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| President Lincoln | |
|---|---|
| Name | Abraham Lincoln |
| Caption | Portrait of Abraham Lincoln |
| Birth date | February 12, 1809 |
| Birth place | Hodgenville, Kentucky |
| Death date | April 15, 1865 |
| Death place | Washington, D.C. |
| Party | Republican Party |
| Spouse | Mary Todd Lincoln |
President Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States who led the nation through the American Civil War while issuing the Emancipation Proclamation and promoting policies that shaped the postwar order. He remains a central figure in studies of the American Civil War, Republican Party, and the abolitionist movement, and his speeches and writings—such as the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address—are widely studied in the context of 19th‑century American politics. Lincoln's leadership intersected with figures like Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglass, and institutions such as the United States Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Lincoln was born to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln in Hardin County, Kentucky (now LaRue County, Kentucky). He spent his boyhood on the frontier near Knob Creek and later in Pigeon Creek and Spencer County, Indiana, where the family lived in a log cabin and attended the Baptist Church. His formal schooling amounted to less than a year in small frontier schools such as those taught in Salyersville, Kentucky‑era districts, and he was largely self‑educated by reading works by William Shakespeare, Robert Burns, and John Milton and studying legal texts like Blackstone's Commentaries. Lincoln worked as a rail splitter, boatman on the Mississippi River, and shopkeeper before reading law under practicing attorneys in New Salem, Illinois and gaining admission to the Illinois bar.
Lincoln entered politics as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives representing Sangamon County, Illinois as a member of the Whig Party, aligning with leaders such as Henry Clay and adopting positions influenced by the American System. He later served a single term in the United States House of Representatives (1847–1849), where he opposed the Mexican–American War and supported measures for infrastructure improvements in Springfield, Illinois. Returning to Illinois, Lincoln built a prominent legal practice in the Eighth Judicial Circuit and litigated cases in venues including the Sangamon County Courthouse, partnering with attorneys like William Herndon. The passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act propelled him into the emerging Republican coalition alongside figures such as Salmon P. Chase and Charles Sumner, and his series of debates with Stephen A. Douglas during the 1858 Illinois Senate campaign—known collectively as the Lincoln–Douglas debates—nationalized his reputation despite losing that Senate race.
In 1860 Lincoln secured the Republican nomination by coalitions of delegates from states including New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, overcoming rivals such as William H. Seward, Edward Bates, and Simon Cameron. The general election featured opposing tickets including the Northern Democrats backing Stephen A. Douglas, the Southern Democrats backing John C. Breckinridge, and the Constitutional Union Party backing John Bell. Lincoln won an Electoral College majority through strong support in New England, the Mid-Atlantic States, and the Old Northwest despite limited presence on Southern ballots. His inauguration in March 1861, attended by politicians such as William H. Seward and diplomats from European capitals like London and Paris, immediately preceded the secession of states such as South Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia.
Lincoln's presidency was dominated by the military and constitutional crisis of the American Civil War. He appointed Winfield Scott's successors including George B. McClellan, Henry Halleck, and ultimately Ulysses S. Grant to lead the Union Army. Lincoln wrestled with strategic theaters from the Eastern Theater—including sieges at Antietam and battles like Gettysburg—to campaigns in the Western Theater such as Vicksburg, where commanders like William T. Sherman executed the Vicksburg Campaign. He confronted legal and political challenges involving the Confederate States of America and leaders such as Jefferson Davis, managed wartime legislation through Congress including the Homestead Act and the National Banking Acts, and balanced relations with foreign powers like Great Britain and France to prevent recognition of the Confederacy.
Following the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and on January 1, 1863, the final proclamation declared freedom for enslaved persons in rebelling states, aligning him with abolitionists including William Lloyd Garrison and advocates like Sojourner Truth. He supported the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to abolish slavery nationwide and engaged with legislators such as Thaddeus Stevens and Benjamin Butler on wartime measures. Lincoln proposed a lenient plan for reunification—exemplified by the Ten Percent Plan—seeking to reintegrate states such as Tennessee and Louisiana while clashing with Radical Republicans in the United States Congress over suffrage for freedmen and protections championed by leaders including Charles Sumner. His administration also backed initiatives for land and schooling that intersected with institutions like the Freedmen's Bureau and educational efforts influenced by reformers such as Oberlin College‑affiliated activists.
On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth and died the following day at Petersen House, provoking national mourning across cities including New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. His death influenced the course of Reconstruction and elevated figures like Andrew Johnson to the presidency, affecting congressional battles over policy and leading to memorials such as the Lincoln Memorial and institutions like the Library of Congress preserving his papers. Lincoln's legacy is commemorated in schools of thought, biographies by historians including Carl Sandburg and David Herbert Donald, and ongoing debates involving interpretations by scholars connected to universities such as Harvard University and Rutgers University. He is widely regarded for shaping constitutional practice, the course of the United States of America during the 19th century, and for speeches that remain central to American political culture.
Category:Abraham Lincoln Category:Presidents of the United States