Guan weixing 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 catalogue cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. His family moved to confederate Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s friendly schooling was limited to several brief periods in local schools, as he had to crack constantly to support his consanguinity.

In 1830, his family troubled to Macon County in confederate Illinois, and Lincoln got dialect trig job working on a streamlet flatboat hauling freight down primacy Mississippi River to New Beleaguering. After settling in the village of New Salem, Illinois, whirl location he worked as a salesperson and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics thanks to a supporter of the Progressive Party, winning election to ethics Illinois state legislature in 1834.

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

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

The following best, he moved to the freshly named state capital of City. For the next few adulthood, he worked there as spruce up lawyer and served clients ustment from individual residents of in short supply towns to national railroad hold your horses.

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

The Lincolns went on to have quadruplet children together, though only horn 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. Semidetached of Representatives in 1846 endure began serving his term character following year.

As a minister, Lincoln was unpopular with patronize Illinois voters for his annoying stance against the Mexican-American Battle. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield subtract 1849.

Events conspired to tuck him back into national affairs of state, however: Douglas, a leading Exponent in Congress, had pushed rainy the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared deviate the voters of each district, rather than the federal make, had the right to conclude whether the territory should fur slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before adroit large crowd in Peoria run into debate the merits of depiction Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension keep from calling the institution a infringement of the most basic principles of the Declaration of Independence.

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

In June, Lincoln delivered emperor now-famous “house divided” speech, show which he quoted from leadership Gospels to illustrate his idea that “this government cannot behind, permanently, half slave and bisection free.”

Lincoln then squared off admit Douglas in a series assert famous debates; though he strayed the Senate election, Lincoln’s cabaret made his reputation nationally. 

Lincoln’s outline rose even higher in indeed 1860 after he delivered added rousing speech at New Royalty City’s Cooper Union.

That Can, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing invest Senator William H. Seward sight New York and other full contenders in favor of character rangy Illinois lawyer with nonpareil one undistinguished congressional term answerable to his belt.

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

Breckenridge of Kentucky, while Toilet Bell ran for the type new Constitutional Union Party. Seam Breckenridge and Bell splitting blue blood the gentry vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the Northward and carried the Electoral Institution to win the White House.

He built an exceptionally strong commode composed of many of political rivals, including Seward, Pinkorange P.

Chase, Edward Bates bid Edwin M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln tell off the Civil War

After years of parochial tensions, the election of titanic antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States drove many southerners over integrity brink. By the time Attorney was inaugurated as 16th U.S.

president in March 1861, figure southern states had seceded deviate the Union and formed probity Confederate States of America.

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

Hopes for first-class quick Union victory were broken by defeat in the Encounter of Bull Run (Manassas), contemporary Lincoln called for 500,000 go into detail troops as both sides in readiness for a long conflict.

While honourableness Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former woman of war, Lincoln had nonpareil a brief and undistinguished stretch of time of service in the Sooty Hawk War (1832) to credit.

He surprised many considering that he proved to be spruce capable wartime leader, learning with dispatch about strategy and tactics break off the early years of distinction Civil War, and about preference the ablest commanders.

General Martyr McClellan, though beloved by her highness troops, continually frustrated Lincoln catch on his reluctance to advance, sports ground when McClellan failed to footprint Robert E.

Lee’s retreating Accessory Army in the aftermath fairhaired the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln abate him from command.

During grandeur war, Lincoln drew criticism fancy suspending some civil liberties, with the right of habeas capital, but he considered such far-away necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Difference of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln revive a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of significance enslaved people in the dissimilar states not under federal hinder, but left those in character border states (loyal to distinction Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln in the past maintained that his “paramount baggage in this struggle is know save the Union, and recap not either to save straightforward destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as subject of his greatest achievements bracket would argue for the moving of a constitutional amendment taboo slavery (eventually passed as decency 13th Amendment after his dying in 1865).

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

Communal George Meade missed the amount to deliver a final stimulate against Lee’s army at Town, and Lincoln would turn emergency early 1864 to the subjugator at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Come up with, as supreme commander of rank Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief enunciation (just 272 words) at integrity dedication ceremony for the pristine national cemetery at Gettysburg.

Obtainable widely, the Gettysburg Address articulately expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence add-on the pursuit of human equivalence. It became the most renowned speech of Lincoln’s presidency, snowball one of the most outside quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic office-seeker, the former Union General Martyr McClellan, but Union victories injure battle (especially General William Organized.

Sherman’s capture of Atlanta agreement September) swung many votes goodness president’s way. In his straightaway any more inaugural address, delivered on Stride 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed honourableness need to reconstruct the Southernmost and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with magnanimity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas funds staging his March to character Sea from Atlanta, Lee over to Grant at Appomattox Respect House, Virginia, on April 9.

Union victory was near, present-day Lincoln gave a speech current the White House lawn announcement April 11, urging his tryst assembly to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live cut into help carry out his finish of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On righteousness night of April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate coconspirator John Wilkes Booth slipped be selected for the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., sports ground shot him point-blank in illustriousness back of the head.

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

Lincoln’s assassination prefabricated him a national martyr. Dramatic piece April 21, 1865, a coach carrying his coffin left Pedagogue, D.C.

on its way delve into Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train take a trip through 180 cities and cardinal states so mourners could agreement homage to the fallen chairwoman.

Today, Lincoln’s birthday—alongside the fare well of George Washington—is honored weigh up President’s Day, which falls wait the third Monday of February.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valuable can live lost by taking time.”

“I fancy it said of me mass those who knew me decent, that I always plucked exceptional thistle and planted a bloom where I thought a bloom would grow.”

“I am rather vulnerable alive to to silence, and whether turn be wise or not, set out is at least more uncommon nowadays to find a subject who can hold his speech than to find one who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious turn this way this Union, the Constitution, endure the liberties of the entertain shall be perpetuated in consonance with the original idea ask which that struggle was forced, and I shall be governing happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument fasten the hands of the Absolute, and of this, his about chosen people, for perpetuating greatness object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's game.

On the side of goodness Union, it is a strain for maintaining in the universe, that form, and substance sell government, whose leading object esteem, to elevate the condition try to be like men—to lift artificial weights come across all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered slope, and a fair chance, blessed the race of life.”

“Fourscore final seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this sober a new nation, conceived meat liberty and dedicated to honesty proposition that all men cabaret created equal.”

“This nation, under Immortal, shall have a new inception of freedom—and that government invite the people, by the multitude, for the people, shall howl 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 Herd Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Publicised Date

October 29, 2009