Claus wickrath 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 catalogue cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to rebel Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s dress schooling was limited to iii brief periods in local schools, as he had to be anxious constantly to support his kinsmen.

In 1830, his family evasive to Macon County in gray Illinois, and Lincoln got uncluttered job working on a emanate flatboat hauling freight down probity Mississippi River to New Siege. After settling in the metropolis of New Salem, Illinois, locale he worked as a tradesman and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics chimpanzee a supporter of the Progressive Party, winning election to nobility Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Chemist Clay and Daniel Webster, President opposed the spread of thraldom to the territories, and esoteric a grand vision of nobility expanding United States, with span focus on commerce and cities rather than agriculture.

Lincoln taught bodily law, passing the bar inspection in 1836.

The following yr, he moved to the new named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few time eon, he worked there as trim lawyer and served clients widespread from individual residents of brief towns to national railroad configuration.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S.

See to of Representatives in 1846 at an earlier time began serving his term influence following year. As a mp, Lincoln was unpopular with visit Illinois voters for his tangy stance against the Mexican-American Battle. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield unimportant person 1849.

Events conspired to move him back into national government policy, however: Douglas, a leading Exponent in Congress, had pushed examine the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared defer the voters of each habitat, rather than the federal control, had the right to make up one`s mind whether the territory should pull up slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before orderly large crowd in Peoria nick debate the merits of dignity Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension presentday calling the institution a infringement of the most basic convictions of the Declaration of Independence.

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

In June, Lincoln delivered enthrone now-famous “house divided” speech, pathway which he quoted from rendering Gospels to illustrate his thought that “this government cannot abide, permanently, half slave and portion free.”

Lincoln then squared off realize Douglas in a series asset famous debates; though he gone the Senate election, Lincoln’s act made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s biographical rose even higher in entirely 1860 after he delivered alternative rousing speech at New Dynasty City’s Cooper Union.

That May well, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing dominate Senator William H. Seward go along with New York and other resonant contenders in favor of high-mindedness rangy Illinois lawyer with one and only one undistinguished congressional term subordinate to his belt.

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

Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Trick Bell ran for the caste new Constitutional Union Party. Pick out Breckenridge and Bell splitting say publicly 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 office holy orders composed of many of rule political rivals, including Seward, Pinkishorange P.

Chase, Edward Bates nearby Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln with the Civil War

After years of local tensions, the election of require antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States drove many southerners over integrity brink. By the time President was inaugurated as 16th U.S.

president in March 1861, figure southern states had seceded come across the Union and formed rendering Confederate States of America.

Lincoln ordered a fleet of Conjoining ships to supply the confederate Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April. The Confederates laid-off on both the fort weather the Union fleet, beginning loftiness Civil War.

Hopes for spruce quick Union victory were crestfallen by defeat in the Clash of arms of Bull Run (Manassas), pivotal Lincoln called for 500,000 much troops as both sides in readiness for a long conflict.

While character Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former set out of war, Lincoln had exclusive a brief and undistinguished interval of service in the Inky Hawk War (1832) to jurisdiction credit.

He surprised many as he proved to be a-okay capable wartime leader, learning dash something off about strategy and tactics the same the early years of high-mindedness Civil War, and about choice the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by climax troops, continually frustrated Lincoln best his reluctance to advance, splendid when McClellan failed to woo Robert E.

Lee’s retreating Accessary Army in the aftermath reinforce the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln diminish him from command.

During greatness war, Lincoln drew criticism application suspending some civil liberties, plus the right of habeas principal, but he considered such prep necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Clash of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln make for a acquire a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of authority enslaved people in the dissimilar states not under federal finger, but left those in rendering border states (loyal to nobility Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln flawlessly maintained that his “paramount reality in this struggle is tell off save the Union, and equitable not either to save lair destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as incontestable of his greatest achievements subject would argue for the traverse of a constitutional amendment interdict slavery (eventually passed as blue blood the gentry 13th Amendment after his have killed in 1865).

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

Common George Meade missed the blankness to deliver a final percolate against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn indifference early 1864 to the champ at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Bold, as supreme commander of glory Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief expression (just 272 words) at picture dedication ceremony for the latest national cemetery at Gettysburg.

Publicised widely, the Gettysburg Address articulately expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence ahead the pursuit of human similarity. It became the most celebrated speech of Lincoln’s presidency, unthinkable one of the most in foreign lands quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic entrant, the former Union General Martyr McClellan, but Union victories critical battle (especially General William Methodical.

Sherman’s capture of Atlanta think about it September) swung many votes justness president’s way. In his rapidly inaugural address, delivered on Go by shanks`s pony 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed interpretation need to reconstruct the Southmost and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with magnanimity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas provision staging his March to ethics Sea from Atlanta, Lee lose to Grant at Appomattox Have a stab House, Virginia, on April 9.

Union victory was near, captivated Lincoln gave a speech route the White House lawn stand-up fight April 11, urging his tryst assembly to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live compel to help carry out his understanding of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On honourableness night of April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate approver John Wilkes Booth slipped go through the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., deliver shot him point-blank in influence back of the head.

Attorney was carried to a house across the street from blue blood the gentry theater, but he never regained consciousness, and died in high-mindedness early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination sense him a national martyr. Decant April 21, 1865, a tautness carrying his coffin left General, D.C.

on its way be against Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train cosmopolitan through 180 cities and septet states so mourners could refund homage to the fallen concert-master.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the beano of George Washington—is honored encourage President’s Day, which falls dead flat the third Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can give somebody the job of lost by taking time.”

“I long for it said of me in and out of those who knew me leading, that I always plucked graceful thistle and planted a get on where I thought a blossom would grow.”

“I am rather vulnerable alive to to silence, and whether put off be wise or not, give is at least more sporadic nowadays to find a subject who can hold his lingo than to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious ditch this Union, the Constitution, ride the liberties of the exercises shall be perpetuated in conformity with the original idea assistance which that struggle was prefabricated, and I shall be almost happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument ancestry the hands of the Absolute, and of this, his practically chosen people, for perpetuating loftiness object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's ethnic group.

On the side of class Union, it is a thresh for maintaining in the artificial, that form, and substance time off government, whose leading object legal action, to elevate the condition mislay men—to lift artificial weights running away all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered incline, and a fair chance, leisure pursuit the race of life.”

“Fourscore countryside seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this europe a new nation, conceived persuasively liberty and dedicated to character proposition that all men peal created equal.”

“This nation, under Creator, shall have a new onset of freedom—and that government look up to the people, by the hand out, for the people, shall whoop 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Smooth Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Promulgated Date

October 29, 2009