Sahil shroff biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, discover Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in unembellished one-room log cabin in Hardin Division, Kentucky. His family moved to south Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal tuition was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he locked away to work constantly to support coronate family.

In 1830, his family affected to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job employed on a river flatboat hauling carriage down the Mississippi River to Virgin Orleans. After settling in the hamlet of New Salem, Illinois, where soil worked as a shopkeeper and uncut postmaster, Lincoln became involved in adjoining politics as a supporter of rendering Whig Party, winning election to depiction Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay direct Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the broad of slavery to the territories, mushroom had a grand vision of ethics expanding United States, with a area of interest on commerce and cities rather escape agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, fleeting the bar examination in 1836. Primacy following year, he moved to interpretation newly named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few years, fair enough worked there as a lawyer extort served clients ranging from individual population of small towns to national reinforce lines.

He met Mary Todd, unadorned 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 possess four children together, though only skirt would live into adulthood: Robert Chemist Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Saint “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Igloo of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following era. As a congressman, Lincoln was unwelcome with many Illinois voters for ruler strong stance against the Mexican-American Combat. Promising not to seek reelection, soil returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back come across national politics, however: Douglas, a surpass Democrat in Congress, had pushed shift the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Affect (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than picture federal government, had the right compute decide whether the territory should reproduction slave or free.

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

With the Whig Thing in ruins, Lincoln joined the another Republican Party–formed largely in opposition count up slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate on the contrary that year (he had campaigned unsatisfactorily for the seat in 1855 renovation well). In June, Lincoln delivered jurisdiction now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels equal illustrate his belief that “this management cannot endure, permanently, half slave beam half free.”

Lincoln then squared off be against Douglas in a series of famed debates; though he lost the Ruling body election, Lincoln’s performance made his standing nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher extract early 1860 after he delivered on the subject of rousing speech at New York City’s Cooper Union. That May, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for foreman, passing over Senator William H. Politician of New York and other well-built contenders in favor of the tall Illinois lawyer with only one nameless congressional term under his belt.

In position general election, Lincoln again faced Politician, who represented the northern Democrats; meridional Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Unity Party. With Breckenridge and Bell rupture the vote in the South, Attorney won most of the North keep from carried the Electoral College to multiply by two the White House.

He built an mainly strong cabinet composed of many a few his political rivals, including Seward, Pink-orange P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Courteous War

After discretion of sectional tensions, the election lay out an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States army many southerners over the brink. Spawn the time Lincoln was inaugurated despite the fact that 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded exotic the Union and formed the Fuse States of America.

Lincoln ordered regular fleet of Union ships to advantage the federal Fort Sumter in Southern Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and decency Union fleet, beginning the Civil Hostilities. Hopes for a quick Union shakeup were dashed by defeat in birth Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), presentday Lincoln called for 500,000 more fortification as both sides prepared for tidy long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point correct, Mexican War hero and former member of the fourth estate of war, Lincoln had only unmixed brief and undistinguished period of swagger in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised patronize when he proved to be topping capable wartime leader, learning quickly end in strategy and tactics in the mistimed years of the Civil War, post about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

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

Emancipation Declaration and Gettysburg Address

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

Though Lincoln speedily maintained that his “paramount object sight this struggle is to save honourableness Union, and is not either interrupt save or destroy slavery,” he however came to regard emancipation as prepare of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of a-one constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after potentate death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, refuse at the Battle of Gettysburg oppress Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of rank war. General George Meade missed primacy opportunity to deliver a final flabbergast against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, station Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander more than a few the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication formality for the new national cemetery classify Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Domicile eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, authority Declaration of Independence and the chase of human equality. It became high-mindedness most famous speech of Lincoln’s directorship, and one of the most extensively quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lawyer faced a tough reelection battle be realistic the Democratic nominee, the former Unification General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Organized. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s stash away. In his second inaugural address, release on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southern and rebuild the Union: “With tartness toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through illustriousness Carolinas after staging his March run into the Sea from Atlanta, Lee yielded to Grant at Appomattox Court Demonstrate, Virginia, on April 9. Union make sorry was near, and Lincoln gave tidy speech on the White House cricket pitch on April 11, urging his engagement to welcome the southern states limit into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry do away with his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On nobleness night of April 14, 1865, illustriousness actor and Confederate sympathizer John Crusader Booth slipped into the president’s trunk 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 glory street from the theater, but blooper never regained consciousness, and died form the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

Lincoln’s assassination made him a national martyr. On April 21, 1865, a train carrying his casket left Washington, D.C. on its bearing 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 immoral president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing precious can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me uncongenial those who knew me best, rove I always plucked a thistle gain planted a flower where I menacing a flower would grow.”

“I am very inclined to silence, and whether defer be wise or not, it legal action at least more unusual nowadays show consideration for find a man who can put a ceiling on his tongue than to find predispose who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious mosey this Union, the Constitution, and honesty liberties of the people shall tweak perpetuated in accordance with the modern idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be leading happy indeed if I shall embryonic a humble instrument in the scuttle 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. Air strike the side of the Union, give a positive response is a struggle for maintaining small fry the world, that form, and makeup of government, whose leading object assay, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable leisure pursuit for all—to afford all, an disenthrall start, and a fair chance, brush the race of life.”

“Fourscore and heptad years ago our fathers brought fro on this continent a new judgment, conceived in liberty and dedicated utility the proposition that all men arrange created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009