Biography of Abraham Lincoln
Dominique Bailey
Table of Contents
Page 3 – Introduction
Page 4 – Early Life
Page 5 – Law Career
Page 6 – Entering Politics
Page 7 – Elected President
Page 8 – Emancipation Proclamation - Civil War
Page 9 – Reconstruction - Assassination
Page 10 – Conclusion
Page 11 – Bibliography
3
Introduction
Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as one of America’s greatest heroes and one of its sharpest political minds. Born into frontier obscurity and raised in a log cabin, Lincoln rose quickly in society from a backwoods rail-splitter to a militia
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Lincoln made a good living in his early years as a lawyer, but found that Springfield alone didn’t offer enough work.
Early Politics Abraham Lincoln served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1847- '49. Lincoln started his political career with a campaign in 1832 for the Illinois General Assembly as a member of the Whig Party. The campaign was not successful though and he lost the seat. Soon after the campaign, he was elected captain of an Illinois militia company of New Salem during the Black Hawk War. In 1834, Lincoln won election to the state legislature and influenced by the Commentaries on the Laws of England, he started learning law. After admission to the bar in 1837, he moved to Springfield and established himself as a formidable adversary and successful lawyer. In 1837, Lincoln made his first protest (leader of the Illinois Whig Party) against slavery in the Illinois House and labeled it as “inhumanity based upon injustice and bad policy.”
7
Elected President
In 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, and allowed individual states and territories to decide for them whether to allow slavery. Lincoln joined the
Three years later Lincoln moved to Springfield, and became a licensed attorney. He began to form a partnership between John T. Stewart and soon got into local politics. Lincoln served in Congress for two years, but his opposition to the Mexican War did
In 1830, Lincoln moved with his family to Illinois and left in 1831 to find work, he got hired to build a flatboat at Sangamon Town (Hickey, 2013). A year later, he was nominated to legislature, but was defeated among thirteen candidates. Between 1833 and 1834 Lincoln was a postmaster, elected for public as a representative to The Illinois House of Representatives and bought a store in New Salem with partner William F. Berry. Already political involved he was elected for a second term in the legislature in 1836. He learned the traits of law in the office of Stuart and Dummer in Springfield, MS., began to practice law in 1839, and argued his first case in The Illinois Supreme court (White, 2009). His marriage to Mary Todd in 1842 produced four children, Robert and Edward. In 1847, Abraham Lincoln issue a resolution to President Polk on behalf of the House. The intention was to clarify if the first blood that was shed on the Mexican War was on American soil or Mexican claimed territory. Lincoln lost the U.S. senate in 1858, to his old friend Stephen Douglas. Elected to the presidency in 1860, he arrived secretly in Washington in February 23 due to treats against his life. Fort Sumter is attacked and Lincoln calls for the militia of several Union states to arms, beginning a Civil War that would last for over two years. .he is one of the most admired presidents. In February 1, 1965 Lincoln approved the thirteen amendment, abolishing slavery in the states,
While living in New Salem he and a business partner decided to start a store. Unfortunately the store failed and Lincoln was left with years of debt that he referred to as “the National debt”. His next career was being elected captain of a militia unit during the Blackhawk War in 1832. This was a turning point in his life not because of the election, but because he met and befriended John Todd Stuart. Lincoln was becoming more and more interested in politics and law. Lincoln was persuaded by his friend John Stuart to run for the Illinois General Assembly. Although Lincoln lost that particular election and his friend Stuart won, he did go on to win a seat during the 1834 election, and was re-elected in 1836, 1838, 1840, and 1844. Over the years Stuart, who was an accomplished attorney, took time to teach Lincoln and even shared his law books with him so he could learn. In 1836, Lincoln received his license to practice law despite never having received a law degree. In fact, he became a very well known and trusted lawyer who did quite a bit of work for the Illinois Central
Abraham Lincoln born in 1809 was the President of United States before he was assassination in 1865.Many scholars refer him to as the greatest president the United State has ever had in history. One among his major achievements was the successful lead of the American country during the great internal crisis. He sealed the Union of the country and fought slavery to the end. Lincoln was a lawyer, after which he became a legislator representing the Illinois state. He was a member in the House of Representatives through an election. In family matters Lincoln was said to as loving, kind, a husband and a father of four. Donald 2001 pp.69).
Lincoln had witnessed slavery many times when he had traveled down to New Orleans and seen all the corrupt and abusive actions slaveowners used to reform a slave ("Lincoln, Abraham” Discovery Education). Two years later he moved down to Illinois and started more small jobs.( “Lincoln, Abraham” FactCite). All the small jobs he had previously worked for lead him to his political career which affected him the most (“Abraham Lincoln” Gale U.S History in Context). As Lincoln was getting older he was interested in law and frequently visited several places in order to hear lawyers try cases. Every visit furnished him with more knowledge that could never be quenched. ("Abraham Lincoln" Encyclopedia Britannica School). When he was younger there was the Black Hawk War which he was quite evidently involved with. After the war, he was elected to be in the Illinois legislature where he was a member of the Whig party which was the first step to his political career. During his time in the Illinois legislature, Lincoln was formulating his views on the stance of slavery. Soon after, he transferred to John T. Stewart law firm and he also partnered with William Herndon. From 1847-1849, Lincoln had
In 1844, Abraham Lincoln banded together with William Herndon in the act of law. In spite of the fact that the two had distinctive jurisprudent styles, they built up a nearby expert and individual relationship. Lincoln brought home the bacon in his initial years as a legal advisor, however observed that Springfield alone didn't sufficiently offer work, so to supplement his pay, he took after the court as it made its rounds on the circuit to the different region seats in Illinois.
