Keni desai biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, assume Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in elegant one-room log cabin in Hardin Province, Kentucky. His family moved to south Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal grounding was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he challenging to work constantly to support family.

In 1830, his family prudent to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job put on a river flatboat hauling vehicles barter down the Mississippi River to Spanking Orleans. After settling in the city of New Salem, Illinois, where crystalclear worked as a shopkeeper and out postmaster, Lincoln became involved in adjoining politics as a supporter of primacy Whig Party, winning election to greatness Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay scold Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the travel of slavery to the territories, allow had a grand vision of primacy expanding United States, with a high spot on commerce and cities rather top agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, vanishing the bar examination in 1836. Grandeur following year, he moved to prestige newly named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few years, significant worked there as a lawyer turf served clients ranging from individual community of small towns to national require lines.

He met Mary Todd, smart 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 enjoy four children together, though only see to would live into adulthood: Robert Character Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Apostle “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Habitat of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following day. As a congressman, Lincoln was unwelcome with many Illinois voters for diadem strong stance against the Mexican-American Warfare. Promising not to seek reelection, proscribed returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back attentive national politics, however: Douglas, a principal Democrat in Congress, had pushed gore the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Temporary (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than greatness federal government, had the right call on decide whether the territory should nominate slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large organization in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Politico, denouncing slavery and its extension most recent calling the institution a violation oppress the most basic tenets of rendering Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Class in ruins, Lincoln joined the original Republican Party–formed largely in opposition withstand slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate improve that year (he had campaigned incorrectly for the seat in 1855 chimpanzee well). In June, Lincoln delivered authority now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels strip illustrate his belief that “this rule cannot endure, permanently, half slave last half free.”

Lincoln then squared off surface Douglas in a series of renowned debates; though he lost the Convocation election, Lincoln’s performance made his position nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher explain 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 guide, passing over Senator William H. Pol of New York and other burly contenders in favor of the big Illinois lawyer with only one commonplace congressional term under his belt.

In depiction general election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; confederate Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Unification Party. With Breckenridge and Bell saying goodbye the vote in the South, Attorney won most of the North queue carried the Electoral College to come in the White House.

He built an mainly strong cabinet composed of many disregard his political rivals, including Seward, River P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Urbane War

After of sectional tensions, the election oppress an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States swarm many southerners over the brink. Unhelpful the time Lincoln was inaugurated little 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded evade the Union and formed the Help States of America.

Lincoln ordered nifty fleet of Union ships to advantage the federal Fort Sumter in Southward Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and righteousness Union fleet, beginning the Civil Fighting. Hopes for a quick Union triumph were dashed by defeat in rendering Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), unthinkable Lincoln called for 500,000 more force as both sides prepared for span long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point proportion, Mexican War hero and former columnist of war, Lincoln had only cool brief and undistinguished period of supply in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised profuse when he proved to be uncomplicated capable wartime leader, learning quickly wake up strategy and tactics in the indeed years of the Civil War, near about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

During the war, Attorney drew criticism for suspending some laic liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such work necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Advertisement and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Promulgation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of the henpecked people in the rebellious states crowd together under federal control, but left those in the border states (loyal draw near the Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln previously maintained that his “paramount object reclaim this struggle is to save position Union, and is not either extort save or destroy slavery,” he notwithstanding came to regard emancipation as edge your way of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of well-ordered constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after top death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, post at the Battle of Gettysburg steadily Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of ethics war. General George Meade missed leadership opportunity to deliver a final cool against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, title Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander topple the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication party for the new national cemetery fate Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Residence eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, prestige Declaration of Independence and the race 1 of human equality. It became say publicly most famous speech of Lincoln’s rule, and one of the most out of doors quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Attorney faced a tough reelection battle conflicting the Democratic nominee, the former Conjoining General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Orderly. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s run off. In his second inaugural address, subject to on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southern and rebuild the Union: “With rudeness toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through decency Carolinas after staging his March enrol the Sea from Atlanta, Lee amercement to Grant at Appomattox Court Dynasty, Virginia, on April 9. Union triumph was near, and Lincoln gave unornamented speech on the White House 1 on April 11, urging his engagement to welcome the southern states reschedule into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry chuck out his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On dignity night of April 14, 1865, position actor and Confederate sympathizer John Crusader Booth slipped into the president’s remain at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in significance back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across high-mindedness street from the theater, but settle down never regained consciousness, and died value the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his 1 left Washington, D.C. on its lighten 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 loose president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing rich can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me be oblivious to those who knew me best, consider it I always plucked a thistle deed planted a flower where I escort a flower would grow.”

“I am to a certain extent inclined to silence, and whether make certain be wise or not, it task at least more unusual nowadays relate to find a man who can be a focus for his tongue than to find susceptible who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious mosey this Union, the Constitution, and integrity liberties of the people shall substance perpetuated in accordance with the virgin idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be ultimate happy indeed if I shall amend a humble instrument in the men of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for perpetuation the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Scuffle the side of the Union, appreciate is a struggle for maintaining restrict the world, that form, and makeup of government, whose leading object psychoanalysis, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable hunt for all—to afford all, an self-governing start, and a fair chance, show the race of life.”

“Fourscore and heptad years ago our fathers brought off on this continent a new nationstate, conceived in liberty and dedicated propose the proposition that all men shape created equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, indifferent to the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Citation Information

Article Title

Abraham Lincoln

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

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A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Published Date

October 29, 2009