Abraham Lincoln full name does not include a middle name; he was named in honor of his grandfather. The life of Abraham Lincoln is a true rags to riches story in which with a lot of perseverance and hard work he became the President of the United States of America. He was the 16th President and is considered one of the greatest political leaders of all time. He was a lawyer, and when he assumed the role of president, his leadership and support for independence came to the fore. He was also good at crisis management leading the country through the American Civil War. He was known to perform all his duties honestly and always displayed strength of character. He also succeeded in abolishing slavery which was still very prevalent during his rule. And because of all these courageous steps, he was known as the Great Liberator and Honest Abe, the Rail-Splitter.
Basic information about Abraham Lincoln
- Abraham Lincoln date of birth – February 12, 1809
- Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln – Sinking Spring Farm, Kentucky, United States.
- Occupation: Lawyer and American politician
- Role in American History – 16th President of the United States
- Tenure as President – 4 March 1861 – 15 April 1865
- Death of Abraham Lincoln – 15 April 1865 in Washington DC, USA
- Age of death – 56 years
- Cause of death – Murder by shot in the head.
Abraham Lincoln Biography
About Abraham Lincoln
Facts about Abraham Lincoln life will include his childhood, family life, his early influences, marital life, and his career as a lawyer before entering politics, which led to the presidency.
Childhood and family life
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin at Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809, to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was named after his grandfather, Captain Abraham Lincoln. He was the second born after his sister Sara. Abraham Lincoln younger brother Thomas died in infancy.
Abraham Lincoln father Thomas Lincoln was only 8 years old when he witnessed the death of his father Captain Abraham Lincoln after an Indian attack in 1786. Thomas started working soon after doing small jobs to support his family and hence he always believed in it. Physical work rather than academic. They moved to different states such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia before settling in Kentucky.
The family moved to Indiana in 1816 after losing their land in a dispute over property ownership. In Indiana, they settled in Hurricane Township in Perry County in an ‘unbroken forest’. The main reason for this move was to have more reliable land ownership and surveying and no slavery in Indiana.
Early influences and effects
Abraham Lincoln lost his mother in 1818 when he was only 9 years old, due to milk sickness. This led to the loss of an important person in his life. His sister Sarah acted as the family’s caregiver and they became increasingly close. Thomas Lincoln married Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow, the following year in 1819. Abraham was very close to his stepmother.
While others accused Abraham of being a lazy person due to his lack of interest and involvement in helping his family farm. His stepmother really looked up to him and accepted his love for reading, writing, and the poetry he was writing. Only his stepmother understood that Abraham was not a man who enjoyed physical labour; His interests were intellectual.
10 years later in the year 1828 on January 20, Abraham’s life left a devastating mark and hollowness when he lost his sister Sarah. Sara lost her life during delivery. The two most important people in his life were his sister and stepmother who valued him and saw his worth. This created confidence and self-confidence.
Adult Life
Abraham Lincoln received some help from itinerant teachers, but he was mainly self-taught and educated on his own. He was an avid reader from a young age and read many books such as The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, and the King James Bible.
As a teenager, he did housework and took responsibility for his family. He even worked outside his home and earned income. And by the age of 21, he gave all his earnings to his father as per custom.
He was strong and tall because of his use of an ax to help his family as they grew older. He was also known for his athletic play after winning a wrestling match with a famous leader. Due to another outbreak of milder illness in March 1830 when he was 21, Abraham settled in Macon County in western Illinois with several other members of his family.
During these years the distance between Abraham and his father Thomas grew because they had nothing in common. The education acquired by Abraham and the lack of it in his father left no common ground for conversation which created distance between them.
Thomas Lincoln moved to Coles County, Illinois with other members of his family the following year in 1831. And on the other hand Abraham Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois. He stayed there and began his adult life.
Early Career
He took different paths before becoming a lawyer. When the economy was booming in 1832, he purchased a general store on credit and decided to run it in New Salem with a partner, Denton Offutt. The business suffered losses, forcing Lincoln to sell his shares.
In March of that year, he ran for the Illinois General Assembly, his first encounter with politics. He was campaigning and attracted the attention of the crowd with his oratory skills for navigation improvements on the Sangamon River.
He lost because of his lack of connection with the powerful group that influences and influences these elections.
During his campaign, he also considered serving as a Captain under Black Hawk during the Black Hawk War, a conflict between the United States and Native Americans.
After early failure in politics, he became postmaster in New Salem and later also served as county surveyor. His love of reading continued and he taught himself law with Blackstone’s commentaries and became a lawyer.
Political Life
In the year 1834, Abraham Lincoln entered the Statehouse campaign in Illinois as a member of the Whig Party, one of the two most powerful political parties, and was successful. The two powerful and influential political parties in the mid-19th century were the Whigs and the Democratic. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives for Sangamon County for four terms.
In the year 1837, he extended support and echoed Henry Clay’s support for the American Colonization Society. This support was actually important in his political career because it was strange for a person with such power to advocate the abolition of slavery and freedom from such discrimination. He was a disciple of Henry Clay and was an advocate of urbanization and economic modernization.
In the year 1836, he moved to Springfield after being admitted to the Illinois Bar, which allows you to represent or argue on behalf of a client and began practicing law under John T. Stuart, Mary Todd’s cousin. The woman he was courting. Time.
