Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809. During his childhood and years as a adolescent, the family would move several times. They first moved to Indiana. They later moved to Illinois. Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks, died when Lincoln was very young. The next year his father, Thomas, remarried to Sarah Bush Johnston. Sarah helped raise young Lincoln. Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois to set up as a store clerk, to make some money. When the Black Hawk War broke out in 1832, he became the leader of his volunteer company. He served for three months without any active duty.
Lincoln's first bid for elected office came in 1832. He unsuccessfully ran for the Illinois state legislature. Two years later, he ran again and won. He became apart of The Whig party in the General Assembly for the next eight years. At the same time, Lincoln's law career began to grow. He was admitted to the bar in 1837. He also moved to Springfield, the new state capital, later that same year. Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842. The couple had four sons together, two of whom would die tragically while still children. Then, in 1846, Lincoln was elected to U.S. Congress, and moved to Washington to serve out his term, where he spoke out against the Mexican War and unsuccessfully attempted to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. In 1849, Lincoln returned to Springfield to resume his career as a lawyer and devote more time to his family. His political life seemed to be over. However, when the slavery topic arose, Lincoln ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 1854 and 1858. Despite these losses, Lincoln gained national exposure. Such talent was especially evident during the series of debates he engaged in against Stephen Douglas. A combination of luck, manipulation, and talent won Lincoln the Republican nomination for president in 1860. |
After Lincoln attempted to reinforce Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, Confederate forces opened fire and the Civil War began. When Lincoln called for a sizable militia to quash the rebellion, several more states, led by Virginia, also seceded. While Lincoln insisted that the Civil War was being fought to preserve the Union, the fate of slavery also played a major role. Lincoln took an overpowering role as commander-in-chief in a time of war. He suspended several rights as defined by the Constitution and expanded the powers of both the executive and the federal government. In addition, Lincoln signed several significant pieces of legislation into law, including policies relating to currency, homesteaders, railroads, and taxes.
Today, many view Lincoln's most significant action as president to be his Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, which paved the way for the Thirteenth Amendment and the abolition of slavery in the United States. He also became noted for his way with words, giving such memorable speeches as the Gettysburg Address and the House Divided Speech. The Civil War was very long and expensive for both sides. As the war drew to a close, Lincoln made preparations for a plan to help unify the nation once again. Less than one week after the Confederate surrender Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. The nation mourned as he lay in state, and Illinois wept when her favorite son was interred at Springfield a few weeks later. The work of reconstruction would carry on without Lincoln, but his memory would live on in the nation's imagination. For his work in preserving the union and bringing an end to the "peculiar institution" of slavery, Abraham Lincoln would come to earn a place of honor among the greatest of American heroes. |