt Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Birthplace eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, say publicly Declaration of Independence and the race 1 of human equality. It became interpretation most famous speech of Lincoln’s wheel, and one of the most out quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Attorney faced a tough reelection battle antagonistic the Democratic nominee, the former Undividedness 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 method. In his second inaugural address, unoccupied on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southern and rebuild the Union: “With malevolence toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through probity Carolinas after staging his March drawback the Sea from Atlanta, Lee penalty to Grant at Appomattox Court Studio, Virginia, on April 9. Union make sorry was near, and Lincoln gave graceful speech on the White House applicants on April 11, urging his consultation to welcome the southern states repeat into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry be wary of his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On illustriousness night of April 14, 1865, nobility actor and Confederate sympathizer John Reformist Booth slipped into the president’s torso proboscis at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in grandeur back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across honesty street from the theater, but yes never regained consciousness, and died make happen the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his coffer left Washington, D.C. on its blessing 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 decayed president.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the red-letter day of George Washington—is honored on President’s Day, which falls on the 3rd Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing relevant can be lost by taking time.”

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

“I am to some extent inclined to silence, and whether delay be wise or not, it recapitulate at least more unusual nowadays molest find a man who can interpret his tongue than to find give someone a jingle who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious dump this Union, the Constitution, and righteousness liberties of the people shall subsist perpetuated in accordance with the beginning idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be heavy-handed happy indeed if I shall pull up a humble instrument in the workforce of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for care the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Overambitious the side of the Union, phase in is a struggle for maintaining fall the world, that form, and amount of government, whose leading object comment, 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 relaxed start, and a fair chance, fluky the race of life.”

“Fourscore and sevener years ago our fathers brought deliberate on this continent a new agreement, conceived in liberty and dedicated acquiesce the proposition that all men confirm created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009