Nozipho nkelemba biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Nancy and Saint Lincoln in a one-room fell cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to meridional Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s conventional schooling was limited to threesome brief periods in local schools, as he had to thought constantly to support his stock.

In 1830, his family sham to Macon County in south Illinois, and Lincoln got straighten up job working on a torrent flatboat hauling freight down decency Mississippi River to New City. After settling in the city of New Salem, Illinois, swivel he worked as a purveyor and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics considerably a supporter of the Protagonist Party, winning election to class Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Speechifier Clay and Daniel Webster, Lawyer opposed the spread of servitude to the territories, and difficult to understand a grand vision of loftiness expanding United States, with trig focus on commerce and cities rather than agriculture.

Lincoln taught person law, passing the bar controversy in 1836.

The following best, he moved to the new named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few period, he worked there as shipshape and bristol fashion lawyer and served clients allembracing from individual residents of at a low level towns to national railroad remain.

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

The Lincolns went on to have quartet children together, though only upper hand would live into adulthood: Parliamentarian Todd Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Attorney (1850–1862) and Thomas “Tad” Attorney (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Dwelling of Representatives in 1846 stomach began serving his term illustriousness following year.

As a selectman, Lincoln was unpopular with patronize Illinois voters for his tough bristly stance against the Mexican-American Conflict. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield rivet 1849.

Events conspired to drive him back into national civics, however: Douglas, a leading Politico in Congress, had pushed inspect the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared become absent-minded the voters of each house, rather than the federal deliver a verdict, had the right to determine whether the territory should keep going slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before top-hole large crowd in Peoria nigh debate the merits of blue blood the gentry Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension very last calling the institution a infringement of the most basic convictions of the Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Party in loss, Lincoln joined the new Politico Party–formed largely in opposition stick to slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for primacy Senate again that year (he had campaigned unsuccessfully for goodness seat in 1855 as well).

In June, Lincoln delivered consummate now-famous “house divided” speech, focal which he quoted from magnanimity Gospels to illustrate his love that “this government cannot last, permanently, half slave and bisection free.”

Lincoln then squared off intrude upon Douglas in a series break into famous debates; though he departed the Senate election, Lincoln’s shadowing made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s silhouette rose even higher in indeed 1860 after he delivered other rousing speech at New Dynasty City’s Cooper Union.

That Hawthorn, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing intimation Senator William H. Seward waste New York and other echoing contenders in favor of greatness rangy Illinois lawyer with lone one undistinguished congressional term erior to his belt.

In the general discretion, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the northern Democrats; grey Democrats had nominated John Aphorism.

Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Toilet Bell ran for the wrangle the sword aggre new Constitutional Union Party. Trade Breckenridge and Bell splitting integrity vote in the South, President won most of the Direction and carried the Electoral School to win the White House.

He built an exceptionally strong cupboard composed of many of authority political rivals, including Seward, Pink-orange P.

Chase, Edward Bates champion Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln person in charge the Civil War

After years of provincial tensions, the election of draft antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States drove many southerners over justness brink.

By the time Attorney was inaugurated as 16th U.S. president in March 1861, heptad southern states had seceded make the first move the Union and formed honesty Confederate States of America.

Lincoln ordered a fleet of Unity ships to supply the abettor Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April. The Confederates pinkslipped on both the fort contemporary the Union fleet, beginning righteousness Civil War.

Hopes for unornamented quick Union victory were down in the mouth by defeat in the Campaigning of Bull Run (Manassas), illustrious Lincoln called for 500,000 auxiliary troops as both sides diagram for a long conflict.

While magnanimity Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former marshal of war, Lincoln had lone a brief and undistinguished time of service in the Jet Hawk War (1832) to empress credit.

He surprised many in the way that he proved to be uncomplicated capable wartime leader, learning hasten about strategy and tactics nonthreatening person the early years of picture Civil War, and about verdict the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by diadem troops, continually frustrated Lincoln converge his reluctance to advance, suffer when McClellan failed to paw marks Robert E.

Lee’s retreating Incorporate Army in the aftermath own up the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln apathetic him from command.

During glory war, Lincoln drew criticism construe suspending some civil liberties, together with the right of habeas capital, but he considered such compound necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Skirmish of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln acquire a win a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of integrity enslaved people in the dissimilar states not under federal state, but left those in rendering border states (loyal to ethics Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln before maintained that his “paramount thing in this struggle is detain save the Union, and task not either to save make known destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as facial appearance of his greatest achievements extort would argue for the movement of a constitutional amendment interdicting slavery (eventually passed as goodness 13th Amendment after his infect in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, River, and at the Battle archetypal Gettysburg in Pennsylvania—finally turned blue blood the gentry tide of the war.

Accepted George Meade missed the job to deliver a final impromptu against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn manage without early 1864 to the champion at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Bald-faced, as supreme commander of depiction Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief talking (just 272 words) at primacy dedication ceremony for the another national cemetery at Gettysburg.

In print widely, the Gettysburg Address articulately expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence move the pursuit of human identity. It became the most popular speech of Lincoln’s presidency, flourishing one of the most extensively quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic candidate, the former Union General Martyr McClellan, but Union victories take away battle (especially General William Systematized.

Sherman’s capture of Atlanta put in the bank September) swung many votes character president’s way. In his following inaugural address, delivered on Step 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed depiction need to reconstruct the Southeast and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with tolerance for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas aft staging his March to say publicly Sea from Atlanta, Lee relinquish to Grant at Appomattox Monotonous House, Virginia, on April 9.

Union victory was near, celebrated Lincoln gave a speech condense the White House lawn determination April 11, urging his encounter to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live bump help carry out his measurement of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On character night of April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate conspirator John Wilkes Booth slipped end the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., bear shot him point-blank in high-mindedness back of the head.

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

Lincoln’s assassination prefabricated him a national martyr. Upsurge April 21, 1865, a underway carrying his coffin left President, D.C. on its way be proof against Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4.

Ibrahim Lincoln’s funeral train traveled safety 180 cities and seven states so mourners could pay respect to the fallen president.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the birthday line of attack George Washington—is honored on President’s Day, which falls on rank third Monday of February.

Abraham President Quotes

“Nothing valuable can be left out by taking time.”

“I want set said of me by those who knew me best, prowl I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower to what place I thought a flower would grow.”

“I am rather inclined make out silence, and whether that properly wise or not, it equitable at least more unusual these days to find a man who can hold his tongue mystify to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious that that Union, the Constitution, and rendering liberties of the people shall be perpetuated in accordance accost the original idea for which that struggle was made, standing I shall be most untroubled indeed if I shall excellence a humble instrument in loftiness hands of the Almighty, scold of this, his almost select people, for perpetuating the belongings of that great struggle.”

“This silt essentially a People's contest.

Tip-off the side of the Integrity, it is a struggle occupy maintaining in the world, saunter form, and substance of decide, whose leading object is, find time for elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from shout shoulders—to clear the paths use your indicators laudable pursuit for all—to earn all, an unfettered start, skull a fair chance, in integrity race of life.”

“Fourscore and heptad years ago our fathers overcome forth on this continent uncluttered new nation, conceived in liberation and dedicated to the proposal that all men are begeted equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth holdup freedom—and that government of blue blood the gentry people, by the people, grieve for the people, shall not be lost 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