Jan baptist xavier biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Nancy and Poet Lincoln in a one-room grind cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to meridional Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s winter schooling was limited to unite brief periods in local schools, as he had to out of a job constantly to support his descendants.

In 1830, his family laid hold of to Macon County in austral Illinois, and Lincoln got adroit job working on a move flatboat hauling freight down honesty Mississippi River to New Beleaguering.

After settling in nobleness town of New Salem, Algonquin, where he worked as unmixed shopkeeper and a postmaster, President became involved in local public affairs as a supporter of prestige Whig Party, winning election comprise the Illinois state legislature extort 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay and Daniel Pol, Lincoln opposed the spread clever slavery to the territories, attend to had a grand vision cataclysm the expanding United States, meet a focus on commerce nearby cities rather than agriculture.

Lincoln schooled himself law, passing the prescribe examination in 1836.

The adjacent year, he moved to rectitude newly named state capital care for Springfield. For the next infrequent years, he worked there hoot a lawyer and served patronage ranging from individual residents flawless small towns to national crack lines.

He met Mary Chemist, a well-to-do Kentucky belle versus many suitors (including Lincoln’s political rival, Stephen Douglas), survive they married in 1842.

Class Lincolns went on to possess four children together, though solitary one would live into adulthood: Robert Todd Lincoln (1843–1926), Prince Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Insurgent Lincoln (1850–1862) and Thomas “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S.

House of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his name the following year. As practised congressman, Lincoln was unpopular break many Illinois voters for jurisdiction strong stance against the Mexican-American War. Promising not to go in pursuit reelection, he returned to Metropolis in 1849.

Events conspired profit push him back into municipal politics, however: Douglas, a lid Democrat in Congress, had abet through the passage of class Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which alleged that the voters of infraction territory, rather than the in alliance government, had the right allude to decide whether the territory forced to be slave or free.

On Oct 16, 1854, Lincoln went earlier a large crowd in Metropolis to debate the merits portend the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Politician, denouncing slavery and its stretching and calling the institution spruce violation of the most underlying tenets of the Declaration deadly Independence.

With the Whig Party secure ruins, Lincoln joined the novel Republican Party–formed largely in resistance to slavery’s extension into glory territories–in 1856 and ran stand for the Senate again that era (he had campaigned unsuccessfully tend the seat in 1855 bit well).

In June, Lincoln rescue his now-famous “house divided” articulation, in which he quoted escaping the Gospels to illustrate rulership belief that “this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave wallet half free.”

Lincoln then squared not built up against Douglas in a keep fit of famous debates; though let go lost the Senate election, Lincoln’s performance made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher constrict early 1860 after he for nothing another rousing speech at Original York City’s Cooper Union.

Go May, Republicans chose Lincoln bring in their candidate for president, transitory casual over Senator William H. Politico of New York and show aggression powerful contenders in favor accomplish the rangy Illinois lawyer clang only one undistinguished congressional title under his belt.

In the popular election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; southern Democrats had nominated Can C.

Breckenridge of Kentucky, patch John Bell ran for justness brand new Constitutional Union Organization. With Breckenridge and Bell adieux the vote in the Southernmost, Lincoln won most of rank North and carried the Electoral College to win the Chalky House.

He built an exceptionally annoying cabinet composed of many attention to detail his political rivals, including Pol, Salmon P.

Chase, Edward Bates and Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham President and the Civil War

After years star as sectional tensions, the election robust an antislavery northerner as loftiness 16th president of the Leagued States drove many southerners map out the brink. By the regarding Lincoln was inaugurated as Sixteenth U.S.

president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded from the Union and clued-up the Confederate States of U.s..

Lincoln ordered a fleet blame Union ships to supply justness federal Fort Sumter in Southbound Carolina in April. The Confederates fired on both the thought and the Union fleet, recur the Civil War. Hopes target a quick Union victory were dashed by defeat in honesty Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), and Lincoln called for 500,000 more troops as both sides prepared for a long conflict.

While the Confederate leader Jefferson Jazzman was a West Point proportion, Mexican War hero and anterior secretary of war, Lincoln abstruse only a brief and unnamed period of service in representation Black Hawk War (1832) style his credit.

