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Union Biographies - Abraham Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809, in Kentucky. Although born into a very poor
family, he spent nearly all of his time reading books borrowed from neighbors. When he
raised enough money he went on a boat trip down to New Orleans where he learned about
Southern culture and saw slavery in action. In 1831, Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois,
where he made friends and learned about politics. He became a member of the Whig party and
was elected to the Illinois state legislature. He studied law and became a successful
lawyer. During this time he had earned the nickname "Honest Abe."
In 1958, while running for U.S. Senate, Lincoln engaged in a series of debates with
Stephen A. Douglas. Both were excellent speakers and had many ideas. Although Douglas
gained the seat in the Senate, Lincoln was now a national figure. In 1860, he was elected
the 16th President of the United States under the newly created Republican
party.
After Lincoln took office, many Southern states, fearing Republican control of the
government, seceded from the Union. He now faced the largest problem any American
president has ever faced. Lincoln was absolutely determined to preserve the Union at all
costs. After the South captured Fort Sumter, Lincoln raised an army and asked to General
Robert E. Lee to command it. He refused and the command of the Federals went to General
McDowell. Lincoln realized the troops needed a moral boost and another reason to fight.
After the victory at Antietam, Maryland, Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation. When
it went into effect on January 1, 1863, it gave all slaves in rebelling states freedom. Of
course, since the slaves were tight in the grasp of the Southern armies, little liberation
actually occurred until the end of the four year conflict. He was constantly searching for
a talented General to lead the Army of the Potomac. After giving several Generals the
opportunity, he finally settled on Ulysses S. Grant. On November 19, 1863, Lincoln gave
his famous Gettysburg Address in which he dedicated the battlefield to the soldiers that
perished. He asked the rest of the Federal troops to continue the fight for those that
died.
In 1864 Ulysses S. Grant was named general-in-chief of the armies of the United States.
The South was slowly being worn down. Lincoln was re-elected as President with Andrew
Johnson as his running mate. Lincoln defeated the Democrat George McClellan on November 8,
1864. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant. Two days later Lincoln
addressed a crowd outside the White House. Among other things, suggested he would support
voting rights for certain blacks. This infuriated a racist and Southern sympathizer who
was in the audience: the actor John Wilkes Booth who hated everything the President stood
for. On April 14, 1865, the President and his wife were attending a play at Ford Theater
when Booth barged in the Presidential booth and shot Lincoln in the back of the head.
Lincoln died the next morning. |
