Abraham Lincoln: Preserver of the Union

Q: Who was Abraham Lincoln?

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States, who fought to preserve the Union during the US Civil War, and worked to end slavery in the US.

Q: What were Lincoln's Views on Slavery?

Although Lincoln personally hated slavery, he initially did not believe he had the constitutional power to abolish it, and merely wanted to prevent its expansion. But as the Civil War progressed, he became more radical on the issue of slavery, and favored total abolition.

Q: Why did Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation - ending slavery in ten rebellious Southern states - both to cripple the Confederate war effort which relied on slavery, but also to symbolically redefine the war as a moral crusade against slavery.

Harrison W. Mark

Definition

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the sixteenth president of the United States. He led the country through the tumultuous period of the American Civil War (1861-1865) and worked to end slavery, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation and supporting the Thirteenth Amendment. His assassination on 14 April 1865 only cemented his status as a martyr for liberty and today, he is often remembered as one of the greatest American presidents.

More about: Abraham Lincoln

Timeline

12 Feb 1809
Abraham Lincoln is born in a one-room log cabin 3 miles (5 km) south of Hodgenville, Kentucky.
4 Nov 1842
Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln are married in Springfield, Illinois; they would have four sons together.
6 Dec 1847 - 3 Mar 1849
Abraham Lincoln serves a single term in Congress, during which he opposed the Mexican-American War; critics refer to him as 'Spotty Lincoln'.
22 May 1849
Abraham Lincoln is issued Patent No. 6,469 for his invention of great bellows attached to the sides of boats that could be expanded to lift them over shoals, the only US President to have received a patent.
16 Oct 1854
Abraham Lincoln delivers his Peoria Speech, objecting to the Kansas-Nebraska Act; this speech reignites his political career.
1858
Lincoln-Douglas debates; seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas are held in Illinois, focusing on the issue of slavery. The debates raise Lincoln's national profile in the critical months before the next presidential election.
6 Nov 1860
Abraham Lincoln is elected as the 16th President of the United States and the first Republican president. His election sparked the secession of the Confederate States, leading to the American Civil War, and served as president until his assassination in April 1865.
16 Feb 1861
President-elect Abraham Lincoln stopped the train taking him along his inaugural journey at Westfield, New York, to thank young Grace Bedell for her suggestion, sent by mail a few months earlier, that he grow a beard to improve his appearance and help win him the election. At Westfield, he told this story to the crowd, asked for Grace, showed her he had taken her advice, and thanked her for the suggestion before continuing his way to Washington, D.C.
20 Feb 1862
Willie Lincoln, the 11-year-old son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, dies of typhoid fever in the White House.
1 Jan 1863
President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves held in the Confederate States of America.
3 Oct 1863
US President Abraham Lincoln issues his proclamation establishing a national Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated on the final Thursday of the month of November 1863, the 26th, beginning the tradition of the Thanksgiving Day celebration on the last Thursday of November.
19 Nov 1863
The Gettysburg Address is delivered by President Abraham Lincoln at the formal dedication of a Soldiers' National Cemetery following the Battle of Gettysburg in July of the same year, now known as the Gettysburg National Cemetery. The famous speech was read in less than two minutes and has only 271 words in it but has come to be regarded as among the greatest in US history.
4 Mar 1865
After winning the US presidential election of 1864, Lincoln is inaugurated for a second term.
14 Apr 1865
President Abraham Lincoln is shot at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House. Lincoln died the next morning at 7:22 am in the Petersen House across the street from the theater.
15 Apr 1865
President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the night before at Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth. His Vice President, Andrew Johnson, is sworn in as President of the United States.
28 Jul 1866
18-year-old artist and sculptress Vinnie Ream is awarded the commission for the full-size statue of Abraham Lincoln by the US Congress for placement in the US Capitol.