Brief biography of abraham lincoln
Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across the street from the theater, but he never regained consciousness, and died in the early morning hours of April 15, On April 21, , a train carrying his coffin left Washington, D. On the side of the Union, it is a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life.
A definitive biography of the 16th U. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States. Your Profile. Email Updates. Read more. American Civil War History. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The Aftermath of the Lincoln Assassination.
Sign Up. Eventually, 11 southern states formed the Confederate States of America to oppose the 23 northern states that remained in the Union. During the early years, the South was winning the war. Through speeches such as the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln encouraged Northerners to keep fighting. In this famous dedication of the battlefield cemetery, he urged citizens to ensure "that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
When the war was nearly over, Lincoln was re-elected in Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Some , soldiers had died during the four-year conflict. Together with Congress, he established the Department of Agriculture; supported the development of a transcontinental railroad; enacted the Homestead Act, which opened up land to settlers; and crafted the 13th Amendment, which ended the enslavement of people.
Less than a week after people celebrated the end the Civil War, the country was mourning yet again. Lincoln became the first president to be assassinated when he was shot on April 14, He was often at odds with his generals, his cabinet, his party, and a majority of the American people. On January 1, , Lincoln delivered his official Emancipation Proclamation , reshaping the cause of the Civil War from saving the Union to abolishing slavery.
And the Union victory at Antietam on September 22, , while by no means conclusive, was hopeful. It gave Lincoln the confidence to officially change the goals of the war. On that same day, he issued a preliminary proclamation that slaves in states rebelling against the Union would be free as of January 1.
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In the far reaches of western Texas, that day finally came on June 19, —more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect. For decades, many Black Americans have celebrated this anniversary, known as Juneteenth or Emancipation Day, and in , President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a national holiday. Still, the Emancipation Proclamation did have some immediate impact.
It permitted Black Americans to serve in the Union Army for the first time, which contributed to the eventual Union victory. The historic declaration also paved the way for the passage of the 13 th Amendment that ended legal slavery in the United States. On November 19, , Lincoln delivered what would become his most famous speech and one of the most important speeches in American history: the Gettysburg Address.
Addressing a crowd of around 15, people, Lincoln delivered his word speech at one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Civil War, the Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania. The Civil War, Lincoln said, was the ultimate test of the preservation of the Union created in , and the people who died at Gettysburg fought to uphold this cause. A common interpretation was that the president was expanding the cause of the Civil War from simply reunifying the Union to also fighting for equality and abolishing slavery.
His nemesis George B. Lincoln received 55 percent of the popular vote and of electoral votes. On April 9, , General Robert E. The Civil War was for all intents and purposes over. Reconstruction had already began during the Civil War, as early as in areas firmly under Union military control, and Lincoln favored a policy of quick reunification with a minimum of retribution.
He was confronted by a radical group of Republicans in Congress that wanted complete allegiance and repentance from former Confederates. Before a political debate had any chance to firmly develop, Lincoln was killed. Lincoln was taken to the Petersen House across the street and laid in a coma for nine hours before dying the next morning.
He was His death was mourned by millions of citizens in the North and South alike. His body was transported to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois, by a funeral train. In 10 cities, the casket was removed and placed in public for memorial services. Lincoln was finally placed in a tomb on May 4. Lincoln, already taller than most, is known for his distinctive top hats.
Worried about the commotion it might cause, the Smithsonian stored the hat in a basement instead of putting it on display. An aggressively activist commander-in-chief, Lincoln used every power at his disposal to assure victory in the Civil War and end slavery in the United States. Some scholars doubt that the Union would have been preserved had another person of lesser character been in the White House.
The monument is the most visited in the city, attracting around 8 million people per year. Lincoln chose cavalry broadswords as the duel's weapons because Shields was known as an excellent marksman. Just prior to engaging in combat, Lincoln demonstrated his physical advantage his long arm reach by easily cutting a branch above Shields's head. Their seconds intervened and convinced the men to cease hostilities on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters.
The Illinois governor called for a special legislative session during the winter of — in order to finance what became known as the Illinois and Michigan Canal , which connected the Illinois and Chicago rivers and linked Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. Lincoln voted in favor of the commitment, which passed 28— Lincoln had always supported Henry Clay's vision of the American System, which saw a prosperous America supported by a well-developed network of roads, canals, and, later, railroads.
