Abraham Lincoln

Photograph of Abraham Lincoln 1863 (Alabama Virtual Library)

Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809, and died April 15, 1865. He lived in Hodgenville, Kentucky, and New Salem and Springfield, Illinois. His father was Thomas Lincoln; his mother was Nancy Lincoln, and his wife was Mary Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln and Mary had 4 kids.

Abe was a lawyer. While he was a lawyer, he became the junior partner in the law firm of Stuart and Lincoln with John T. Stuart his brother-in-law.

Lincoln ran for senate and debated slavery in 1858. He delivered an address at Cooper Union in New York City in 1860. His opponent, Douglas, was re-elected for the U.S. Senate by a vote of 54-46 against Lincoln, but people liked what Lincoln said.

Abe Lincoln was elected president November 6, 1860. He tried to stop the states from leaving our country and then led the North through the Civil War while president. Abraham Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation after the Battle of Antietam saying that all states in the Union would outlaw slavery. He was re-elected in 1865, but was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. Abraham Lincoln died April 15, 1865 at 7:22 a.m.

There is a memorial to Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C. It has a huge statue of him sitting and looking out toward the U.S. Capitol.