Married life and family building
When Abraham Lincoln first came to New Salem he courted different women. However, none of his courtships resulted in marriage as one of the women died due to typhoid fever. And separated from others and walked on different paths in life.
Abraham married Mary Todd on November 4 in the year 1842, whom he met in Springfield, Illinois in the year 1839. She came from a wealthy family, her father was a lawyer and a businessman. Abraham Lincoln was practicing law at the time and within two years, the couple bought a house near his office and Mary ran the household with the help of a relative and a hired servant.
He was a devoted husband and family man who tried to maintain a balance even with his busy work schedule. He loved his children very much, he had 4 sons, Robert Todd Lincoln, Edward Baker Lincoln, Willie Lincoln and Thomas Lincoln. He often let her accompany him to his law office and his colleagues found his liberal parenting unusual at the time, which was very disturbing.
Path to Presidency
He was a strong supporter of the Wilmot Proviso, an unsuccessful proposal that would have banned slavery in any American territory except Mexico. He served under President James K. Also disgusted by Polk’s glorification of the blood-soaked army.
He declined the office of Secretary or Governor of Oregon Territory, which was offered as a consolation after his support of Zachary Taylor in the Whig nomination, which led to Taylor’s victory in the year 1848. He considered this proposal and thought that it would hinder his legal and legal process. Continued political career and advocacy.
He was an outstanding lawyer who challenged the judicial system in which the testimony of an eyewitness was placed alongside undisputed facts and evidence and the final decision by the court was in his favor and his clients were acquitted. . This gave him the name ‘Honest Abe’. His success rate over the decade was remarkable.
In the year 1854, on October 16, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Peoria in which he made clear his stance regarding his hatred of the inherent slavery and the injustice caused by it. He highlighted his efforts over the years and the role of his mentor Henry Clay in trying to end it.
His statement was truly revolutionary and overruled the Kansas-Nebraska Act of the Whig Party, who were unwilling to compromise. This led to his rise in the political world and as a Republican leader. Later this speech became famous as ‘Peoria Speech’.
He was also actively practicing law during the months near the beginning of his presidential campaign in 1859. And in one such case, his profile reached its peak after he defended his rival’s grandson, who was accused of murder.
Many people favored him because of his ideologies and belief in an inclusive and undivided home. The Illinois Republican State Convention was held in Decatur for two days on the ninth and tenth of May. A campaign led by many of his supporters rallied for him and Lincoln received his first endorsement.
Won the nomination on the third ballot at the Republican National Convention in Chicago on May 18, defeating candidates such as Seward and Chase Lincoln. And Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, a former Democrat, was nominated for Vice President.
Abraham was counting on his supporters and campaign to garner more support for his success. And he won by 180 votes and was elected as the 16th President on 6 November in the year 1860. His victory was entirely due to his support in the North and West and he was the first Republican president. The lack of support from the South was a sign of the possibility of civil war in the future. On March 4, 1861, he officially became President of the United States.
Outbreak of civil war and Role of the President
Shortly after he began his term in office, the American Civil War began between the Northern states that were loyal to the Union and sided with the United States and the Southern states that wanted to secede from the organization to form the Confederate States. America.
The main reason for this war was the partition of the country due to slavery in areas that were not yet recognized as a state and, unlike other independent states, they suffered from lack of it.
At the time of the war, the Presidency was conflicted, but Abraham Lincoln remained unafraid to claim that his policy was no policy. He was not ashamed to admit that he was no longer controlling the events that occurred, but rather it was the events that controlled him, his decisions, and his actions. Lincoln took executive action and control by shaping the Union during the war, which was a term used for Northern military strategy. He made active efforts to prevent this war from becoming an international conflict. He exercised unprecedented authority by imposing blockades on Confederate posts and expanding his war powers.
He suspended the practice of habeas corpus, which means bringing in a person accused of a crime, and also disbursed funds before appropriation by Congress. His strategic way of dealing got him more support from Congress and other northern states. He relied heavily on his combative Secretary of State, William Seward. And also, working closely with Charles Sumner, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
It lasted for a long period from 12 April 1861 to 9 May 1865, the first battle was at Bull Run and the last battle was at Palmito Ranch. After 4 years of bloody conflict, the Confederate States were defeated by the United States. And the states that were still in rebellion were readmitted to the United States. The practice of slavery and the institution of unjust practice were completely abolished throughout the country.
Personal injury, consequences and Death
Abraham Lincoln suffered from depression after losing his 2 children Edward in 1846 and Willie died of fever in the White House on February 20, 1862 at the age of 12. This pain of sadness is now called clinical depression.
John Wilkes Booth, a supporter of slavery who believed Lincoln would overthrow the Constitution and destroy the South, was assassinated in his box at Ford’s Theater in Washington shortly after 10 p.m. on April 14, 1865. The wound was on the head and the bullet wound was fatal. He was the last and fourth president to be assassinated.
Robert Todd Lincoln, the eldest and only son who lived to maturity, sent his mother Mary to an asylum for a time in 1875 as she was grieving the loss of her beloved husband and sons.
Conclusion
The death of a great President left a huge void in American history and the world. Even today, his philosophies and ideologies of freedom and modernization without slavery and injustice are prevalent. The children of the world never cease to recognize the contributions of the man who came from nothing and ruled America. His role in changing the needle of history and fighting for individuals to be treated equally and for justice is unprecedented and revolutionary. The world will always remember this great leader.