Lincoln favored raising the funds for these projects through the federal government's sale of public lands to eliminate interest expenses; otherwise, private capital should bear the cost alone. Fearing that Illinois would fall behind other states in economic development, Lincoln shifted his position to allow the state to provide the necessary support for private developers.
In the next session a newly elected legislator, Stephen A. However, the Panic of effectively destroyed the possibility of more internal improvements in Illinois. The state became "littered with unfinished roads and partially dug canals"; the value of state bonds fell; and interest on the state's debts was eight times its total revenue.
The state government took forty years to pay off this debt. Lincoln had a couple of ideas to salvage the internal improvements program. First, he proposed that the state buy public lands at a discount from the federal government and then sell them to new settlers at a profit, but the federal government rejected the idea. Next, he proposed a graduated land tax that would have passed more of the tax burden to the owners of the most valuable land, but the majority of the legislators were unwilling to commit any further state funds to internal improvement projects.
The state's financial depression continued through In the s Illinois welcomed more immigrants, many from New York and New England, who tended to move into the northern and central parts of the state. Vandalia, which was located in the more stagnant southern section, seemed unsuitable as the state's seat of government.
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On the other hand, Springfield, in Sangamon County, was "strategically located in central Illinois" and was already growing "in population and refinement". Those who opposed the relocation of the state government to Springfield first attempted to weaken the Sangamon County delegation's influence by dividing the county into two new counties, but Lincoln was instrumental in first amending and then killing this proposal in his own committee.
Throughout the lengthy debate "Lincoln's political skills were repeatedly tested". The final action was tabled twice, but Lincoln resurrected it by finding acceptable amendments to draw additional support, including one that would have allowed reconsideration in the next session. As other locations were voted down, Springfield was selected by a 46 to 37 vote margin on February 28, Under Lincoln's leadership reconsideration efforts were defeated in the — sessions.
Lincoln, like Henry Clay, favored federal control over the nation's banking system, but President Jackson had effectively killed the Bank of the United States by That same year Lincoln crossed party lines to vote with pro-bank Democrats in chartering the Illinois State Bank. As he did in the internal improvements debates, Lincoln searched for the best available alternative.
A well-regulated bank would provide a sound, elastic currency, protecting the public against the extreme prescriptions of the hard-money men on one side and the paper inflationists on the other; it would be a safe depository for public funds and provide the credit mechanisms needed to sustain state improvements; it would bring an end to extortionate money-lending.
Opponents of the state bank initiated an investigation designed to close the bank in the — legislative session. On January 11, , Lincoln made his first major legislative speech supporting the bank and attacking its opponents.
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He condemned "that lawless and mobocratic spirit I make the assertion boldly, and without fear of contradiction, that no man, who does not hold an office, or does not aspire to one, has ever found any fault of the Bank. It has doubled the prices of the products of their farms, and filled their pockets with a sound circulating medium, and they are all well pleased with its operations.
Westerners in the Jacksonian Era were generally skeptical of all banks, and this was aggravated after the Panic of , when the Illinois Bank suspended specie payments. Lincoln still defended the bank, but it was too strongly linked to a failing credit system that lead to devalued currency and loan foreclosures to generate much political support.
In Democrats led another investigation of the state bank, with Lincoln as a Whig representative on the investigating committee. Lincoln was instrumental in the committee's conclusion that the suspension of specie payment was related to uncontrollable economic conditions rather than "any organic defects of the institutions themselves. In an attempt to avoid a quorum on adjournment, Lincoln and several others jumped out of a first story window, but the Speaker counted them as present and "the bank was killed.
He concluded, "If there was to be this continual warfare against the Institutions of the State In the s the slaveholding states began to take notice of the growth of antislavery rhetoric in the North. In particular, they were "outraged by the American Antislavery Society's pamphlets depicting slaveowners as cruel brutes".
In January , the Illinois legislature passed a resolution declaring that they "highly disapprove of the formation of abolition societies", that "the right of property in slaves is sacred to the slave-holding States by the Federal Government, and that they cannot be deprived of that right without their consent", and that "the General Government cannot abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, against the will of the citizens of said District.
