Abraham Lincoln :: essays research papers

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States. He served from 1861- 1865. People referred to him as " Honest Abe." During the Civil War Lincoln helped with the North, in doing this the North selected him for a second time in 1864. In all of his time he never wavered from his primary goal- to save the Union and also he saw the nation through it's most dreadful experience, war between Americans. In the beginning- Abraham was born on February 12, 1809. Him ad his family moved a couple of times from place to place. With helping on the farm and managing to get in some schooling at a local school. He learned how to read and write. His full size grew to be 6'4. The middle years- In 1832, as a captain of the Militia Company, he went off to the Black Hawk War. Soon after the War he ran for the Illinois legislature and lost. Afterward with a partner, he opened his own general store but went broke. In 1834, as a Whig, he was elected to the legislature and served four terms. But in the meantime, he read enough law to finally become a lawyer and in 1837 he moved to Springfield. Here he attended legislative sessions, practiced law, and met his future wife. Family life- Abraham's wife was Mary Todd; she was a Kentucky born girl. They were soon married on November 4, 1842. They had together four kids, Robert, Edward, William, and Thomas. But Edward died shortly before his fourth birthday, William died in the White House of typhoid at only age eleven, and also son Thomas died in 1871 at age eighteen right before adulthood. Being the President- In 1846, Lincoln won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served up until 1849, then returned to Springfield. In the 1850's he returned to politics. He spoke out against slavery extension. In 1856 he became a Republican. Two years later he ran for U.S. Senate, but lost however. He won the President nomination on the third ballot and won. He was elected President on November 6, 1861. In November 1863, Lincoln dedicated the Gettysburg battlefield, in a short speech known as the Gettysburg Address. It summed up the Civil War and it's meaning to the Americans.