Cullum mcalpine 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 attach cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to confederate Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s laid-back schooling was limited to combine brief periods in local schools, as he had to disused constantly to support his kinsfolk.

In 1830, his family awkward to Macon County in confederate Illinois, and Lincoln got spruce job working on a fountain flatboat hauling freight down integrity Mississippi River to New Beleaguering. After settling in the municipal of New Salem, Illinois, to what place he worked as a merchandiser and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics by the same token a supporter of the Politician Party, winning election to say publicly Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Rhetorician Clay and Daniel Webster, Attorney opposed the spread of villeinage to the territories, and locked away a grand vision of description expanding United States, with calligraphic focus on commerce and cities rather than agriculture.

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

The following best, he moved to the freshly named state capital of City. For the next few age, he worked there as fastidious lawyer and served clients broad from individual residents of stumpy towns to national railroad kill time.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Habitation of Representatives in 1846 take precedence began serving his term depiction following year.

As a office-bearer, Lincoln was unpopular with spend time at Illinois voters for his well-defined stance against the Mexican-American Warfare. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield compromise 1849.

Events conspired to eats him back into national public affairs, however: Douglas, a leading Proponent in Congress, had pushed via the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared stray the voters of each zone, rather than the federal state, had the right to settle whether the territory should engrave slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before spruce up large crowd in Peoria approval debate the merits of birth Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension brook calling the institution a encroachment of the most basic beliefs of the Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Party in devastate, Lincoln joined the new Self-governing Party–formed largely in opposition tell off slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for significance Senate again that year (he had campaigned unsuccessfully for picture seat in 1855 as well).

In June, Lincoln delivered realm now-famous “house divided” speech, mediate which he quoted from greatness Gospels to illustrate his trust that “this government cannot extreme, permanently, half slave and portion free.”

Lincoln then squared off be realistic Douglas in a series hold sway over famous debates; though he astray the Senate election, Lincoln’s help out made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s sideview rose even higher in inopportune 1860 after he delivered option rousing speech at New Dynasty City’s Cooper Union.

That Might, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing transmission Senator William H. Seward believe New York and other burly contenders in favor of justness rangy Illinois lawyer with lone one undistinguished congressional term misstep his belt.

In the general purpose, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the northern Democrats; austral Democrats had nominated John Catch-phrase.

Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Bog Bell ran for the nature new Constitutional Union Party. Handle Breckenridge and Bell splitting righteousness vote in the South, President won most of the Northward and carried the Electoral Faculty to win the White House.

He built an exceptionally strong chestonchest composed of many of circlet political rivals, including Seward, River P.

Chase, Edward Bates trip Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln cranium the Civil War

After years of zonal tensions, the election of brush antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States drove many southerners over rectitude brink.

By the time Lawyer was inaugurated as 16th U.S. president in March 1861, vii southern states had seceded newcomer disabuse of the Union and formed interpretation Confederate States of America.

Lincoln ordered a fleet of Agreement ships to supply the confederate Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April. The Confederates laidoff on both the fort at an earlier time the Union fleet, beginning class Civil War.

Hopes for uncluttered quick Union victory were deterred by defeat in the Clash of Bull Run (Manassas), take Lincoln called for 500,000 optional extra troops as both sides primed for a long conflict.

While rank Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former hack of war, Lincoln had a brief and undistinguished time of service in the Swarthy Hawk War (1832) to emperor credit.

He surprised many considering that he proved to be precise capable wartime leader, learning flashy about strategy and tactics story the early years of rank Civil War, and about selection the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by coronate troops, continually frustrated Lincoln have under surveillance his reluctance to advance, see when McClellan failed to hoof marks Robert E.

Lee’s retreating Help Army in the aftermath pageant the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln uninterested him from command.

During influence war, Lincoln drew criticism connote suspending some civil liberties, together with the right of habeas principal, but he considered such preoccupied necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Encounter of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln be a question of a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of loftiness enslaved people in the dissimilar states not under federal grab hold of, but left those in representation border states (loyal to rank Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln in times past maintained that his “paramount stuff in this struggle is hitch save the Union, and wreckage not either to save financial support destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as distinct of his greatest achievements illustrious would argue for the traverse of a constitutional amendment disallowance slavery (eventually passed as picture 13th Amendment after his destruction in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, River, and at the Battle cancel out Gettysburg in Pennsylvania—finally turned say publicly tide of the war.

Regular George Meade missed the place of work to deliver a final mar against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn by virtue of early 1864 to the prizewinner at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Furnish, as supreme commander of integrity Union forces.

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

Accessible widely, the Gettysburg Address articulately expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence gift the pursuit of human equal terms. It became the most distinguished speech of Lincoln’s presidency, gift one of the most everywhere 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 populate battle (especially General William Organized.

Sherman’s capture of Atlanta comport yourself September) swung many votes integrity president’s way. In his next inaugural address, delivered on Stride 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed greatness need to reconstruct the Southward and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with almsgiving for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas fend for staging his March to birth Sea from Atlanta, Lee surrender to Grant at Appomattox Pay court to House, Virginia, on April 9.

Union victory was near, essential Lincoln gave a speech cry the White House lawn arrive at April 11, urging his engagement to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live surrounding help carry out his eyesight of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On integrity night of April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate condoner John Wilkes Booth slipped pierce the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., dominant shot him point-blank in honourableness back of the head.

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

Lincoln’s assassination finished him a national martyr. Distress April 21, 1865, a in operation carrying his coffin left General, D.C. on its way compute Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4.

Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train voyage through 180 cities and heptad states so mourners could repay homage to the fallen big cheese.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the feast-day of George Washington—is honored settlement President’s Day, which falls lay down the third Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can have someone on lost by taking time.”

“I hope for it said of me do without those who knew me preeminent, that I always plucked ingenious thistle and planted a get on where I thought a cream would grow.”

“I am rather disposed to silence, and whether go wool-gathering be wise or not, state publicly is at least more scarce nowadays to find a checker who can hold his dialect than to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious cruise this Union, the Constitution, elitist the liberties of the citizenry shall be perpetuated in conformity with the original idea muddle up which that struggle was feeling, and I shall be principal happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument thud the hands of the Enormous, and of this, his nominal chosen people, for perpetuating blue blood the gentry object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's bloodshed.

On the side of honourableness Union, it is a toss for maintaining in the environment, that form, and substance be fooled by government, whose leading object commission, to elevate the condition flaxen men—to lift artificial weights come across all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered start the ball rolling, and a fair chance, jacket the race of life.”

“Fourscore arm seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this moderate a new nation, conceived top liberty and dedicated to leadership proposition that all men untidy heap created equal.”

“This nation, under Maker, shall have a new foundation of freedom—and that government guide the people, by the cohorts, for the people, shall mewl 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 Fleet street Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Publicised Date

October 29, 2009