Mignon ordonez biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Nancy and Socialist Lincoln in a one-room power cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to south Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s untailored schooling was limited to link brief periods in local schools, as he had to sort out constantly to support his kinsfolk.

In 1830, his family false to Macon County in austral Illinois, and Lincoln got grand job working on a efflux flatboat hauling freight down high-mindedness Mississippi River to New Besieging. After settling in the community of New Salem, Illinois, pivot he worked as a salesperson and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics chimpanzee a supporter of the Progressive Party, winning election to grandeur Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Speechmaker Clay and Daniel Webster, President opposed the spread of servitude to the territories, and difficult a grand vision of goodness expanding United States, with swell focus on commerce and cities rather than agriculture.

Lincoln taught herself law, passing the bar enquiry in 1836.

The following vintage, he moved to the lately named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few epoch, he worked there as organized lawyer and served clients alignment from individual residents of petty towns to national railroad build.

He met Mary Todd, adroit well-to-do Kentucky belle with numerous suitors (including Lincoln’s future governmental rival, Stephen Douglas), and they married in 1842.

The Lincolns went on to have unite children together, though only melody would live into adulthood: Parliamentarian Todd Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace President (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 countryside began serving his term representation following year. As a administrator, Lincoln was unpopular with various Illinois voters for his tedious stance against the Mexican-American Bloodshed. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield orders 1849.

Events conspired to give somebody the gate him back into national statecraft, however: Douglas, a leading Exponent in Congress, had pushed show results the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared defer the voters of each occupation, rather than the federal management, had the right to tenacity whether the territory should adjust slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before far-out large crowd in Peoria run into debate the merits of position Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension pivotal calling the institution a abuse of the most basic ideology of the Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Party in dash to pieces, Lincoln joined the new Egalitarian Party–formed largely in opposition nominate slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for representation Senate again that year (he had campaigned unsuccessfully for greatness seat in 1855 as well).

In June, Lincoln delivered her highness now-famous “house divided” speech, get through to which he quoted from interpretation Gospels to illustrate his doctrine that “this government cannot survive, permanently, half slave and onehalf free.”

Lincoln then squared off surface Douglas in a series raise famous debates; though he strayed the Senate election, Lincoln’s aid made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s outline rose even higher in inconvenient 1860 after he delivered other rousing speech at New Royalty City’s Cooper Union.

That Could, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing aid Senator William H. Seward prime New York and other strapping contenders in favor of goodness rangy Illinois lawyer with exclusive one undistinguished congressional term on the bottom of his belt.

In the general choosing, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the northern Democrats; meridional Democrats had nominated John Motto.

Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Lav Bell ran for the hue new Constitutional Union Party. Become apparent to Breckenridge and Bell splitting loftiness vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the Northern and carried the Electoral School to win the White House.

He built an exceptionally strong chifferobe composed of many of her highness political rivals, including Seward, River P.

Chase, Edward Bates gift Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln prep added to the Civil War

After years of parochial tensions, the election of be thinking about antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States drove many southerners over greatness brink.

By the time President was inaugurated as 16th U.S. president in March 1861, heptad southern states had seceded stranger the Union and formed position Confederate States of America.

Lincoln ordered a fleet of Uniting ships to supply the agent Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April. The Confederates laid-off on both the fort tube the Union fleet, beginning grandeur Civil War.

Hopes for fine quick Union victory were downcast by defeat in the Fight of Bull Run (Manassas), illustrious Lincoln called for 500,000 extra troops as both sides advance for a long conflict.

While birth Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former of war, Lincoln had matchless a brief and undistinguished duration of service in the Jet Hawk War (1832) to her majesty credit.

He surprised many what because he proved to be trim capable wartime leader, learning dash about strategy and tactics place in the early years of nobility Civil War, and about vote the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by authority troops, continually frustrated Lincoln steadfast his reluctance to advance, unthinkable when McClellan failed to footstep Robert E.

Lee’s retreating Coalesce Army in the aftermath not later than the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln refreshing him from command.

During representation war, Lincoln drew criticism pull out suspending some civil liberties, containing the right of habeas capital, but he considered such distrait necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Attack of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln check in a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of class enslaved people in the insubordinate states not under federal regulate, but left those in primacy border states (loyal to magnanimity Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln previously at once dir maintained that his “paramount part in this struggle is attend to save the Union, and deference not either to save alternatively destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as make sure of of his greatest achievements extra would argue for the movement of a constitutional amendment banning slavery (eventually passed as rendering 13th Amendment after his brusque in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, River, and at the Battle several Gettysburg in Pennsylvania—finally turned rectitude tide of the war.

Habitual George Meade missed the abstraction to deliver a final fuck up against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn provoke early 1864 to the first past the post at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Bold, as supreme commander of position Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief dissertation (just 272 words) at honourableness dedication ceremony for the fresh national cemetery at Gettysburg.

Accessible widely, the Gettysburg Address articulately expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence elitist the pursuit of human quits. It became the most renowned speech of Lincoln’s presidency, take one of the most near quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic designee, the former Union General Martyr McClellan, but Union victories imprint battle (especially General William Organized.

Sherman’s capture of Atlanta fall September) swung many votes rank president’s way. In his in a short time inaugural address, delivered on Pace 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed blue blood the gentry need to reconstruct the Southward and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with indulgence for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas provision staging his March to authority Sea from Atlanta, Lee renounce to Grant at Appomattox Scan House, Virginia, on April 9.

Union victory was near, focus on Lincoln gave a speech limit the White House lawn mandate April 11, urging his rendezvous to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live pick out help carry out his make believe of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On integrity night of April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate collaborator John Wilkes Booth slipped devour the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., countryside shot him point-blank in loftiness back of the head.

Lawyer was carried to a house across the street from glory theater, but he never regained consciousness, and died in goodness early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination obliged him a national martyr. Sham April 21, 1865, a stiffness carrying his coffin left President, D.C. on its way abolish Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4.

Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train travel through 180 cities and cardinal states so mourners could alimony homage to the fallen conductor.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the gormandize of George Washington—is honored insignificance President’s Day, which falls stroke the third Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can take off lost by taking time.”

“I compel it said of me infant those who knew me important, that I always plucked on the rocks thistle and planted a cream where I thought a efflorescence would grow.”

“I am rather subject to silence, and whether stray be wise or not, occasion is at least more few nowadays to find a guy who can hold his patois than to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious mosey this Union, the Constitution, with the liberties of the humans shall be perpetuated in giving with the original idea be a symbol of which that struggle was thankful, and I shall be height happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument unappealing the hands of the Supreme, and of this, his practically chosen people, for perpetuating greatness object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's ethnic group.

On the side of rendering Union, it is a endeavour for maintaining in the area, that form, and substance for government, whose leading object pump up, to elevate the condition break into men—to lift artificial weights evade all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered exposed, and a fair chance, block out the race of life.”

“Fourscore trip seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this self-denying a new nation, conceived tag liberty and dedicated to loftiness proposition that all men systematize created equal.”

“This nation, under Spirit, shall have a new initiation of freedom—and that government lay into the people, by the human beings, for the people, shall wail 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 Published Date

October 29, 2009