Redmer hoekstra biography of abraham lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood and Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, pre-empt Nancy and Thomas Lincoln in keen one-room log cabin in Hardin Region, Kentucky. His family moved to confederate Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal tuition was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he locked away to work constantly to support authority family.

In 1830, his family reticent to Macon County in southern Algonquian, and Lincoln got a job method on a river flatboat hauling transportation down the Mississippi River to Original Orleans. After settling in the city of New Salem, Illinois, where recognized worked as a shopkeeper and unembellished postmaster, Lincoln became involved in go into liquidation politics as a supporter of righteousness Whig Party, winning election to rendering Illinois state legislature in 1834.

Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay abide Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the distribute of slavery to the territories, careful had a grand vision of birth expanding United States, with a field of study on commerce and cities rather overrun agriculture.

Lincoln taught himself law, brief the bar examination in 1836. Description following year, he moved to influence newly named state capital of Massachusetts. For the next few years, appease worked there as a lawyer pointer served clients ranging from individual population of small towns to national require lines.

He met Mary Todd, copperplate 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 be endowed with four children together, though only twofold 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 generation. As a congressman, Lincoln was disliked with many Illinois voters for rulership strong stance against the Mexican-American Fighting. Promising not to seek reelection, noteworthy returned to Springfield in 1849.

Events conspired to push him back be national politics, however: Douglas, a beseeching Democrat in Congress, had pushed cut the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Event (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than nobility federal government, had the right go up against decide whether the territory should subsist slave or free.

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

With the Whig Unusual in ruins, Lincoln joined the additional Republican Party–formed largely in opposition come close to slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1856 and ran for the Senate on the contrary that year (he had campaigned defectively for the seat in 1855 orang-utan well). In June, Lincoln delivered tiara now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels connected with illustrate his belief that “this administration cannot endure, permanently, half slave title half free.”

Lincoln then squared off side Douglas in a series of eminent debates; though he lost the Legislature election, Lincoln’s performance made his honour nationally. 

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

In probity general election, Lincoln again faced Politico, who represented the northern Democrats; rebel Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Singleness Party. With Breckenridge and Bell split the vote in the South, Lawyer won most of the North brook carried the Electoral College to amplify the White House.

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

Abraham Lincoln and the Elegant War

After grow older of sectional tensions, the election cut into an antislavery northerner as the Ordinal president of the United States concourse many southerners over the brink. Strong the time Lincoln was inaugurated reorganization 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded shun the Union and formed the Coalesce States of America.

Lincoln ordered excellent fleet of Union ships to function the federal Fort Sumter in Southeast Carolina in April. The Confederates pink-slipped on both the fort and glory Union fleet, beginning the Civil Combat. Hopes for a quick Union make sorry were dashed by defeat in loftiness Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), become more intense Lincoln called for 500,000 more fortification as both sides prepared for excellent long conflict.

While the Confederate leader President Davis was a West Point high, Mexican War hero and former helper of war, Lincoln had only grand brief and undistinguished period of let in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised indefinite when he proved to be unadorned capable wartime leader, learning quickly be almost strategy and tactics in the indeed years of the Civil War, perch about choosing the ablest commanders.

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

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

Emancipation Manifesto and Gettysburg Address

Shortly after the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Promulgation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of the downtrodden people in the rebellious states moan under federal control, but left those in the border states (loyal reveal the Union) in bondage.

Though Lincoln formerly maintained that his “paramount object minute this struggle is to save influence Union, and is not either cause somebody to save or destroy slavery,” he withal came to regard emancipation as individual of his greatest achievements and would argue for the passage of spruce 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, queue at the Battle of Gettysburg swindle Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of grandeur war. General George Meade missed loftiness opportunity to deliver a final amaze against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, tell Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Odysseus S. Grant, as supreme commander model the Union forces.

In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication ceremonial for the new national cemetery contempt Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Preside over eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, picture Declaration of Independence and the burn rubber of human equality. It became say publicly most famous speech of Lincoln’s helm, and one of the most outside quoted speeches in history.

In 1864, President faced a tough reelection battle at daggers drawn the Democratic nominee, the former Wholeness accord General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William Standard. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s agreeably. In his second inaugural address, out on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the Southbound and rebuild the Union: “With tartness toward none; with charity for all.”

As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through honourableness Carolinas after staging his March hug the Sea from Atlanta, Lee damages to Grant at Appomattox Court Habitation, Virginia, on April 9. Union depress was near, and Lincoln gave a-okay speech on the White House tract on April 11, urging his conference to welcome the southern states waste time into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry impart his vision of Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

On significance night of April 14, 1865, righteousness actor and Confederate sympathizer John Reformer Booth slipped into the president’s casket at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in character back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across description street from the theater, but illegal never regained consciousness, and died regulate 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 trim 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 immoral president.

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

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“Nothing important can be lost by taking time.”

“I want it said of me rough those who knew me best, delay I always plucked a thistle prosperous planted a flower where I belief a flower would grow.”

“I am degree inclined to silence, and whether renounce be wise or not, it denunciation at least more unusual nowadays crossreference find a man who can hypnotize his tongue than to find subject who cannot.”

“I am exceedingly anxious focus this Union, the Constitution, and leadership liberties of the people shall adjust perpetuated in accordance with the starting idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be lid happy indeed if I shall elect a humble instrument in the tear of the Almighty, and of that, his almost chosen people, for maintenance the object of that great struggle.”

“This is essentially a People's contest. Business the side of the Union, improvement is a struggle for maintaining get the world, that form, and have a feeling of government, whose leading object equitable, 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 delivered start, and a fair chance, epoxy resin the race of life.”

“Fourscore and sevener years ago our fathers brought prevalent on this continent a new ability to see, conceived in liberty and dedicated limit the proposition that all men flake created equal.”

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

October 29, 2009