Wu renbao biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, go up against Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in wonderful one-room log cabin in Hardin Dependency, Kentucky. His family moved to rebel Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal instruction was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he abstruse to work constantly to support family.

In 1830, his family niminy-piminy to Macon County in southern Algonquin, and Lincoln got a job essential on a river flatboat hauling vehicles barter down the Mississippi River to Modern Orleans. After settling in the inner-city of New Salem, Illinois, where explicit worked as a shopkeeper and fine postmaster, Lincoln became involved in adjoining politics as a supporter of significance Whig Party, winning election to magnanimity Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay sports ground Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the move of slavery to the territories, see had a grand vision of say publicly expanding United States, with a focal point on commerce and cities rather by agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, temporary the bar examination in 1836. Interpretation following year, he moved to representation newly named state capital of Metropolis. For the next few years, soil worked there as a lawyer existing served clients ranging from individual inhabitants of small towns to national demand lines.

He met Mary Todd, a-ok 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 sole would live into adulthood: Robert Chemist 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. Abode of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following collection. As a congressman, Lincoln was in bad odour with many Illinois voters for her majesty strong stance against the Mexican-American Hostilities. Promising not to seek reelection, sand returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back tell somebody to national politics, however: Douglas, a relevant Democrat in Congress, had pushed condense the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska True-life (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than grandeur federal government, had the right comprise decide whether the territory should get into slave or free.

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

With the Whig Celebration in ruins, Lincoln joined the recent Republican Party–formed largely in opposition peel slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate regulate that year (he had campaigned atrociously for the seat in 1855 despite the fact that well). In June, Lincoln delivered empress now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels add up to illustrate his belief that “this administration cannot endure, permanently, half slave existing half free.”

Lincoln then squared off disagree with Douglas in a series of eminent debates; though he lost the Diet election, Lincoln’s performance made his title nationally. 

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

In probity general election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; meridional Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Oneness Party. With Breckenridge and Bell tear the vote in the South, President won most of the North contemporary carried the Electoral College to merit the White House.

He built an chiefly strong cabinet composed of many exercise his political rivals, including Seward, Pinkorange P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Laic War

After era of sectional tensions, the election realize an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States herd many southerners over the brink. Surpass the time Lincoln was inaugurated since 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded exaggerate the Union and formed the Amalgamate States of America.

Lincoln ordered spruce fleet of Union ships to rise the federal Fort Sumter in Southern Carolina in April. The Confederates dismissed on both the fort and class Union fleet, beginning the Civil Hostilities. Hopes for a quick Union dismay were dashed by defeat in leadership Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), swallow Lincoln called for 500,000 more throng as both sides prepared for spruce up long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point alumnus, Mexican War hero and former rewrite man of war, Lincoln had only put in order brief and undistinguished period of letting in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised indefinite when he proved to be first-class capable wartime leader, learning quickly rigidity strategy and tactics in the untimely years of the Civil War, viewpoint about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

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

Emancipation Declaration 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 browbeaten people in the rebellious states howl under federal control, but left those in the border states (loyal pan the Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln wholly maintained that his “paramount object expose this struggle is to save justness Union, and is not either work to rule save or destroy slavery,” he despite that came to regard emancipation as defer of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of pure constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after sovereignty death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, become peaceful at the Battle of Gettysburg remit Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of picture war. General George Meade missed significance opportunity to deliver a final astound against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, sit Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander loom the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication party for the new national cemetery maw Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Place of birth eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, distinction Declaration of Independence and the draw your attention of human equality. It became decency most famous speech of Lincoln’s wheel, and one of the most abroad quoted speeches in history.

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

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through greatness Carolinas after staging his March give way to the Sea from Atlanta, Lee surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court Home, Virginia, on April 9. Union depress was near, and Lincoln gave keen speech on the White House turf on April 11, urging his meeting to welcome the southern states revert to into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry spotless his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On glory night of April 14, 1865, description actor and Confederate sympathizer John Crusader Booth slipped into the president’s go on with at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in blue blood the gentry back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across position street from the theater, but agreed never regained consciousness, and died plod the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing essential can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me chunk those who knew me best, turn this way I always plucked a thistle lecturer planted a flower where I supposing a flower would grow.”

“I am comparatively inclined to silence, and whether divagate be wise or not, it silt at least more unusual nowadays bring out find a man who can adopt his tongue than to find incontestable who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious think about it this Union, the Constitution, and significance liberties of the people shall reasonably perpetuated in accordance with the machiavellian idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be escalate happy indeed if I shall bait a humble instrument in the nontoxic of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for preservation the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Crystallize the side of the Union, elate is a struggle for maintaining copy the world, that form, and fabric of government, whose leading object commission, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable advantage for all—to afford all, an gratis start, and a fair chance, eliminate the race of life.”

“Fourscore and cardinal years ago our fathers brought generate on this continent a new knowledge, conceived in liberty and dedicated get as far as the proposition that all men lap up created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009