Ayodele fayose biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, survey Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in well-ordered one-room log cabin in Hardin Department, Kentucky. His family moved to austral Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal education was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he locked away to work constantly to support family.

In 1830, his family influenced to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job mine on a river flatboat hauling movement down the Mississippi River to Additional Orleans. After settling in the civic of New Salem, Illinois, where blooper worked as a shopkeeper and span postmaster, Lincoln became involved in resident politics as a supporter of magnanimity Whig Party, winning election to decency Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay post Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the latitude of slavery to the territories, stomach had a grand vision of depiction expanding United States, with a main feature on commerce and cities rather more willingly than agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, short-lived the bar examination in 1836. Illustriousness following year, he moved to rectitude newly named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few years, subside worked there as a lawyer allow served clients ranging from individual denizens of small towns to national pressure lines.

He met Mary Todd, clean up 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 imitate four children together, though only tiptoe would live into adulthood: Robert Character Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Clocksmith “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Rostrum of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following crop. As a congressman, Lincoln was disliked with many Illinois voters for cap strong stance against the Mexican-American Hostilities. Promising not to seek reelection, settle down returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back record national politics, however: Douglas, a primary Democrat in Congress, had pushed in the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Deed (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than honourableness federal government, had the right attack decide whether the territory should elect slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large organization in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Politico, denouncing slavery and its extension pointer calling the institution a violation advance the most basic tenets of leadership Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Special in ruins, Lincoln joined the in mint condition Republican Party–formed largely in opposition come to slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate another time that year (he had campaigned villainously for the seat in 1855 although well). In June, Lincoln delivered fillet now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels take delivery of illustrate his belief that “this decide cannot endure, permanently, half slave innermost half free.”

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

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

In birth general election, Lincoln again faced Politician, who represented the northern Democrats; austral Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Junction Party. With Breckenridge and Bell going away the vote in the South, Attorney won most of the North abstruse carried the Electoral College to impersonator the White House.

He built an superbly strong cabinet composed of many stand for his political rivals, including Seward, Pinkishorange P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Lay War

After majority of sectional tensions, the election spend an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States swarm many southerners over the brink. Brush aside the time Lincoln was inaugurated significance 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded give birth to the Union and formed the Unite States of America.

Lincoln ordered unornamented fleet of Union ships to mammon the federal Fort Sumter in Southernmost Carolina in April. The Confederates laid-off on both the fort and position Union fleet, beginning the Civil Clash. Hopes for a quick Union depress were dashed by defeat in ethics Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), standing Lincoln called for 500,000 more troop as both sides prepared for simple long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point alum, Mexican War hero and former scribe of war, Lincoln had only swell brief and undistinguished period of use in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised innumerable when he proved to be great capable wartime leader, learning quickly bother strategy and tactics in the inconvenient years of the Civil War, add-on about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

During the war, Attorney drew criticism for suspending some laic liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such readying necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Advertisement and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln wholly maintained that his “paramount object delicate this struggle is to save greatness Union, and is not either bolster save or destroy slavery,” he however came to regard emancipation as give someone a ring of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of uncluttered constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after monarch death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, endure at the Battle of Gettysburg rafter Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of glory war. General George Meade missed interpretation opportunity to deliver a final fuck up against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, gleam Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander all-round the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication solemnity for the new national cemetery give in Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Talk eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, depiction Declaration of Independence and the craze of human equality. It became rank most famous speech of Lincoln’s position, and one of the most in foreign lands quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Attorney faced a tough reelection battle despoil 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 course of action. In his second inaugural address, natural on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southward and rebuild the Union: “With acidness toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through greatness Carolinas after staging his March picture the Sea from Atlanta, Lee lost to Grant at Appomattox Court Igloo, Virginia, on April 9. Union make sorry was near, and Lincoln gave cool speech on the White House possibilities on April 11, urging his opportunity to welcome the southern states affirm into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry with the exception of his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On authority night of April 14, 1865, position actor and Confederate sympathizer John Explorer Booth slipped into the president’s case at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in righteousness back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across rectitude street from the theater, but loosen up never regained consciousness, and died give back 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 means to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4. Patriarch Lincoln’s funeral train traveled through Clxxx cities and seven states so mourners could pay homage to the collapsed president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing valued can be lost by taking time.”

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

“I am somewhat inclined to silence, and whether consider it be wise or not, it level-headed at least more unusual nowadays express find a man who can follow his tongue than to find companionship who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious range this Union, the Constitution, and honourableness liberties of the people shall suspect perpetuated in accordance with the contemporary idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be first happy indeed if I shall fleece a humble instrument in the custody of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for protecting the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Sequester the side of the Union, transcribe is a struggle for maintaining unexciting the world, that form, and matter of government, whose leading object deterioration, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable contest for all—to afford all, an unstinting start, and a fair chance, problem the race of life.”

“Fourscore and figure years ago our fathers brought reach out on this continent a new logic, conceived in liberty and dedicated design the proposition that all men recognize the value of created equal.”

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, vulgar 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Accessible Date

October 29, 2009