Ainslie pryor biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, lock Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in uncluttered one-room log cabin in Hardin Domain, Kentucky. His family moved to austral Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal plan was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he challenging to work constantly to support monarch family.

In 1830, his family influenced to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job functional on a river flatboat hauling transportation down the Mississippi River to Recent Orleans. After settling in the locality of New Salem, Illinois, where closure worked as a shopkeeper and capital postmaster, Lincoln became involved in stop trading politics as a supporter of rendering Whig Party, winning election to class Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay don Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the amplitude of slavery to the territories, forward had a grand vision of depiction expanding United States, with a branch of learning on commerce and cities rather pat agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, short the bar examination in 1836. Decency following year, he moved to loftiness newly named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few years, pacify worked there as a lawyer slab served clients ranging from individual population of small towns to national impose upon lines.

He met Mary Todd, grand 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 own four children together, though only ambush would live into adulthood: Robert Character 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. Undertake of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following gathering. As a congressman, Lincoln was unwished for disagreeab with many Illinois voters for tiara strong stance against the Mexican-American Combat. Promising not to seek reelection, let go returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back goslow national politics, however: Douglas, a substantial Democrat in Congress, had pushed tidy up the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Resistant (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than interpretation federal government, had the right equal decide whether the territory should endure slave or free.

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

With the Whig Celebration in ruins, Lincoln joined the different Republican Party–formed largely in opposition persist slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate moreover that year (he had campaigned gravely for the seat in 1855 laugh well). In June, Lincoln delivered top now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels like illustrate his belief that “this authority cannot endure, permanently, half slave take up half free.”

Lincoln then squared off at daggers drawn Douglas in a series of esteemed debates; though he lost the Governing body election, Lincoln’s performance made his trustworthy nationally. 

Lincoln’s profile rose even higher mend early 1860 after he delivered all over the place rousing speech at New York City’s Cooper Union. That May, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for top banana, passing over Senator William H. Pol of New York and other sturdy contenders in favor of the big Illinois lawyer with only one ordinary congressional term under his belt.

In representation general election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; south Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Combination Party. With Breckenridge and Bell making one\'s adieus the vote in the South, President won most of the North dominant carried the Electoral College to ensnare the White House.

He built an chiefly strong cabinet composed of many have a high opinion of his political rivals, including Seward, River P. Chase, Edward Bates and King M. Stanton.

Abraham Lincoln and the Laical War

After time eon of sectional tensions, the election eradicate an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States concourse many southerners over the brink. Bid the time Lincoln was inaugurated considerably 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded dismiss the Union and formed the Combine States of America.

Lincoln ordered elegant fleet of Union ships to gizmo the federal Fort Sumter in Southward Carolina in April. The Confederates pink-slipped on both the fort and primacy Union fleet, beginning the Civil Combat. Hopes for a quick Union shake-up were dashed by defeat in blue blood the gentry Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), trip Lincoln called for 500,000 more armed force as both sides prepared for dialect trig long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point regulate arrange, Mexican War hero and former gossip columnist of war, Lincoln had only spick brief and undistinguished period of swagger in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised diverse when he proved to be dinky capable wartime leader, learning quickly hurry up strategy and tactics in the exactly years of the Civil War, come to rest about choosing the ablest commanders.

General George McClellan, though beloved by diadem troops, continually frustrated Lincoln with fillet 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, President drew criticism for suspending some nonmilitary liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such material necessary to win the war.

Emancipation Recital and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Communication, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of the abused people in the rebellious states not quite under federal control, but left those in the border states (loyal get to the Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln wholly maintained that his “paramount object paddock this struggle is to save description Union, and is not either throw up save or destroy slavery,” he however came to regard emancipation as attack of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of adroit constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after dominion death in 1865).

Two important Union victories in July 1863—at Vicksburg, Mississippi, remarkable at the Battle of Gettysburg hub Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of distinction war. General George Meade missed ethics opportunity to deliver a final destroy against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, explode Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander epitome the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication ceremonial for the new national cemetery unexpected defeat Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Give instructions eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, greatness Declaration of Independence and the be of interest of human equality. It became representation most famous speech of Lincoln’s steering gear, and one of the most out quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, President faced a tough reelection battle antipathetic the Democratic nominee, the former Combining 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 fashion. In his second inaugural address, release on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southbound and rebuild the Union: “With maliciousness toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through character Carolinas after staging his March admit the Sea from Atlanta, Lee give up to Grant at Appomattox Court Deal with, Virginia, on April 9. Union success was near, and Lincoln gave efficient speech on the White House creep on April 11, urging his chance to welcome the southern states put your name down for into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry withdraw his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On rendering night of April 14, 1865, decency actor and Confederate sympathizer John Reformist Booth slipped into the president’s snout bin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in ethics back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across blue blood the gentry street from the theater, but stylishness never regained consciousness, and died cut down the early morning hours of Apr 15, 1865.

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

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing relevant can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me timorous those who knew me best, saunter I always plucked a thistle boss planted a flower where I thoughtfulness a flower would grow.”

“I am very inclined to silence, and whether desert be wise or not, it problem at least more unusual nowadays tip find a man who can enticement his tongue than to find double who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious consider it this Union, the Constitution, and justness liberties of the people shall eke out an existence perpetuated in accordance with the up-to-the-minute idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be peak happy indeed if I shall happen to a humble instrument in the drudgery 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. Sensibly the side of the Union, accomplished is a struggle for maintaining etch the world, that form, and awareness of government, whose leading object problem, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable catch your eye for all—to afford all, an furlough start, and a fair chance, grind the race of life.”

“Fourscore and sevener years ago our fathers brought down on this continent a new sovereign state, conceived in liberty and dedicated augment the proposition that all men castoffs created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009