[194] Two days after McClellan's return to command, General Robert E. Lee's forces crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, leading to the Battle of Antietam. [273], Lincoln appointed 27 judges to the United States district courts but no judges to the United States circuit courts during his time in office. [183] Stanton was a staunch Unionist, pro-business, conservative Democrat who gravitated toward the Radical Republican faction. [24] His stepmother acknowledged he did not enjoy "physical labor", but loved to read. But he also vowed not to surrender the forts. [91], Leading up to his presidential campaign, Lincoln elevated his profile in an 1859 murder case, with his defense of Simeon Quinn "Peachy" Harrison who was a third cousin; Harrison was also the grandson of Lincoln's political opponent, Rev. Yet the contest began. [321] Many soldiers and religious leaders from the north, though, felt the fight for liberty and freedom of slaves was ordained by their moral and religious beliefs. Events conspired to push him back into national politics, however: Douglas, a leading Democrat in Congress, had pushed through the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than the federal government, had the right to decide whether the territory should be slave or free. The Lincolns' last descendant, great-grandson, While the name of the Supreme Court case is. [206] In a letter of August 22, 1862, Lincoln said that while he personally wished all men could be free, regardless of that, his first obligation as president was to preserve the Union:[207], My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. [221], Grant in 1864 waged the bloody Overland Campaign, which exacted heavy losses on both sides. "[136] Michael Martinez wrote about the effective imaging of Lincoln by his campaign. [80] The administration offered to appoint him secretary or governor of the Oregon Territory as consolation. “Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.”, “I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”, “I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot.”, “I am exceedingly anxious that this Union, the Constitution, and the liberties of the people shall be perpetuated in accordance with the original idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be most happy indeed if I shall be an humble instrument in the hands of the Almighty, and of this, his almost chosen people, for perpetuating the object of that great struggle.”, “This is essentially a People's contest. He was the only Whig in the Illinois delegation, but as dutiful as any, participated in almost all votes and made speeches that toed the party line. After remaining in a coma for eight hours, Lincoln died at 7:22 am on April 15. While many Democrats hoped that Dred Scott would end the dispute over slavery in the territories, the decision sparked further outrage in the North. Abraham Lincoln, a self-taught lawyer, legislator and vocal opponent of slavery, was elected 16th president of the United States in November 1860, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. He signed Senator Charles Sumner's Freedmen's Bureau bill that set up a temporary federal agency designed to meet the immediate needs of former slaves. Biography of Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator, and U.S. Older sources use six. [129] But Lincoln demonstrated intellectual leadership that brought him into contention. [205], Privately, Lincoln concluded that the Confederacy's slave base had to be eliminated. [71] Lincoln teamed with Joshua R. Giddings on a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia with compensation for the owners, enforcement to capture fugitive slaves, and a popular vote on the matter. Fifty years after the British had torched the city, a foreign army had once again penetrated the United States capital. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky. The Great Emancipator wasn’t quite WWE material, but thanks to his long limbs he was an accomplished wrestler as a young man. The Lincolns went on to have four children together, though only one would live into adulthood: Robert Todd Lincoln (1843–1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850–1862) and Thomas “Tad” Lincoln (1853-1871). When published, Oatesâs biography was the first comprehensive look at Lincoln in almost two decades and replaced Benjamin Thomasâs 1952 biography of Lincoln as âtheâ definitive work on Lincoln. That March he entered politics, running for the Illinois General Assembly, advocating navigational improvements on the Sangamon River. Defenders, such as authors Dirck and Cashin, retorted that he was not as bad as most politicians of his day;[344] and that he was a "moral visionary" who deftly advanced the abolitionist cause, as fast as politically possible. Determined to reunite the nation and not alienate the South, Lincoln urged that speedy elections under generous terms be held. [119] When informed of Lincoln's nomination, Douglas stated, "[Lincoln] is the strong man of the party ... and if I beat him, my victory will be hardly won. When a general asked Lincoln how the defeated Confederates were to be treated, Lincoln replied, "Let 'em up easy. This biography of Abraham Lincoln is a comprehensive list of written and published works about or by Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States. [190], In 1862 Lincoln removed McClellan for the general's continued inaction. He attended school for less than a year, but taught himself to read and write. [34] In 1831, as Thomas and other family prepared to move to a new homestead in Coles County, Illinois, Abraham struck out on his own. [314] It is unknown to what extent he may have suffered from mercury poisoning. Lincoln at this time reviewed a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation with his cabinet. [5] His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, Abraham's father, witnessed the attack. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Nolin Creek, Hardin County [now LaRue County], Kentucky, USA. [56] In his first campaign speech after returning, he observed a supporter in the crowd under attack, grabbed the assailant by his "neck and the seat of his trousers", and tossed him. [280] After being attended by Doctor Charles Leale and two other doctors, Lincoln was taken across the street to Petersen House. Lincoln wasn’t an abolitionist. [230] At its convention, the Republicans selected Johnson as his running mate. Bennett argued that Lincoln opposed social equality, and proposed sending freed slaves to another country. On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to send detachments totaling 75,000 troops to recapture forts, protect Washington, and "preserve the Union", which, in his view, remained intact despite the seceding states. [94] In his 1852 eulogy for Clay, Lincoln highlighted the latter's support for gradual emancipation and opposition to "both extremes" on the slavery issue. [245] With ratification, it became the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 6, 1865. [320], His position on war, though, was founded on a legal argument regarding the Constitution as essentially a contract among the states, and all parties must agree to pull out of the contract. "Stanton and Lincoln virtually conducted the war together", say Thomas and Hyman. [116], Accepting the nomination, Lincoln delivered his House Divided Speech, with the biblical reference Mark 3:25, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. [241], As Southern states fell, they needed leaders while their administrations were restored. The pledge read as follows: "This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. [9] They had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who died an infant. [52] Later in life, Mary struggled with the stresses of losing her husband and sons, and Robert committed her for a time to an asylum in 1875. He denounced secession as anarchy, and explained that majority rule had to be balanced by constitutional restraints. He was the first of 16 presidents to do so. Nicknamed Honest Abe or Father Abraham, Lincoln was, by far, one of the most powerful and greatest presidents that America has ever witnessed. Douglas emphasized his Freeport Doctrine, that local settlers were free to choose whether to allow slavery, and accused Lincoln of having joined the abolitionists. A Short Biography of Abraham Lincoln by Gordon Leidner of Great American History. Lincoln announced a Reconstruction plan that involved short-term military control, pending readmission under the control of southern Unionists. Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus where needed for the security of troops trying to reach Washington. With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations. "[158], Lincoln tacitly supported the Corwin Amendment to the Constitution, which passed Congress and was awaiting ratification by the states when Lincoln took office. The National Union Party was united by Lincoln's support for emancipation. [27] Family, neighbors, and schoolmates recalled that his reading included the King James Bible, Aesop's Fables, John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. 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