Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was elected into office on March 4, 1861 making him the 16th President of the United States. He continued on to serve for four years. Six weeks after Lincoln took office, the Civil War began. In 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed all of the remaining slaves in the Confederate states. He gave his famous Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863 in which he emphasized the importance of human freedom. In 1864, Lincoln was re-elected into office, but his term was cut short when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.

Fast Facts

1. Born: February 12, 1809
2. Birthplace: Hardin County, Kentucky
3. 6 foot 4 inches tall
4. Married Mary Todd on November 4, 1942
5. Held Office: March 4, 1861- April 15, 1865
6. Vice Presidents: Andrew Johnson
7. Assassinated on April 14, 1865
8. First U.S. President to be assassinated

Early Life

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in a one room log cabin on 348 acres of Kentucky farm land called the Sinking Spring Farm. His parents were Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. In 1816, his family relocated to Perry County, Indiana. His mother died when Lincoln was nine years old from tremetol poisoning, also known as milk sickness. His father later married Sarah Bush Johnston whom Lincoln referred to as his mother for the endurance of his life. Lincoln only went through about 18 months of schooling in his lifetime, but was a self motivated learner and a lover of books.

Family

Lincoln became married to Mary Todd on November 4, 1842. The couple had four sons, Edward Baker, William Wallace, Thomas and Robert Todd. Three of his sons later died. His only surviving son, Robert Todd Lincoln, attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University.

Political Rise

Lincoln began his political career in 1832 with his run for the Illinois General Assembly as a Whig Party affiliate. He was unsuccessful in obtaining that position. He was later elected captain of a militia company in Illinois during the Black Hawk War. In 1834, he obtained a position in the state legislature and soon thereafter began studying law. Three years later he was admitted to the bar and he began a successful and prosperous career of practicing law with John T. Stuart. Lincoln later became a representative from Sangamon County in the Illinois House of Representatives where he served four consecutive terms which led to his leadership of the Illinois Whig party.

Presidency

Lincoln was voted into the office of the presidency on November 6, 1860 beating out his competition Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, John Bell and John C. Breckinridge. He won the election by the votes from his supporters in the north as he wasn't even listed on the ballot in the southern states. He led the country through the Civil War and sought an end to slavery through his passing of the Thirteenth Amendment. Lincoln delivered his famed Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863 where he emphasized human equality and defined the civil war as "a new birth of freedom." He was re-elected for a second term in 1864 continuing to lead his country to the completion of the war in 1865. Lincoln was assasinated on April 14 of the same year by Confederate spy John Wilkes Booth which brought a tragic end to his presidency of the U.S.

Assassination

John Wilkes Booth was an actor and a confederate spy from Maryland. He constructed a plan to kidnap the president and use him for an exchange of Confederate prisoners. He however changed his plans for an assassination of the president after hearing Lincoln's speech addressing and supporting voting rights for blacks. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln and the first lady attended the play Our American Cousin. Booth crept up behind the president and fired a .44 caliber Henry Deringer point blank into Lincoln's head. Booth then jumped to the stage and shouted "Thus always to tyrants" immediately escaping thereafter. He was found 12 days later and was shot to death in a Virginia barn house.

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