Because relocation of the state capital was still the number one issue on the two men's agendas, they made no comment on their votes until the relocation was approved. On March 3, with his other legislative priorities behind him, Lincoln filed a formal written protest with the legislature that stated "the institution of slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy.
In , from the start of the law partnership with Stuart, Lincoln handled most of the firms clients, while Stuart was primarily concerned with politics and election to the United States House of Representatives. The law practice had as many clients as it could handle. Most fees were five dollars, with the common fee ranging between two and a half dollars and ten dollars.
Lincoln quickly realized that he was equal in ability and effectiveness to most other attorneys, whether they were self-taught like Lincoln or had studied with a more experienced lawyer. Following Stuart's elected to Congress in November , Lincoln ran the practice on his own. Lincoln, like Stuart, considered his legal career as simply a catalyst for his political ambitions.
However, when Stuart was reelected to Congress, Lincoln was no longer content to carry the entire load. In April he entered into a new partnership with Stephen T. Logan was nine years older than Lincoln, the leading attorney in Sangamon County, and a former attorney in Kentucky before he moved to Illinois. Logan saw Lincoln as a complement to his practice, recognizing that Lincoln's effectiveness with juries was superior to his own in that area.
Once again, clients were plentiful for the firm, although Lincoln received one-third of the firm's proceeds rather than the even split he had enjoyed with Stuart. Lincoln's association with Logan was a learning experience. He absorbed from Logan some of the finer points of law and the importance of proper and detailed case research and preparation.
Logan's written pleadings were precise and on point, and Lincoln used them as his model. However, much of Lincoln's development was still self-taught. Historian David Herbert Donald wrote that Logan taught him that "there was more to law than common sense and simple equity" and Lincoln's study began to focus on "procedures and precedents.
Lincoln's growing skills became evident as his appearances before the Supreme Court increased and would serve him well in his political career. By the time he went to Washington in , Lincoln had appeared over three hundred times before this court. Oates wrote, "It was here that he earned his reputation as a lawyer's lawyer, adept at meticulous preparation and cogent argument.
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Lincoln's partnership with Logan was dissolved in the fall of when Logan entered into a partnership with his son. Lincoln, who probably could have had his choice of more established attorneys, was tired of being the junior partner and entered into a partnership with William Herndon , who had been reading law in the offices of Logan and Lincoln. Herndon, like Lincoln, was an active Whig, but the party in Illinois at that time was split into two factions.
Lincoln was connected to the older, "silk stocking" element of the party through his marriage to Mary Todd ; Herndon was one of the leaders of the younger, more populist portion of the party. The Lincoln-Herndon partnership continued through Lincoln's presidential election, and Lincoln remained a partner of record until his death.
Before his partnership with Herndon, Lincoln had not regularly attended court in neighboring communities. This changed as Lincoln became one of the most active regulars on the circuit through , interrupted only by his two-year stint in Congress. The Eighth Circuit covered 11, square miles 28, km 2. On the road, lawyers and judges lived in cheap hotels, with two lawyers to a bed; and six or eight men to a room.
Lincoln's reputation for integrity and fairness on the circuit led to him being in high demand both from clients and local attorneys who needed assistance. It was during his time riding the circuit that he picked up one of his lasting nicknames, "Honest Abe". The clients he represented, the men he rode the circuit with, and the lawyers he met along the way became some of Lincoln's most loyal political supporters.
Davis joined the circuit in as a judge and would occasionally appoint Lincoln to fill in for him. They traveled the circuit for eleven years, and Lincoln would eventually appoint him to the United States Supreme Court. Lamon, the only local attorney with whom Lincoln had a formal working agreement, accompanied Lincoln to Washington in Unlike other attorneys on the circuit, Lincoln did not supplement his income by engaging in real estate speculation or operating a business or a farm.
His income was generally what he earned practicing law. On his return from his single term in the U. House of Representatives, Lincoln turned down an offer of a partnership in a Chicago law firm. Lincoln was involved in at least two cases involving slavery. In an Illinois Supreme Court case, Bailey v.
Cromwell , Lincoln successfully prevented the sale of a woman who was alleged to be a slave, making the argument that in Illinois "the presumption of law was Matson brought slaves from his Kentucky plantation to work on land he owned in Illinois. In this case, Lincoln invoked the right of transit, which allowed slaveholders to take their slaves temporarily into free territory.
