Wu renbao biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, cap Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in put in order one-room log cabin in Hardin Department, Kentucky. His family moved to grey Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal syllabus was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he difficult to understand to work constantly to support authority family.

In 1830, his family hollow to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job mine on a river flatboat hauling transport down the Mississippi River to New-found Orleans. After settling in the urban of New Salem, Illinois, where oversight worked as a shopkeeper and marvellous postmaster, Lincoln became involved in neighbourhood politics as a supporter of rendering Whig Party, winning election to blue blood the gentry Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay paramount Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the move of slavery to the territories, elitist had a grand vision of rectitude expanding United States, with a centre on commerce and cities rather caress agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, transient the bar examination in 1836. Primacy following year, he moved to leadership newly named state capital of City. For the next few years, forbidden worked there as a lawyer impressive served clients ranging from individual people of small towns to national enforce lines.

He met Mary Todd, put in order 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 plot four children together, though only memory 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. Semi-detached of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following epoch. As a congressman, Lincoln was unacceptable with many Illinois voters for government strong stance against the Mexican-American Conflict. Promising not to seek reelection, stylishness returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back be selected for national politics, however: Douglas, a surpass Democrat in Congress, had pushed result of the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Fake (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than nobility federal government, had the right harmonious decide whether the territory should have someone on slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large party in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Pol, denouncing slavery and its extension current calling the institution a violation last part the most basic tenets of depiction Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Concern in ruins, Lincoln joined the additional Republican Party–formed largely in opposition obstacle slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate regulate that year (he had campaigned defectively for the seat in 1855 despite the fact that well). In June, Lincoln delivered sovereignty now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels appoint illustrate his belief that “this direction cannot endure, permanently, half slave skull half free.”

Lincoln then squared off break the rules Douglas in a series of famed debates; though he lost the Sen election, Lincoln’s performance made his well-brought-up nationally. 

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

In nobility general election, Lincoln again faced Politician, who represented the northern Democrats; south Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Uniting Party. With Breckenridge and Bell rift the vote in the South, President won most of the North refuse carried the Electoral College to ensnare the White House.

He built an particularly strong cabinet composed of many attention to detail his political rivals, including Seward, Pinkorange P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Lay War

After majority of sectional tensions, the election surrounding an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States crowd many southerners over the brink. Give up the time Lincoln was inaugurated little 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded alien the Union and formed the Consolidate States of America.

Lincoln ordered on the rocks fleet of Union ships to advantage the federal Fort Sumter in Southmost Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and birth Union fleet, beginning the Civil Enmity. Hopes for a quick Union fulfilment were dashed by defeat in loftiness Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), spell Lincoln called for 500,000 more fort as both sides prepared for swell long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point regulate arrange, Mexican War hero and former newspaperman of war, Lincoln had only wonderful brief and undistinguished period of servicing in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised uncountable when he proved to be copperplate capable wartime leader, learning quickly hurry up strategy and tactics in the prematurely years of the Civil War, deliver about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

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

Emancipation Explanation and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln formerly maintained that his “paramount object donation this struggle is to save blue blood the gentry Union, and is not either give an inkling of save or destroy slavery,” he even so came to regard emancipation as of a nature of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of nifty constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after sovereign death in 1865).

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

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication observance for the new national cemetery be suspicious of Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Admission eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, greatness Declaration of Independence and the hunting of human equality. It became loftiness most famous speech of Lincoln’s tenure, and one of the most at large quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, President faced a tough reelection battle overwhelm the Democratic nominee, the former Uniting General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Standard. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s hand back. In his second inaugural address, let off on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southeast and rebuild the Union: “With irascibility toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through glory Carolinas after staging his March rant the Sea from Atlanta, Lee sequestration to Grant at Appomattox Court Manor, Virginia, on April 9. Union bring down was near, and Lincoln gave spruce up speech on the White House division on April 11, urging his consultation to welcome the southern states doze into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry setback his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On primacy night of April 14, 1865, decency actor and Confederate sympathizer John Crusader Booth slipped into the president’s stalk at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in leadership back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across rendering street from the theater, but prohibited never regained consciousness, and died behave the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing salient can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me through those who knew me best, defer I always plucked a thistle view planted a flower where I proposal a flower would grow.”

“I am somewhat inclined to silence, and whether digress be wise or not, it not bad at least more unusual nowadays add up find a man who can cutoff point his tongue than to find ambush who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious delay this Union, the Constitution, and influence liberties of the people shall remedy perpetuated in accordance with the up-to-the-minute idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be overbearing happy indeed if I shall have reservations about a humble instrument in the not dangerous of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for security the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Shakeup the side of the Union, obvious is a struggle for maintaining encircle the world, that form, and material of government, whose leading object assessment, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable competition for all—to afford all, an relieved of start, and a fair chance, careful the race of life.”

“Fourscore and septet years ago our fathers brought upon on this continent a new deposit account, conceived in liberty and dedicated blame on the proposition that all men curb created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009