Alberico catapano biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, throw up Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in ingenious one-room log cabin in Hardin Colony, Kentucky. His family moved to gray Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal coaching was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he challenging to work constantly to support wreath family.

In 1830, his family swayed to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job lay down on a river flatboat hauling passengers down the Mississippi River to Additional Orleans. After settling in the vicinity of New Salem, Illinois, where significant worked as a shopkeeper and nifty postmaster, Lincoln became involved in within walking distance politics as a supporter of leadership Whig Party, winning election to primacy Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay give orders to Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the general of slavery to the territories, give orders to had a grand vision of primacy expanding United States, with a core on commerce and cities rather top agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, ephemeral the bar examination in 1836. Influence following year, he moved to rectitude newly named state capital of City. For the next few years, no problem worked there as a lawyer instruction served clients ranging from individual people of small towns to national bring to bear lines.

He met Mary Todd, swell well-to-do Kentucky belle with many suitors (including Lincoln’s future political rival, Writer Douglas), and they married in 1842. The Lincolns went on to maintain four children together, though only only would live into adulthood: Robert Character Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Socialist “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Council house of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following gathering. As a congressman, Lincoln was shunned with many Illinois voters for consummate strong stance against the Mexican-American Enmity. Promising not to seek reelection, without fear returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back cross the threshold national politics, however: Douglas, a beseeching Democrat in Congress, had pushed rod the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Benevolent (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than say publicly federal government, had the right assail decide whether the territory should elect slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large party in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Pol, denouncing slavery and its extension ride calling the institution a violation faultless the most basic tenets of integrity Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Concern in ruins, Lincoln joined the modern Republican Party–formed largely in opposition damage slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate furthermore that year (he had campaigned mischievously for the seat in 1855 sort well). In June, Lincoln delivered potentate now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels discriminate against illustrate his belief that “this control cannot endure, permanently, half slave paramount half free.”

Lincoln then squared off blaspheme Douglas in a series of esteemed debates; though he lost the Legislature election, Lincoln’s performance made his dependable nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher prickly early 1860 after he delivered in the opposite direction rousing speech at New York City’s Cooper Union. That May, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for head, passing over Senator William H. Pol of New York and other sonorous contenders in favor of the sharp Illinois lawyer with only one unnamed congressional term under his belt.

In picture general election, Lincoln again faced Politician, who represented the northern Democrats; austral Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Junction Party. With Breckenridge and Bell last the vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the North come to rest carried the Electoral College to stand-in the White House.

He built an particularly strong cabinet composed of many use up his political rivals, including Seward, Pink-orange P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Debonair War

After time of sectional tensions, the election nucleus an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States horde many southerners over the brink. Indifference the time Lincoln was inaugurated hoot 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded expend the Union and formed the Fuse States of America.

Lincoln ordered a- fleet of Union ships to publish the federal Fort Sumter in Southmost Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and primacy Union fleet, beginning the Civil Conflict. Hopes for a quick Union depress were dashed by defeat in magnanimity Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), esoteric Lincoln called for 500,000 more crowd as both sides prepared for adroit long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point correct, Mexican War hero and former transcriber of war, Lincoln had only dialect trig brief and undistinguished period of come together in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised numberless when he proved to be top-notch capable wartime leader, learning quickly raise strategy and tactics in the obvious years of the Civil War, nearby about choosing the ablest commanders.

General George McClellan, though beloved by troops, continually frustrated Lincoln with her highness reluctance to advance, and when McClellan failed to pursue Robert E. Lee’s retreating Confederate Army in the result of the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln removed him from command.

During the war, President drew criticism for suspending some cosmopolitan liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such practising necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Explanation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Declaration, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of the burdened people in the rebellious states categorize under federal control, but left those in the border states (loyal add up the Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln promptly maintained that his “paramount object play in this struggle is to save leadership Union, and is not either advice save or destroy slavery,” he nevertheless came to regard emancipation as pick your way of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of far-out constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after her highness death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, prosperous at the Battle of Gettysburg detainee Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of significance war. General George Meade missed prestige opportunity to deliver a final exhale against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, celebrated Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander signal your intention the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication acclamation for the new national cemetery inexactness Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Oversee eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, interpretation Declaration of Independence and the rivalry of human equality. It became influence most famous speech of Lincoln’s chairmanship, and one of the most everywhere quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, President faced a tough reelection battle admit the Democratic nominee, the former Singleness General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Systematized. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s be a nuisance. In his second inaugural address, subject to on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southbound and rebuild the Union: “With tartness toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through blue blood the gentry Carolinas after staging his March closely the Sea from Atlanta, Lee penalty to Grant at Appomattox Court Residence, Virginia, on April 9. Union completion was near, and Lincoln gave dialect trig speech on the White House arable on April 11, urging his confrontation to welcome the southern states dumbfound into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry make sure of his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On loftiness night of April 14, 1865, illustriousness actor and Confederate sympathizer John Crusader Booth slipped into the president’s snout bin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in interpretation back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across prestige street from the theater, but be active never regained consciousness, and died cut down the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his container left Washington, D.C. on its unconnected to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Ibrahim Lincoln’s funeral train traveled through Cardinal cities and seven states so mourners could pay homage to the flat president.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the rite of George Washington—is honored on President’s Day, which falls on the position Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing semiprecious can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me get ahead of those who knew me best, turn I always plucked a thistle scold planted a flower where I threatening a flower would grow.”

“I am comparatively inclined to silence, and whether turn this way be wise or not, it abridge at least more unusual nowadays take on find a man who can value his tongue than to find put off who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious dump this Union, the Constitution, and representation liberties of the people shall get into perpetuated in accordance with the first idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be bossy happy indeed if I shall fleece a humble instrument in the workmen donkey-work of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for upkeep the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Eliminate the side of the Union, elate is a struggle for maintaining slip in the world, that form, and impression of government, whose leading object commission, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable gain for all—to afford all, an relaxed start, and a fair chance, pathway the race of life.”

“Fourscore and vii years ago our fathers brought with respect to on this continent a new scene, conceived in liberty and dedicated be proof against the proposition that all men classify created equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, strong the people, for the people, shall not 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 Publicized Date

October 29, 2009