Mallory-+Abraham+Lincoln

= **__Abraham Lincoln__** = toc

Childhood
On February 12, 1809 Nancy Hawks gave birth to the child who would eventually became the 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln was born in a small log-cabin in Southwest Hardin County, Kentucky. His parents, Thomas and Nancy lived in poverty for their entire lives and were both uneducated. Abraham's father, Thomas Lincoln was forced to move back to Indiana because of his disagreements with the Kentucky government on the issue of slavery. Thomas also did not pay off his debt on his land in 1816. In 1818, when Abraham Lincoln was nine, his mother died. His father re-married Sarah Bush Johnston. Lincoln enjoyed having Sarah as a mother, she treated her's and Thomas's children equally. She also had great interest in learning. This was a whole new world that Lincoln had not been exposed to and he then learned to read and write. Although he learned these skills, Lincoln only received 18 months of proper schooling in his entire life.

In 1830, Thomas Lincoln packed up his family and moved to Illinois. As a young man, Lincoln worked as a boat builder, sailer, carpenter, and blacksmith. Soon after, Lincoln separated from his family and moved to New Salem, Illinois. After settling in New Salem he served in the Black Hawks War; a dispute over the Sac and Fox Indians attempt to reclaim lands in the state. After the war, Lincoln went on to study law. His personal experiences as a young child greatly impacted his own beliefs about the key issues of the times, most especially slavery.

Early Government Work and Growing Influence


Abraham Lincoln found interest in legal and government work early in his life. After moving to New Salem, Lincoln began to support the Whig Party and was elected to the Illinois State Legislature in 1834. There most of his time was spent on economic development issues and slavery. While working in the Illinois State Legislature he continued to study law and became a lawyer.

In 1844, Lincoln formed a legal partnership with William Her ndon. Lincoln was subsequently elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in 1847. He served one short term and then moved back to Illinois to practice law. Lincoln was not an initially an abolitionist. Rather he believed that the Constitution protected slavery in the states where it previously existed. He did, however, stongly believe that slavery should not be expanded to any new territories. While in Washington he hardened and expressed his views on restricting the growth of slavery after the Mexican War. Lincoln was loosing interest in politics until the 1854 Kansas Nebraska Act was passed by Congress. This Act opened up previously shut territories to slavery if voted for by the local population. Lincoln saw this Act, sponsored by Democratic Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas, as immoral and once again became interested in politics. After loosing a run for the US Senate in 1856, Lincoln regrouped and ran against Douglas in the 1858 election as a Republican. In his nomination speech Lincoln accused Douglas and other significant Democrats of trying to nationalize slavery. In this famous speech, he stated that "a house divided cannot stand;" suggesting that a split between the North and South was inevitable. In what seems like a stroke of political brilliance, Lincoln challenged the popular Douglas to a series of Illinois debates for the election of US Senator. Douglas won the election but Lincoln's debate speeches made him a national Republican political figure.

The Dred Scott decision caused another uproar in Lincoln's political career. Dred Scott was an African-American man who escaped from slavery but was later found and returned to his master. The case went to the US Supreme Court and the court ruled in favor of the master. After the ruling of the case, Lincoln spoke out strongly about his views on the Supreme Court's decision. Lincoln's strong views on slavery put him at a disadvantage in the Southern political world and caused much controversy in the 1860 Presidential election.

1860 Election


In 1860, the United States was divided between slave states and free states. The Presidential election brought up fierce debate about slavery with violence often following. Despite having very little political experience, Abraham Lincoln was elected to represent the Republican Party. He had only served as a State Representative and one term in the US House of Representatives. Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge and Joh n Bell were Lincoln's competitors in the Presidential election. Lincoln choose to down-play the issue of slavery and talked about Westward expansion in hope that he would also capture the Southerners votes. Lincoln's running mate was Hannibal Hamlin. Lincoln won the election with 180 of the electoral college votes and 1,865,593 of the popular votes. Even though Lincoln down-played his views on slavery, his opinions on the issue were still well known. After the election, Southerners thought their voices were not going to be heard under Lincoln's administration and Southern states began to secede from the Union; South Carolina being the first to leave and six others to soon follow. On April 12, 1861, South Carolina militia fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and the Civil War began. Lincoln's election was just the beginning of violence and uproar in the United States.

Civil War
media type="youtube" key="BvA0J_2ZpIQ" height="313" width="381" align="right" As the leader of the nation, it was critical that President Lincoln's views prevailed and that slavery would be eventually abolished. Lincoln studied military books religiously and appointed Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman to lead the Union army in hopes of insuring success. It was difficult finding men to volunteer in the beginning of the war. Union war tactics were weak leading to many losses. It became essential for the Union army to realize a victory. He pushed his generals to attack sooner than they were ready and his political opponents accused him of dictatorial abuses.

