Brief biography of abraham lincoln
While the war raged, Lincoln also suffered great personal anguish over the death of his beloved son and the depressed mental condition of his wife, Mary. The pain of war and personal loss affected him deeply, and he often expressed his anguish by turning to humor and by speaking eloquently about the meaning of the great war which raged across the land.
His Gettysburg Address, delivered after the Battle of Gettysburg, as well as his second inaugural in , are acknowledged to be among the great orations in American history. Almost all historians judge Lincoln as the greatest President in American history because of the way he exercised leadership during the war and because of the impact of that leadership on the moral and political character of the nation.
He conceived of his presidential role as unique under the Constitution in times of crisis. Lincoln was convinced that within the branches of government, the presidency alone was empowered not only to uphold the Constitution, but also to preserve, protect, and defend it. In the end, however, Lincoln is measured by his most lasting accomplishments: the preservation of the Union, the vindication of democracy, and the death of slavery—accomplishments achieved by acting "with malice towards none" in the pursuit of a more perfect and equal union.
Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield Chester A. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Lincoln decided to challenge sitting U. Senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. Senate campaign against Douglas, he participated in seven debates held in different cities across Illinois.
Leena balodi biography of abraham lincoln
But the central issue was slavery. Newspapers intensely covered the debates, often times with partisan commentary. In the end, the state legislature elected Douglas, but the exposure vaulted Lincoln into national politics. With his newly enhanced political profile, in , political operatives in Illinois organized a campaign to support Lincoln for the presidency.
Leena balodi biography of abraham lincoln author
Chase of Ohio. In the November general election, Lincoln faced his friend and rival Stephen Douglas, this time besting him in a four-way race that included John C. Lincoln received not quite 40 percent of the popular vote but carried of Electoral College votes, thus winning the U. He grew his trademark beard after his election.
Following his election to the presidency in , Lincoln selected a strong cabinet composed of many of his political rivals, including William Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Edwin Stanton. In the early morning hours of April 12, , the guns stationed to protect the harbor blazed toward the fort, signaling the start of the U. Crushing the rebellion would be difficult under any circumstances, but the Civil War, after decades of white-hot partisan politics, was especially onerous.
From all directions, Lincoln faced disparagement and defiance. He was often at odds with his generals, his cabinet, his party, and a majority of the American people. On January 1, , Lincoln delivered his official Emancipation Proclamation , reshaping the cause of the Civil War from saving the Union to abolishing slavery. And the Union victory at Antietam on September 22, , while by no means conclusive, was hopeful.
It gave Lincoln the confidence to officially change the goals of the war. On that same day, he issued a preliminary proclamation that slaves in states rebelling against the Union would be free as of January 1. In the far reaches of western Texas, that day finally came on June 19, —more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect.
For decades, many Black Americans have celebrated this anniversary, known as Juneteenth or Emancipation Day, and in , President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a national holiday.
Leena balodi biography of abraham lincoln for kids
Still, the Emancipation Proclamation did have some immediate impact. It permitted Black Americans to serve in the Union Army for the first time, which contributed to the eventual Union victory. The historic declaration also paved the way for the passage of the 13 th Amendment that ended legal slavery in the United States. On November 19, , Lincoln delivered what would become his most famous speech and one of the most important speeches in American history: the Gettysburg Address.
Addressing a crowd of around 15, people, Lincoln delivered his word speech at one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Civil War, the Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania.
Biography of abraham lincoln books
The Civil War, Lincoln said, was the ultimate test of the preservation of the Union created in , and the people who died at Gettysburg fought to uphold this cause. A common interpretation was that the president was expanding the cause of the Civil War from simply reunifying the Union to also fighting for equality and abolishing slavery.
His nemesis George B. Lincoln received 55 percent of the popular vote and of electoral votes. After his young son Willie died of typhoid fever in , the emotionally fragile Mary Lincoln, widely unpopular for her frivolity and spendthrift ways, held seances in the White House in the hopes of communicating with him, earning her even more derision.
Lincoln taught himself law, passing the bar examination in The following year, he moved to the newly named state capital of Springfield. For the next few years, he worked there as a lawyer and served clients ranging from individual residents of small towns to national railroad lines. Lincoln won election to the U.
House of Representatives in and began serving his term the following year. As a congressman, Lincoln was unpopular with many Illinois voters for his strong stance against the Mexican-American War. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield in Events conspired to push him back into national politics, however: Douglas, a leading Democrat in Congress, had pushed through the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act , which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than the federal government, had the right to decide whether the territory should be slave or free.
On October 16, , Lincoln went before a large crowd in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension and calling the institution a violation of the most basic tenets of the Declaration of Independence. Rugged conditions.
Heavy labor. Minimal schooling. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher … but that was all. Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years.
He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. In Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator.
Biography of john f. kennedy: Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, , near Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.—died April 15, , Washington, D.C.) was the 16th president of the United States (–65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
He lost the election, but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, , he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.