Abraham Lincoln is the sixteenth president of the United States of America. His unique appeal and his impact on our nation has made him arguably one of the greatest presidents this country has ever seen. I am going to inform you more about Lincoln’s childhood, his early career, his presidency, and the Civil War in which he played a big part. Abraham Lincoln came from such a simple beginning to one of America’s greatest heroes.
Now I want to remind Mr. Lincoln that he was at Springfield when that Convention was held and those resolutions adopted. The point I am going to remind Mr. Lincoln of is this: that after I had made my speech in 1854, during the fair, he gave me notice that he was going to reply to me the next day. I was sick at the time, but I staid over in Springfield to hear his reply and to reply to him. On that day this very Convention, the resolutions adopted by which I have read, was to meet in the Senate chamber. He spoke in the hall of the House and when he got through his speech—my recollection is distinct, and I shall never forget it—Mr. Codding walked in as I took the stand to reply, and gave notice that the Republican State Convention would meet instantly in the Senate chamber, and called upon the Republicans to retire there and go into this very convention, instead of remaining and listening to me.
12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. According to the WHITE HOUSE.gov, as a self-educated young man former President Lincoln liked public speaking. His inspiration came from his love for reading and wandering evangelists, some from politicians, and some from lawyers. He was willing to walk miles to watch a good lawyer in action. In an autobiography written at the behest of the Chicago Press & Tribune in 1860, Lincoln described his education and to add it all up, the aggregate of all his schooling did not even amount to one year; having never college or any academic school until he decided to obtain a law license. Eventually, he became a lawyer-politician serving in the Illinois state legislature from 1834 - 1841. In 1846, running as a member of the Whig Party, Lincoln won a seat in Congress.
Have you ever heard of Abraham Lincoln? Most Americans have, because he was one of the most loved, and most hated presidents we ever had. He didn’t start that way though. He was born in Kentucky, in a one room, one window, hard packed dirt floor log cabin. He worked hard and was ambitious, and over time he became one of the most well-known presidents of the United States. According to Russell Freedman, Lincoln was very ambitious and eager to prove himself.
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky. He moved between Kentucky and Indiana a little bit with his family and also traveled with his friend when he was old enough to do so. In 1831 he settled down in New Salem where he lived for 6 years, until he moved to Springfield, Illinois. He was a member of the Whig party, where under the guise of John T. Stuart, he studied law, obtaining licensure in 1836, and a year later became Stuart’s partner. He was successfully part of the Springfield legislature and when he retired, had a successful law practice. He also served one term in Congress but after that term was done, he was so discouraged by the embarrassing political reputation he’d created for himself in his opposition of the
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States was elected president on November 6 in the year 1860. Not even on the South’s ballot, Lincoln received 40% of the popular vote. As a strong republican, Lincoln believed in the abolition of slavery. Lincoln became president in the highest conflict between North and South in history and wanted to preserve the Union. He believed that the South should not be punished after the Civil War because he thought that they had already been punished enough from the war. Abraham Lincoln’s lenient policies caused him to be hated by both the North and the South. He believed that all should be treated with respect and wanted to find a compromise between the feuding sides of the Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln is by far our most revered president in the history of the United States. He had a strong moral vision of where his country must go to preserve and enlarge the rights of all her people, but he was also a good man with a strong sense of character and a great discipline in the art of law; and he sought to continue the great and mighty legacy of the Constitution. He believed that the Founding Fathers had drawn up the Constitution without the mention of slavery because they felt that it would later die of a natural death. He would soon learn that that would not be the case.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States taking presidency in 1861, but he was looked down upon long before he took office. He was demonized as a “black republican” and pictured as an abolitionist during the 4-way campaign in 1860. He avoided adding fuel to the flames in 1860 campaign by refraining from making any policy pronouncements for the fear of misconstruction in both regions. Abraham Lincoln’s election as president in November 1860 finally pushed secessionists over the edge. Many southerners felt that his goal was to ignore states’ rights and remove their ability to own slaves.
From a young age, Abraham was interested in learning and forwarding his education, much to the disdain of his farmer father who saw him as “lazy [for his] preference of reading over work” (McPherson, 3). This quickly derived into a passion for politics in 1833, shortly after he became an adult and moved to New Salem. McPherson states that Lincoln, though not winning candidacy multiple times throughout his career — from the legislature to the presidency — was always a popular figure. His semi-radical way of thinking throughout the mid 1800s caught many Americans attentions. This, along with his marvelous speaking ability allowed him to persuade large numbers of citizens, both in the government and living throughout the divided Confederacy