Desperately in need of fighting men, Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,1863. This proclamation freed slaves in the Union and allowed them to serve in the army. Then after the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the Civil War, Lincoln made one of the most iconic speeches of his presidency, The Gettysburg Address. In it he reinforced the founding principles of the Declaration of Independence in that we must be wiling to fight for freedom and equality for all. By the time the Presidential ele ction of 1864 occurred, the Democratic majority clearly favored slavery and the Republicans, under Lincoln's leadership, favored the 13th Amendment to the Constitution outlawing slavery. Lincoln's victory in that election changed the country forever.

The Emancipation Proclamation By the President of the United States of America:

A Proclamation. Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."

Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were notissued.

And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service. And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

Lincoln's Assassination
Lincoln's strong views on slavery and his actions as president led some citizens to violence. About five days after the North won the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln attended a performance at Ford's theater in Washington, DC with his wife and two other guests. They were attending the show "Our American Cousin". At about 10 pm on April 14, 1885, John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head. The next day Lincoln was declared dead.

Booth was very much against Lincoln and his actions as president. Booth had mad e his views very clear and publicly known throughout Lincoln's presidency. He conceived an idea of kidnapping Lincoln at a performance, however, he decided killing him would have greater and more dramatic impact. Booth knew the theater and play very well and waited for the perfect time to murder Lincoln. After he shot him, Booth escaped quickly before anyone could capture him. The assassination was sudden and shocking for the entire country.



Impact on the United States
President Lincoln's impact on our country was significant. He was the first president to act on his strong political views a gainst slavery. He used his presidential powers to insure that the U.S. treated all it's people equally regardless of color and changed the opinions of many citizens on the controversial issue of slavery. Throughout Lincoln's presidency, he faced secession of the South, political uproar, civil war, and much more. Despite the division of North and South, Lincoln managed to lead the country during one of it's most devastating and vulnerable times in history. He had the daunting task of trying to bring these two parts of our country back together.

Abraham Lincoln became an internationally known icon in US history. After his assassination, his plans for gradual emancipation of slaves was nothing but a memory. Lincoln's ideas and plans lay in the hands of the Vice President, now the newly appointed President, Andrew Johnson and Johnson's followers. The goal of abolishing slavery was eventually reached, however in a more forceful way. Lincoln's legacy is more then just the 16th president of the United States, he placed our people on the path of equality for all.

**Pictures**
1) "Abraham Lincoln's Portrait in 1860 Election List." Library of Congress. Rare Book and Special Collections Division. American History Online, Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE52&iPin=AHI8056&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 4, 2011).

2) "Abraham Lincoln with Major Allan Pinkerton and General John A. McClernand at Antietam." National Archives and Records Administration. Special Media Archives Services Division. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE52&iPin=AHI1289&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 4, 2011).

3) "Lincoln, Abraham." Library of Congress. Prints and Photographs Division. Meserve C ollection. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE52&iPin=AHI0158&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 4, 2011).

4)"University of Delaware Library Special Collections: Abraham Lincoln Slavery and Emancipation." //University of Delaware Library//. Special Collections, 3 Dec. 09. Web. 14 May 2011. .

**Websites**
1) "Featured Document: The Emancipation Proclamation." //National Archives and Records Administration//. US National Archives and Record Administration. Web. 19 May 2011. .

2) Frederickson, John C. "Abraham Lincoln's 1865 inaugural address." In Waugh, John, and Gary B. Nash, eds. //Encyclopedia of American History: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1856 to 1869//, Revised Edition (Volume V). New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. //American History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE52&iPin=EAHRV044&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 4, 2011).

3) Sheldon, Garrett Ward. "Abraham Lincoln, political philosophy of." //Encyclopedia of Political Thought//. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2001. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE53&iPin=polthot00242&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 4, 2011).

4)"University of Delaware Library Special Collections: Abraham Lincoln Slavery and Emancipation." //University of Delaware Library//. Special Collections, 3 Dec. 09. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/lincolnbicent/01_slave.html

5) Urlacher, Brian. "U.S. presidential election, 1860." In Sabato, Larry J., and Howard R. Ernst. //Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections//. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. //American History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE52&iPin=EAPPE0311&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 8, 2011).

6) Ward, Artemus. "Abraham Lincoln, legislative accomplishments of." In Schultz, David, ed. //Encyclopedia of American Law//. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. //American History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE52&iPin=EAL0243&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 4, 2011).