Study Notes About Abe Lincoln

Abe Lincoln was a Kentucky frontiersman and an American President. He worked hard at educating himself even while farming and mending fences. He fought as a captain in wars, became a member of the legislature, and was a married man with four sons. His courage and ambition led him to be elected President of the United States. He is remembered by all Americans as "Honest Abe".

Boyhood

Abe Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. He was of humble beginnings, born in a log cabin in Kentucky. Seven year old, Abe, moved to Indiana with his family where he went to school with his sister, Sarah. Abe's mother died when he was nine years old from poisoned milk and his father married again a year later.

Abe enjoyed reading more than working on his father's farm. He borrowed books from everyone he could and grew in knowledge and wisdom. When Abe was 22 years old, he moved to Illinois.

Adulthood

After moving to Illinois, Abe found employment as a store clerk, a surveyor, and as a postal worker. It was here that he received the nickname, "Honest Abe" because of his fine character. Abe was very tall for the times in which he lived, standing 6'4" and weighing 180 pounds.

He became a captain in the army and fought in the Black Hawk War. After the war, Abe became a law student and received his law degree in 1836. He became a successful lawyer and married Mary Todd in 1842. The Lincolns had four sons: Robert, Edward, William, and Thomas.

Politics

After fighting in Black Hawk War, Abe ran for the legislature in 1832 and won. He was re-elected three more times, serving in Illinois for eight years.

He also ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1846. He won the election and while serving in Washington, he opposed slavery and the Mexican War.

Abe ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1854 but lost. In 1856, he received support from the Republicans for the vice-president nomination. During this time, he made some of his most famous speeches: the Lost Speech and the House Divided Speech. Abe also debated Stephen A. Douglas and opposed the Dred Scott decision.

Presidency

Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election, becoming the 16^th president on November 6, 1860. Many states in the south seceded from the Union because they did not want a Republican president. President Lincoln formed an army to prevent the southern states from leaving the Union. This battle turned into the four year Civil War.

During the Civil War, President Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This proclamation abolished slavery. During the same year, President Lincoln gave his famous, Gettysburg Address which honored fallen soldiers and asked that the Union continue its fight against oppression.

Assassination

President Lincoln and his wife were attending a play at the Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. During the play, John Wilkes Booth entered the President's box and shot him in the back of the head. President Lincoln was brought across the street to the Peterson House and died there the next day.

President Lincoln was the first United States president to be assassinated. He was buried at the Oak Ridge Cemetery on May 4, 1865. The American people remember him as a fighter for freedom and equality.

More information about Abe Lincoln:

Read some of Abe Lincoln's most famous quotes:

Abraham Lincoln Quotes, Abraham Lincoln Research Site

Find out interesting trivia and personal information about Abe Lincoln:

Abraham Lincoln Personal Data and Trivia, Abraham Lincoln Research Site

Read the speeches and letters written by Abraham Lincoln:

Document Library, Teaching American History.org

Take a virtual Tour of the Lincoln Tomb where Abraham Lincoln was laid to rest:

Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site, Abraham Lincoln Online