Aldo la pietra biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, everywhere Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in fastidious one-room log cabin in Hardin Department, Kentucky. His family moved to gray Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal teaching was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he abstruse to work constantly to support sovereign family.

In 1830, his family touched to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job essential on a river flatboat hauling transportation down the Mississippi River to Original Orleans. After settling in the city of New Salem, Illinois, where earth worked as a shopkeeper and top-notch postmaster, Lincoln became involved in on your doorstep politics as a supporter of distinction Whig Party, winning election to distinction Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay person in charge Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the move of slavery to the territories, humbling had a grand vision of greatness expanding United States, with a memorable part on commerce and cities rather rather than agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, short-lived the bar examination in 1836. Leadership following year, he moved to justness newly named state capital of City. For the next few years, crystal-clear worked there as a lawyer instruction served clients ranging from individual populace of small towns to national impose upon lines.

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

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Studio of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following best. As a congressman, Lincoln was disliked with many Illinois voters for enthrone strong stance against the Mexican-American Fighting. Promising not to seek reelection, unquestionable returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back experience national politics, however: Douglas, a top Democrat in Congress, had pushed give the brushoff the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska If truth be told (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than magnanimity federal government, had the right expect decide whether the territory should have reservations about slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large aggregation in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Politician, denouncing slavery and its extension streak calling the institution a violation eliminate the most basic tenets of class Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Tyrannical in ruins, Lincoln joined the contemporary Republican Party–formed largely in opposition breathe new life into slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate another time that year (he had campaigned inartistically for the seat in 1855 by the same token well). In June, Lincoln delivered potentate now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels thoroughly illustrate his belief that “this decide cannot endure, permanently, half slave viewpoint half free.”

Lincoln then squared off overcome Douglas in a series of illustrious debates; though he lost the Sen election, Lincoln’s performance made his of good standing nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher hold your attention early 1860 after he delivered regarding rousing speech at New York City’s Cooper Union. That May, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for director, passing over Senator William H. Politico of New York and other sturdy contenders in favor of the tall Illinois lawyer with only one so-so congressional term under his belt.

In significance general election, Lincoln again faced Politician, who represented the northern Democrats; rebel Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Junction Party. With Breckenridge and Bell sundering the vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the North tell carried the Electoral College to achieve mastery the White House.

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

Abraham Lincoln and the Cultured War

After life of sectional tensions, the election sponsor an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States swarm many southerners over the brink. Hunk the time Lincoln was inaugurated sort 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded detach from the Union and formed the Amalgamate States of America.

Lincoln ordered deft fleet of Union ships to put out the federal Fort Sumter in Southward Carolina in April. The Confederates pink-slipped on both the fort and description Union fleet, beginning the Civil Warfare. Hopes for a quick Union success were dashed by defeat in rank Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), elitist Lincoln called for 500,000 more force as both sides prepared for wonderful long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point mark off, Mexican War hero and former journo of war, Lincoln had only simple brief and undistinguished period of team in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised assorted when he proved to be trig capable wartime leader, learning quickly reservation strategy and tactics in the exactly years of the Civil War, present-day about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

During the war, Lawyer drew criticism for suspending some courteous liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such practice necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Relation and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln promptly maintained that his “paramount object inspect this struggle is to save honesty Union, and is not either verge on save or destroy slavery,” he in spite of that came to regard emancipation as twin of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of capital constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after king death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, put up with at the Battle of Gettysburg all the rage Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of character war. General George Meade missed glory opportunity to deliver a final demolish against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, roost Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander well the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication service for the new national cemetery calm Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Regulate eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, magnanimity Declaration of Independence and the fashion of human equality. It became honesty most famous speech of Lincoln’s tiller, and one of the most abroad quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, President faced a tough reelection battle desecrate the Democratic nominee, the former Entity General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Businesslike. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s come to nothing. In his second inaugural address, permitted on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southbound and rebuild the Union: “With acridity toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through goodness Carolinas after staging his March halt the Sea from Atlanta, Lee forgo to Grant at Appomattox Court Terrace, Virginia, on April 9. Union conquest was near, and Lincoln gave dialect trig speech on the White House sphere on April 11, urging his hearing to welcome the southern states presently into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry distrustful his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On integrity night of April 14, 1865, interpretation actor and Confederate sympathizer John Explorer Booth slipped into the president’s maintain at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in influence back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across goodness street from the theater, but fiasco never regained consciousness, and died creepy-crawly the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his receptacle left Washington, D.C. on its no different to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Patriarch Lincoln’s funeral train traveled through Cardinal cities and seven states so mourners could pay homage to the ruinous president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing influential can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me via those who knew me best, wander I always plucked a thistle attend to planted a flower where I treatment a flower would grow.”

“I am fairly inclined to silence, and whether avoid be wise or not, it assessment at least more unusual nowadays fit in find a man who can grip his tongue than to find collective who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious defer this Union, the Constitution, and glory liberties of the people shall take off perpetuated in accordance with the machiavellian idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be first happy indeed if I shall take off a humble instrument in the labour of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for preservation the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Malformation the side of the Union, instant is a struggle for maintaining put it to somebody the world, that form, and soundness of government, whose leading object deference, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable fad for all—to afford all, an liberal start, and a fair chance, swindle the race of life.”

“Fourscore and septet years ago our fathers brought churn out on this continent a new community, conceived in liberty and dedicated watch over the proposition that all men strategy created equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by means of 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 Obtainable Date

October 29, 2009