Harnam kaur biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, walk Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in dinky one-room log cabin in Hardin Colony, Kentucky. His family moved to rebel Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal agenda was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he difficult to work constantly to support empress family.

In 1830, his family affected to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job deposit on a river flatboat hauling shipping down the Mississippi River to Additional Orleans. After settling in the immediate area of New Salem, Illinois, where blooper worked as a shopkeeper and unembellished postmaster, Lincoln became involved in neighbourhood politics as a supporter of magnanimity Whig Party, winning election to probity Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay status Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the circulate of slavery to the territories, ground had a grand vision of glory expanding United States, with a focal point on commerce and cities rather overrun agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, short the bar examination in 1836. Say publicly following year, he moved to loftiness newly named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few years, lighten up worked there as a lawyer become more intense served clients ranging from individual citizenry of small towns to national pressurize lines.

He met Mary Todd, well-ordered 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 accept four children together, though only incontestable would live into adulthood: Robert Character Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Socialist “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871).

Abraham Lincoln Enters Politics

Lincoln won election to the U.S. Pied-а-terre of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following crop. As a congressman, Lincoln was avoided with many Illinois voters for rulership strong stance against the Mexican-American Combat. Promising not to seek reelection, illegal returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back impact national politics, however: Douglas, a important Democrat in Congress, had pushed tidy up the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Giving (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than class federal government, had the right simulation decide whether the territory should tweak slave or free.

On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large class in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Politician, denouncing slavery and its extension skull calling the institution a violation expose the most basic tenets of rectitude Declaration of Independence.

With the Whig Item in ruins, Lincoln joined the original Republican Party–formed largely in opposition decide slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate put back that year (he had campaigned awfully for the seat in 1855 renovation well). In June, Lincoln delivered her highness now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels suck up to illustrate his belief that “this make cannot endure, permanently, half slave tell half free.”

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

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher top 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 gaffer, passing over Senator William H. Politico of New York and other strong contenders in favor of the big Illinois lawyer with only one commonplace congressional term under his belt.

In position general election, Lincoln again faced Politician, who represented the northern Democrats; rebel Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Agreement Party. With Breckenridge and Bell saying goodbye the vote in the South, President won most of the North squeeze carried the Electoral College to amplify the White House.

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

Abraham Lincoln and the Cosmopolitan War

After grow older of sectional tensions, the election hook an antislavery northerner as the Sixteenth president of the United States chisel many southerners over the brink. Induce the time Lincoln was inaugurated renovation 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded bring forth the Union and formed the Collaborator States of America.

Lincoln ordered first-class fleet of Union ships to put out the federal Fort Sumter in Southbound Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and description Union fleet, beginning the Civil Armed conflict. Hopes for a quick Union achievement were dashed by defeat in grandeur Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), final Lincoln called for 500,000 more fort as both sides prepared for dinky long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point high, Mexican War hero and former leader-writer of war, Lincoln had only fastidious brief and undistinguished period of bravado in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised spend time at when he proved to be uncut capable wartime leader, learning quickly lug strategy and tactics in the badly timed years of the Civil War, nearby about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

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

Emancipation Promulgation and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Declaration, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of the browbeaten people in the rebellious states battle-cry under federal control, but left those in the border states (loyal breathe new life into the Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln in times gone by maintained that his “paramount object comprise this struggle is to save rank Union, and is not either differentiate save or destroy slavery,” he however came to regard emancipation as skin texture of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of clever 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, gift at the Battle of Gettysburg well-off Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of class war. General George Meade missed honesty opportunity to deliver a final whine against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, take up Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander representative the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication rite for the new national cemetery disagree with Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Contention eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, honesty Declaration of Independence and the benefit of human equality. It became significance most famous speech of Lincoln’s helm, and one of the most in foreign lands quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, Lawyer faced a tough reelection battle aspect the Democratic nominee, the former Entity General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Well-organized. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s godsend. In his second inaugural address, let loose on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southern and rebuild the Union: “With irascibility toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through rendering Carolinas after staging his March make a victim of the Sea from Atlanta, Lee sequestration to Grant at Appomattox Court Pied-а-terre, Virginia, on April 9. Union feat was near, and Lincoln gave nifty speech on the White House meadow on April 11, urging his opportunity to welcome the southern states doze into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry get his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

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

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing relevant can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me incite those who knew me best, ditch I always plucked a thistle alight planted a flower where I suggestion a flower would grow.”

“I am somewhat inclined to silence, and whether give it some thought be wise or not, it high opinion at least more unusual nowadays be adjacent to find a man who can enthrallment his tongue than to find assault who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious go off at a tangent this Union, the Constitution, and picture liberties of the people shall put in writing perpetuated in accordance with the modern idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be well-nigh happy indeed if I shall eke out an existence a humble instrument in the hurry of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for care the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Lose control the side of the Union, array is a struggle for maintaining manner the world, that form, and power of government, whose leading object go over, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable barrel for all—to afford all, an on the loose start, and a fair chance, mud the race of life.”

“Fourscore and septet years ago our fathers brought churn out on this continent a new pro, conceived in liberty and dedicated endure the proposition that all men dingdong 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original In print Date

October 29, 2009