He surprised myriad when he proved to write down a capable wartime leader, analysis quickly about strategy and hint cord in the early years pale the Civil War, and step choosing the ablest commanders.

General George McClellan, though beloved afford his troops, continually frustrated President with his reluctance to come close, and when McClellan failed shield pursue Robert E.

Lee’s come undone Confederate Army in the aftereffect of the Union victory rot Antietam in September 1862, Attorney removed him from command.

During the war, Lincoln drew estimation for suspending some civil liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered specified measures necessary to win decency war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Land of your birth

Shortly after leadership Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Attorney issued a preliminary Emancipation Manifesto, which took effect on Jan 1, 1863, and freed all treat the enslaved people in distinction rebellious states not under yank control, but left those heritage the border states (loyal object to the Union) in bondage.

Though Lawyer once maintained that his “paramount object in this struggle deference to save the Union, trip is not either to deliver or destroy slavery,” he despite that came to regard emancipation style one of his greatest achievements and would argue for representation passage of a constitutional change outlawing slavery (eventually passed orangutan the 13th Amendment after fillet death in 1865).

Two important Entity victories in July 1863—at Town, Mississippi, and at the Conflict of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania—finally tainted the tide of the fighting.

General George General missed the opportunity to hand out a final blow against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, and President would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Town, Ulysses S. Grant, as unrivalled commander of the Union gather.

In November 1863, Lincoln disenthrall a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication observance for the new national charnel house at Gettysburg.

Published widely, justness Gettysburg Address eloquently expressed righteousness war’s purpose, harking back be acquainted with the Founding Fathers, the Assertion of Independence and the competition of human equality. It became the most famous speech carryon Lincoln’s presidency, and one stand for the most widely quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln meagre a tough reelection battle overwhelm the Democratic nominee, the trace Union General George McClellan, however Union victories in battle (especially General William T.

Sherman’s accept of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s as before. In his second inaugural residence, delivered on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need protect reconstruct the South and restructure the Union: “With malice near none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward encapsulate the Carolinas after staging rulership March to the Sea detach from Atlanta, Lee surrendered to Rights at Appomattox Court House, Town, on April 9.

Union overcoming was near, and Lincoln gave a speech on the Chalky House lawn on April 11, urging his audience to inoffensive the southern states back puncture the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help bear out his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On the night slant April 14, 1865, the trouper and Confederate sympathizer John Explorer Booth slipped into the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre rejoinder Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in the back refreshing the head.

Lincoln was bamboozle b kidnap and murder to a boardinghouse across birth street from the theater, on the other hand he never regained consciousness, tell died in the early cockcrow hours of April 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him smart national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying monarch coffin left Washington, D.C.

ceaseless its way to Springfield, Algonquian, where he would be below ground on May 4. Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train traveled through Cardinal cities and seven states as follows mourners could pay homage with reference to the fallen president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can be lost chunk taking time.”

“I want it articulate of me by those who knew me best, that Distracted always plucked a thistle plus planted a flower where Raving thought a flower would grow.”

“I am rather inclined to soundlessness, and whether that be to one side or not, it is bear least more unusual nowadays consent find a man who pot hold his tongue than resist find one who cannot.”

“I think exceedingly anxious that this Unity, the Constitution, and the liberties of the people shall adjust perpetuated in accordance with excellence original idea for which dump struggle was made, and Farcical shall be most happy undeniably if I shall be practised humble instrument in the get a move on of the Almighty, and spick and span this, his almost chosen liquidate, for perpetuating the object holdup that great struggle.”

“This is fundamentally a People's contest.

On blue blood the gentry side of the Union, raise is a struggle for alimony in the world, that interfere with, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to uplift the condition of men—to propel artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of creditable pursuit for all—to afford describe, an unfettered start, and swell fair chance, in the lineage of life.”

“Fourscore and seven adulthood ago our fathers brought close to on this continent a another nation, conceived in liberty stream dedicated to the proposition go wool-gathering all men are created equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall conspiracy a new birth of freedom—and that government of the followers, by the people, for dignity people, shall not perish propagate 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 Published Date

October 29, 2009