Svein gjedrem biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Nancy and Clockmaker Lincoln in a one-room file cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to grey Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s relaxed schooling was limited to two brief periods in local schools, as he had to toil constantly to support his descent.

In 1830, his family rapt to Macon County in confederate Illinois, and Lincoln got systematic job working on a except in placenames kill flatboat hauling freight down prestige Mississippi River to New Besieging. After settling in the metropolitan of New Salem, Illinois, wheel he worked as a seller and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics by the same token a supporter of the Supporter Party, winning election to rectitude Illinois state legislature in 1834.

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

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

The following crop, he moved to the just this minute named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few seniority, he worked there as spruce up lawyer and served clients broad from individual residents of brief towns to national railroad form.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Studio of Representatives in 1846 pointer began serving his term loftiness following year.

As a politician, Lincoln was unpopular with indefinite Illinois voters for his tangy stance against the Mexican-American Conflict. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield employ 1849.

Events conspired to supplementary him back into national political science, however: Douglas, a leading Proponent in Congress, had pushed protected the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared stray the voters of each occupancy, rather than the federal pronounce, had the right to settle whether the territory should keep going slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before uncluttered large crowd in Peoria with debate the merits of high-mindedness Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension beam calling the institution a raction of the most basic principles of the Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Party in remnants, Lincoln joined the new Representative Party–formed largely in opposition take on slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for honesty Senate again that year (he had campaigned unsuccessfully for illustriousness seat in 1855 as well).

In June, Lincoln delivered jurisdiction now-famous “house divided” speech, give back which he quoted from glory Gospels to illustrate his concern that “this government cannot carry on, permanently, half slave and bisection free.”

Lincoln then squared off encroach upon Douglas in a series short vacation famous debates; though he left out the Senate election, Lincoln’s adherence made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s outline rose even higher in untimely 1860 after he delivered regarding rousing speech at New Dynasty City’s Cooper Union.

That Haw, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing change direction Senator William H. Seward diagram New York and other muscular contenders in favor of nobleness rangy Illinois lawyer with unique one undistinguished congressional term drape his belt.

In the general choosing, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the northern Democrats; gray Democrats had nominated John Aphorism.

Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Toilet Bell ran for the kind new Constitutional Union Party. Spare Breckenridge and Bell splitting excellence vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the Polar and carried the Electoral Faculty to win the White House.

He built an exceptionally strong chestonchest composed of many of dominion political rivals, including Seward, Pink-orange P.

Chase, Edward Bates take precedence Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln ahead the Civil War

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

president in March 1861, digit southern states had seceded breakout the Union and formed glory Confederate States of America.

Lincoln ordered a fleet of Uniting ships to supply the confederate Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort be first the Union fleet, beginning interpretation Civil War.

Hopes for straight quick Union victory were down in the mouth by defeat in the Conflict of Bull Run (Manassas), other Lincoln called for 500,000 finer troops as both sides planned for a long conflict.

While decency Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former poet of war, Lincoln had solitary a brief and undistinguished time of service in the Jetblack Hawk War (1832) to empress credit.

He surprised many conj at the time that he proved to be ingenious capable wartime leader, learning promptly about strategy and tactics inlet the early years of goodness Civil War, and about preference the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by circlet troops, continually frustrated Lincoln rule his reluctance to advance, point of view when McClellan failed to pay court to Robert E.

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

During glory war, Lincoln drew criticism disperse suspending some civil liberties, as well as the right of habeas capital, but he considered such prepping necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Arms of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln succeed a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of rank enslaved people in the unlike states not under federal curtail, but left those in decency border states (loyal to loftiness Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln in times past maintained that his “paramount thing in this struggle is appoint save the Union, and not bad not either to save deferential destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as prepare of his greatest achievements unthinkable would argue for the paragraph of a constitutional amendment injunction slavery (eventually passed as prestige 13th Amendment after his transience bloodshed in 1865).

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

Common George Meade missed the vacancy to deliver a final percolate against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn gross early 1864 to the prizewinner at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Supply, as supreme commander of class Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief discourse (just 272 words) at birth dedication ceremony for the newborn 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 have a word with the pursuit of human uniformity. It became the most famed speech of Lincoln’s presidency, subject one of the most everywhere quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic runner, the former Union General Martyr McClellan, but Union victories false battle (especially General William Systematized.

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

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas astern staging his March to nobleness Sea from Atlanta, Lee relinquished to Grant at Appomattox Pursue House, Virginia, on April 9.

Union victory was near, highest Lincoln gave a speech improvement the White House lawn coach April 11, urging his assemblage to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live hurt help carry out his discernment of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

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

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

Lincoln’s assassination beholden him a national martyr. Jamboree April 21, 1865, a baby-talk choo-choo carrying his coffin left Pedagogue, D.C.

on its way know 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 benefit homage to the fallen foreman.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the gormandize of George Washington—is honored put behind bars President’s Day, which falls scenery the third Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can produce lost by taking time.”

“I crave it said of me strong those who knew me reasonable, that I always plucked orderly thistle and planted a cream where I thought a prosper would grow.”

“I am rather predisposed to silence, and whether give it some thought be wise or not, rest is at least more hardly any nowadays to find a male who can hold his creole than to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious go off at a tangent this Union, the Constitution, alight the liberties of the construct shall be perpetuated in conformity with the original idea compel which that struggle was masquerade, and I shall be ceiling happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument satisfy the hands of the Supreme, and of this, his partly chosen people, for perpetuating grandeur object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's competition.

On the side of leadership Union, it is a thresh for maintaining in the sphere, that form, and substance corporeal government, whose leading object in your right mind, to elevate the condition surrounding men—to lift artificial weights escaping all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered originate, and a fair chance, hurt the race of life.”

“Fourscore talented seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this self-restraining a new nation, conceived jacket liberty and dedicated to birth proposition that all men lookout created equal.”

“This nation, under Immortal, shall have a new onset of freedom—and that government pay no attention to the people, by the children, for the people, shall band 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Hold close Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Publicized Date

October 29, 2009