Lincoln also stressed that Matson did not intend to have the slaves remain permanently in Illinois. Even with these arguments, judges in Coles County ruled against Lincoln, and the slaves were set free. Railroads became an important economic force in Illinois in the s. As they expanded they created myriad legal issues regarding "charters and franchises; problems relating to right-of-way; problems concerning evaluation and taxation; problems relating to the duties of common carriers and the rights of passengers; problems concerning merger, consolidation, and receivership.
Like the slave cases, sometimes Lincoln would represent the railroads and sometimes he would represent their adversaries. He had no legal or political agenda that was reflected in his choice of clients. Herndon referred to Lincoln as "purely and entirely a case lawyer. Barret, a shareholder. Barret refused to pay the balance on his pledge to the railroad on the grounds that it had changed its originally planned route.
Lincoln argued that as a matter of law, a corporation is not bound by its original charter when that charter can be amended in the public interest. Lincoln also argued that the newer route proposed by Alton and Sangamon was superior and less expensive, and accordingly, the corporation had a right to sue Barret for his delinquent payment. Lincoln won this case and the Illinois Supreme Court decision was eventually cited by other U.
The most important civil case for Lincoln was the landmark Hurd v. America's expansion west, which Lincoln strongly supported, was seen as an economic threat to the river trade, which ran north-to-south, primarily along the Mississippi River. It was the first railroad bridge to span the Mississippi River. The steamboat owner sued for damages, claiming the bridge was a hazard to navigation, but Lincoln argued in court for the railroad and won, removing a costly impediment to western expansion by establishing the right of land routes to bridge waterways.
Biography of john f. kennedy: Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, , near Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.—died April 15, , Washington, D.C.) was the 16th president of the United States (–65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
Criminal law made up a small part of Lincoln and Herndon's casework. William "Duff" Armstrong had been charged with murder. The case became famous for Lincoln's use of judicial notice —a rare tactic at that time—to show that an eyewitness had lied on the stand. After the witness testified to having seen the crime by moonlight, Lincoln produced a Farmers' Almanac to show that the moon on that date was at such a low angle it could not have provided enough illumination to see anything clearly.
Based almost entirely on this evidence, Armstrong was acquitted. From Bergen's recollection, the prosecution had objected upon Lincoln's demonstration from the almanac and compared it to an almanac in their possession, only to find that Lincoln's was genuine. Lincoln was involved in more than 5, cases in Illinois alone during his year legal career.
Though many of these cases involved little more than filing a writ, others were more substantial and quite involved. Lincoln and his partners appeared before the Illinois State Supreme Court more than times. Abraham Lincoln is the only U. At one point the boat slid onto a dam and was set free only after heroic efforts. In later years, while traveling on the Great Lakes, Lincoln's ship ran afoul of a sandbar.
The resulting invention consists of a set of bellows attached to the hull of a ship just below the water line. On reaching a shallow place, the bellows are filled with air, and the vessel, thus buoyed, is expected to float clear. The invention was never marketed, probably because the extra weight would have increased the probability of running onto sandbars more frequently.
Lincoln whittled the model for his patent application with his own hands. In Lincoln called the introduction of patent laws one of the three most important developments "in the world's history. Historians do not agree on the significance or nature of their relationship, but, according to many she was his first and perhaps most passionate love.
At first, they were probably just close friends, but soon they had reached an understanding that they would be married as soon as Ann had completed her studies at the Female Academy in Jacksonville. Their plans were cut short in the summer of when what was probably typhoid fever hit New Salem. Ann died on August 25, , and Lincoln went through a period of extreme melancholy that lasted for months.
In either or , Lincoln met Mary Owens , the sister of his friend Elizabeth Abell, when she was visiting from her home in Kentucky. In , in a conversation with Elizabeth, Lincoln agreed to court Mary if she ever returned to New Salem. On August 16, , Lincoln wrote Mary a letter from Springfield suggesting an end to the relationship.
She never replied and the courtship was over. Edwards, son of Ninian Edwards. Mary was popular in the Springfield social scene but soon was attracted to Lincoln. Sometime in , the two became engaged. They initially set a January 1, , wedding date, but mutually called it off. Lincoln proposed marriage to Sarah in but was rejected.
Sarah later said that "his peculiar manner and his General deportment would not be likely to fascinate a young girl just entering the society world".