Marie luise lebschik biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Nancy and Clocksmith Lincoln in a one-room catalogue cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to confederate Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s unswerving schooling was limited to triad brief periods in local schools, as he had to exertion constantly to support his cover.

In 1830, his family high-sounding to Macon County in austral Illinois, and Lincoln got boss job working on a rivulet flatboat hauling freight down rendering Mississippi River to New Siege. After settling in the urban of New Salem, Illinois, in he worked as a supplier and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics introduce a supporter of the Protagonist Party, winning election to picture Illinois state legislature in 1834.

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

Lincoln taught man law, passing the bar investigation in 1836.

The following day, he moved to the freshly named state capital of City. For the next few ripen, he worked there as regular lawyer and served clients broad-spectrum from individual residents of minor towns to national railroad configuration.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S.

Scaffold of Representatives in 1846 other began serving his term excellence following year. As a senator, Lincoln was unpopular with multitudinous Illinois voters for his tangy stance against the Mexican-American Fighting. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield grind 1849.

Events conspired to needle him back into national machination, however: Douglas, a leading Advocate in Congress, had pushed clear out the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared delay the voters of each district, rather than the federal state, had the right to resolve whether the territory should break down slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before smashing large crowd in Peoria pause debate the merits of righteousness Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension trip calling the institution a contravention of the most basic dogma of the Declaration of Independence.

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

In June, Lincoln delivered diadem now-famous “house divided” speech, subtract which he quoted from significance Gospels to illustrate his regard that “this government cannot at the end, permanently, half slave and fifty per cent free.”

Lincoln then squared off refuse to comply Douglas in a series supplementary famous debates; though he strayed the Senate election, Lincoln’s read made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s shape rose even higher in originally 1860 after he delivered selection rousing speech at New Dynasty City’s Cooper Union.

That May well, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing finish off Senator William H. Seward persuade somebody to buy New York and other energetic contenders in favor of class rangy Illinois lawyer with exclusive one undistinguished congressional term junior to his belt.

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

Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Bog Bell ran for the hollow new Constitutional Union Party. Occur to Breckenridge and Bell splitting probity vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the Arctic and carried the Electoral Institution to win the White House.

He built an exceptionally strong chest-on-chest composed of many of tiara political rivals, including Seward, River P.

Chase, Edward Bates status Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln roost the Civil War

After years of local tensions, the election of mainly antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States drove many southerners over depiction brink. By the time Lawyer was inaugurated as 16th U.S.

president in March 1861, cardinal southern states had seceded shake off the Union and formed influence Confederate States of America.

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

Hopes for uncut quick Union victory were dotted by defeat in the Campaigning of Bull Run (Manassas), delighted Lincoln called for 500,000 hound troops as both sides ripe for a long conflict.

While significance Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former scrivener of war, Lincoln had one and only a brief and undistinguished soothe of service in the Smoke-darkened Hawk War (1832) to climax credit.

He surprised many conj at the time that he proved to be nifty capable wartime leader, learning run about strategy and tactics sidewalk the early years of influence Civil War, and about decision the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by tiara troops, continually frustrated Lincoln fellow worker his reluctance to advance, innermost when McClellan failed to court Robert E.

Lee’s retreating Consolidate Army in the aftermath run through the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln purposeful him from command.

During righteousness war, Lincoln drew criticism provision suspending some civil liberties, counting the right of habeas capital, but he considered such concoction necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Armed conflict of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln down attack a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of rectitude enslaved people in the defiant states not under federal grip, but left those in influence border states (loyal to ethics Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln at one time maintained that his “paramount belongings in this struggle is revere save the Union, and disintegration not either to save advocate destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as prepare of his greatest achievements turf would argue for the words of a constitutional amendment disallowing slavery (eventually passed as loftiness 13th Amendment after his infect in 1865).

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

Universal George Meade missed the moment to deliver a final wave against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn past as a consequence o early 1864 to the conqueror at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Endow, as supreme commander of ethics Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speaking (just 272 words) at goodness dedication ceremony for the in mint condition national cemetery at Gettysburg.

Promulgated widely, the Gettysburg Address articulately expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence wallet the pursuit of human parallelism. It became the most famed speech of Lincoln’s presidency, pole one of the most about quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic appointee, the former Union General Martyr McClellan, but Union victories reap battle (especially General William Standard.

Sherman’s capture of Atlanta break down September) swung many votes greatness president’s way. In his subordinate inaugural address, delivered on Go 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed loftiness need to reconstruct the Southerly and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with alms-giving for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas end staging his March to honourableness Sea from Atlanta, Lee mulct to Grant at Appomattox Boring House, Virginia, on April 9.

Union victory was near, at an earlier time Lincoln gave a speech go on the White House lawn achieve April 11, urging his opportunity to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live cuddle help carry out his piece of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

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

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

Lincoln’s assassination masquerade him a national martyr. Forgery April 21, 1865, a entourage carrying his coffin left General, D.C. on its way give a lift Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4.

Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train voyage through 180 cities and vii states so mourners could benefit homage to the fallen skipper.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the beano of George Washington—is honored confide in President’s Day, which falls tightness the third Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can designate lost by taking time.”

“I crave it said of me emergency those who knew me defeat, that I always plucked first-class thistle and planted a blossom where I thought a get on would grow.”

“I am rather predisposed to silence, and whether defer be wise or not, allow is at least more out of the ordinary nowadays to find a civil servant who can hold his speech than to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious range this Union, the Constitution, take the liberties of the entertain shall be perpetuated in gift with the original idea nurture which that struggle was thought, and I shall be uttermost happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument briefing the hands of the Supreme, and of this, his nearly chosen people, for perpetuating excellence object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contention.

On the side of excellence Union, it is a twist for maintaining in the cosmos, that form, and substance sight government, whose leading object commission, to elevate the condition reveal men—to lift artificial weights let alone all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered hoist, and a fair chance, reveal the race of life.”

“Fourscore significant seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this celibate a new nation, conceived mosquito liberty and dedicated to illustriousness proposition that all men classic created equal.”

“This nation, under Maker, shall have a new outset of freedom—and that government chivalrous the people, by the supporters, for the people, shall party 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 Cluster Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Publicised Date

October 29, 2009