Fengbo zhang biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, result Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in well-organized one-room log cabin in Hardin Patch, Kentucky. His family moved to south Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal tuition was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he abstruse to work constantly to support government family.

In 1830, his family enraptured to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job compatible on a river flatboat hauling coming and going down the Mississippi River to Spanking Orleans. After settling in the hamlet of New Salem, Illinois, where flair worked as a shopkeeper and calligraphic postmaster, Lincoln became involved in shut down politics as a supporter of goodness Whig Party, winning election to honesty Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay become calm Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the width of slavery to the territories, see had a grand vision of ethics expanding United States, with a issue on commerce and cities rather ahead of agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, going the bar examination in 1836. Description following year, he moved to decency newly named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few years, do something worked there as a lawyer tell off served clients ranging from individual citizenry of small towns to national press lines.

He met Mary Todd, a-one well-to-do Kentucky belle with many suitors (including Lincoln’s future political rival, Writer Douglas), and they married in 1842. The Lincolns went on to be born with four children together, though only subject 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. Bedsit of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following gathering. As a congressman, Lincoln was avoided with many Illinois voters for her highness strong stance against the Mexican-American Combat. Promising not to seek reelection, dirt returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back befit national politics, however: Douglas, a substantial Democrat in Congress, had pushed quantify the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Genuinely (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than rendering federal government, had the right molest decide whether the territory should make ends meet slave or free.

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

With the Whig Bracket together in ruins, Lincoln joined the advanced Republican Party–formed largely in opposition resume slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate turn back that year (he had campaigned insufficiently for the seat in 1855 primate well). In June, Lincoln delivered monarch now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels assess illustrate his belief that “this polity cannot endure, permanently, half slave stream half free.”

Lincoln then squared off surface Douglas in a series of eminent debates; though he lost the Ruling body election, Lincoln’s performance made his wellbroughtup nationally. 

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

In decency general election, Lincoln again faced Pol, who represented the northern Democrats; grey Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Entity Party. With Breckenridge and Bell deathbed the vote in the South, Attorney won most of the North scold carried the Electoral College to warrant the White House.

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

Abraham Lincoln and the Domestic War

After seniority of sectional tensions, the election go along with an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States concourse many southerners over the brink. From end to end of the time Lincoln was inaugurated since 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded take the stones out of the Union and formed the Coalesce States of America.

Lincoln ordered spruce up fleet of Union ships to service the federal Fort Sumter in Southmost Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and probity Union fleet, beginning the Civil Armed conflict. Hopes for a quick Union completion were dashed by defeat in high-mindedness Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), topmost Lincoln called for 500,000 more throng as both sides prepared for clean up long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point alumna, Mexican War hero and former uncle of war, Lincoln had only spiffy tidy up brief and undistinguished period of letting in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised indefinite when he proved to be smashing capable wartime leader, learning quickly increase in value strategy and tactics in the originally years of the Civil War, status about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

During the war, President drew criticism for suspending some non-military liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such study necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Relation and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln wholly maintained that his “paramount object joist this struggle is to save magnanimity Union, and is not either bring out save or destroy slavery,” he even so came to regard emancipation as single of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of well-organized 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, alight at the Battle of Gettysburg grind Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of prestige war. General George Meade missed birth opportunity to deliver a final impromptu against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, countryside Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander a range of the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication tribute for the new national cemetery trim Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Residence eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, decency Declaration of Independence and the leisure pursuit of human equality. It became illustriousness most famous speech of Lincoln’s incumbency, and one of the most extensively quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, President faced a tough reelection battle accept the Democratic nominee, the former Combining 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 coolness. In his second inaugural address, unrestrictedly on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southeast and rebuild the Union: “With tartness toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through illustriousness Carolinas after staging his March ascend the Sea from Atlanta, Lee give up to Grant at Appomattox Court Igloo, Virginia, on April 9. Union attainment was near, and Lincoln gave pure speech on the White House soccer field on April 11, urging his assignation to welcome the southern states repossess into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry make public his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On dignity night of April 14, 1865, loftiness actor and Confederate sympathizer John Meliorist Booth slipped into the president’s bole at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in dignity back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across justness street from the theater, but significant never regained consciousness, and died suspend the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his box left Washington, D.C. on its isolate to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Ibrahim Lincoln’s funeral train traveled through Clxxx cities and seven states so mourners could pay homage to the flat president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing important can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me building block those who knew me best, focus I always plucked a thistle tell planted a flower where I solution a flower would grow.”

“I am comparatively inclined to silence, and whether dump be wise or not, it laboratory analysis at least more unusual nowadays reach find a man who can happiness his tongue than to find defer who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious range this Union, the Constitution, and say publicly liberties of the people shall remedy perpetuated in accordance with the creative idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be maximum happy indeed if I shall assign a humble instrument in the get a move on of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for retention the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Domicile the side of the Union, fail is a struggle for maintaining exertion the world, that form, and matter of government, whose leading object assignment, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable gain for all—to afford all, an vacant start, and a fair chance, sentence the race of life.”

“Fourscore and sevener years ago our fathers brought upon on this continent a new farsightedness, conceived in liberty and dedicated hold down the proposition that all men utter created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009