History on abraham lincoln

President of the United States from 1861 to 1865

For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation).

"President Lincoln" redirects here. For the troopship, see USS President Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln (LINK-ən; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defeating the Confederacy, playing a major role in the abolition of slavery, expanding the power of the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.

Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky, and was raised on the frontier. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator, and U.S. representative. Angered by the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which opened the territories to slavery, he became

Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 on a small farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky. Due to the remoteness of his upbringing and lack of available public education, Lincoln was mostly self-educated. In 1836, after years of study, he qualified as a lawyer and went to work in a law practice in Springfield, Illinois. He sat in the Illinois state legislature from 1834 to 1842, and in 1846 was elected to Congress, representing the Whig Party for a two-year term. In 1856, he joined the new Republican Party, and in 1858 he ran as their candidate for the US Senate. Though he lost the election, his series of debates with Stephen A. Douglas thrust him into the national spotlight, and in 1860 he was nominated as the Republican candidate for president.

In the presidential campaign, Lincoln made his opposition to the expansion of slavery very clear. His victory provoked a crisis for the southern states, with many fearing that he would attempt to abolish slavery. Seven southern states left the Union to form the Confederate States of America before Lincoln's inauguration. After the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter in April 1861, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteer to put down the rebellion and four more states joined the Confederacy. Lincoln vowed to preserve the Union even if it meant war.

The first year of war was not promising for the Union, and with their defeat in 1862 at the Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) it seemed like the second year of war would not be much better. Riding momentum from this victory, Lee and the Confederates staged an offensive with the Maryland Campaign. However the Union victory at the bloody Battle of Antietam pushed the Confederates back across the Potomac and provided Lincoln with an opportunity he had been waiting for to announce his plans regarding slavery.

In the early months of the war, Lincoln maintained that the war was a struggle only to save the Union. After the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln announced the preliminary Emancipation Pro

Abraham Lincoln (1809 –1865) was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in 1865. His greatest achievements included preserved the Union during the American Civil War and bringing about the emancipation of slaves.

Having had breakdowns and suicidal thoughts, he had clinical depression all his life. The deaths of his mother, sister and later some of his children contributed to this.

Lincoln grew up in Kentucky where he worked on the land on his father’s holdings, but he preferred reading. He was largely self-taught, studying law and entering the bar in Illinois and worked there for 16 years. 

 Later he ran for the state legislature and congress, before standing for President. He was driven by a deep sense of equality, that slavery was wrong, which came from his Baptist upbringing.

On January 1, 1863, Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring forever free slaves within the Confederacy.  Although not all the slaves were immediately set free it led in 1865 to the 13th Amendment of the Constitution outlawing slavery.

On November 19, 1863, Lincoln delivered his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, to a large crowd at one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Civil War, the Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania. In this 272-word speech Lincoln said the Civil War was the ultimate test of the preservation of the Union created in 1776 with the nation "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal".

This has been interpreted as confirmation that Lincoln was expanding the cause of the Civil War from simply reunifying the Union to also fighting for equality and abolishing slavery.

Abraham Lincoln  ©Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and one of the great American leaders. His presidency was dominated by the American Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln was born on 12 February 1809 near Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was brought up in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. His parents were poor pioneers and Lincoln was largely self-educated. In 1836, he qualified as a lawyer and went to work in a law practice in Springfield, Illinois. He sat in the state legislature from 1834 to 1842 and in 1846 was elected to Congress, representing the Whig Party for a term. In 1856, he joined the new Republican Party and in 1860 he was asked to run as their presidential candidate.

In the presidential campaign, Lincoln made his opposition to slavery very clear. His victory provoked a crisis, with many southerners fearing that he would attempt to abolish slavery in the South. Seven southern states left the Union to form the Confederate States of America, also known as the Confederacy. Four more joined later. Lincoln vowed to preserve the Union even if it meant war.

Fighting broke out in April 1861. Lincoln always defined the Civil War as a struggle to save the Union, but in January 1863 he nonetheless issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in areas still under Confederate control. This was an important symbolic gesture that identified the Union's struggle as a war to end slavery.

In the effort to win the war, Lincoln assumed more power than any president before him, declaring martial law and suspending legal rights. He had difficulty finding effective generals to lead the Union armies until the appointment of Ulysses S Grant as overall commander in 1864.

On 19 November 1863, Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address at the dedication of a cemetery at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, a decisive Union victory that had taken place earlier in the year.

In 1864, Lincoln stood for re-election an