Of the 46 U.S.
Presidents, Abraham Lincoln has been ranked the best by historians, but what
made Lincoln so special wasn't the fact that he saved the Union from falling to
its knees to the Confederacy, how he helped bring about the end of slavery, or
he proved Democracy is the way to govern. If it were these things that
made Lincoln such a great president, why couldn't these things have been done
before his presidency, and why hadn't anyone else been able to accomplish what
Lincoln did? What made Lincoln, Lincoln?
On February 12, 1809, Nancy and Thomas Lincoln welcomed a
baby boy into their home who would be named Abraham, named after his
grandfather who was killed by Native Americans. Abraham was not their first
child; his older sister Sarah was born February 10, 1807, exactly two days and
two years older than her brother. The family of four lived in a one room log
cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky. Nancy spent her days doing household chores
and trying to teach her children to read and write the best she could, having
no formal education herself. Thomas Lincoln was a farmer; he had 30 acres and
raised pumpkins and corn. The children both attended a small school and helped
with chores around the house and farm–Sarah with her mother, and Abe with his
father. Abraham never truly enjoyed doing farm work and would rather be reading
and learning.
The
family lived in Kentucky until 1816. Because of conflicts over land
titles and wanting to get away from the raise of slavery in Kentucky, the
family moved to Pigeon Creek, Indiana, where Thomas built them a cabin. Abraham
continued to help his father on the farm and improved his skill with the ax and
the plow while continuing to attend school as often as he could but still very
little. Lincoln grew up without the love for farming his father wanted him to
have; however, to be fair, his love for farming would have been greater if he
hadn't been kicked in the head by a horse, causing a lazy eye. I wouldn't like
farming much either after that.
In 1819
the Lincoln family had to deal with a tragic loss. His mother passed away after
getting milk sickness, which is caused when someone drinks the milk of a cow
that ate a toxic plant. This was a hard hit for everyone in the family but
mainly for Abraham, who was very close to his mother, as she encouraged him to
read and learn. Forty years later Lincoln still felt the impact of his mother
saying, "All that I am or hope to be, I own to my angel mother.” Thomas
and Abraham built a coffin and buried Nancy on a hill near the cabin.
Unable
to live without his wife, Thomas went back to Kentucky to find a new wife named
Sarah Bush Johnston, who was a widow with children. Sarah loved the Lincoln
children like her own. Lincoln's stepmother always showed affection to her
stepson, and he returned her affection. Years after Lincoln's death Sarah would
say, ¨Abe was the best boy I ever saw.”
Lincoln
is known for his height. Standing at 6´4¨, he looked like a giant to most. At
19 years old Lincoln finished growing and spent his days wrestling with other
locals. He continued wrestling when he moved to New Salem, where he wrestled in
300 matches and only lost one. The people in New Salem said Lincoln could lift
a good amount of weight and drive an ax deeper than any man around.
Abraham and his sister grew up
very close and would were still close until January 20, 1828, when Sarah passed
away during childbirth. Sarah was married to Aaron Grigsby whose family lived
near the Lincoln family. When Abraham heard of his sister´s death, all we could
do was sob. After Abraham's death reporters traveled to Indiana to learn about
the President and said Lincoln blamed Sarah's death on her husband´s
negligence.
In 1828 Lincoln was invited by
James Gentry to go on a flatboat with Gentry’s son to New Orleans with produce.
Lincoln witnessed a slave auction, which greatly disturbed him and made a
lasting impact on him. Lincoln ended up working for Gentry at his store in
Illinois, where he developed an interest in politics. When people came into the
store they would talk about political views, and Lincoln would listen, then
began sharing views of his own.
In 1830 Thomas Lincoln decided
to move his family to Macon County, Illinois. Abraham left his family and moved
to New Salem. Right off the bat Lincoln was well liked by his fellow citizens. During
his time in New Salem, Lincoln was busy. He was elected captain of the
thirty-first Regiment of the Illinois Militia in the Blackhawk War. He worked
odd jobs such as a shopkeeper, surveyor, postmaster and also began to read
law.
Lincoln's professional life is
talked about very often, but what is not mentioned as much is his personal
life–for good reason, because it is sad. While in New Salem Lincoln met a lady
named Ann
Rutledge, who
would make Lincoln feel love then the deepest despair. The couple met when
Lincoln was working as the postmaster. Lincoln is known as the man who captured
Anne´s heart after her first failed engagement. ¨Lincoln's last law partner,
William Herndon, wrote in a letter that Lincoln and she were engaged. Lincoln
told me so.¨ While little is known about the
couple it is said that Anne was Lincoln's first love, and when she died from
typhoid fever, Lincoln couldn't stand it.
The
unhappy couple remained married until the fateful day in April of 1865. They
had four children: Robert 1843-1926, Edward 1846-1850, Thomas 1853-1871, and
the youngest William, who lived 1850-1862.
Lincoln
is very well known for his political career, but some may not know that he
started his political career at a young age. In 1834 he was elected as a Whig
candidate in the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, where he served
until 1846 when he was elected from the Whig Party to the United States House
of Representatives, where he only served one term. During his term he
introduced spot resolutions, challenging President James K. Polk to prove
that the "spot" of land on which American blood had been shed was the
event that prompted the United States to declare war on Mexico had in fact been
shed on American soil. In
March of 1849 he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court before resuming
law in Springfield.
In 1854 Lincoln was inspired to
return to politics when passage of the Kansas Nebraska Act allowed slavery to
expand beyond their existing boundaries. He gave a three hour speech to run for
the Illinois House of Representatives, which was unsuccessful, as was his run
for the Illinois Senate.
Between August to October of 1858
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, the Democratic candidate for the United
States Senate, traveled around Illinois debating on certain topics, with each
debate lasting three hours. These debates put Lincoln's political career on the
map, while muffling Douglas´ Career.
Over the years Lincoln
became very popular in Illinois, and the northern states nominated him to run
as president on May 18, 1860. He ran against the other candidates: John
Breckinridge as a southern Democrat, John Bell, Constitutional Union, and Stephen
A Douglas as a Democratic candidate
Abraham Lincoln won the
election, becoming the 16th president of the United States, with 180 electoral
votes and 1,866,452 poplar votes. John Breckinridge lost with 72 electoral
votes and 847,953 popular votes, John Bell with 39 electoral votes and 590,901
popular votes, and Stephen Douglas with 12 electoral votes and 1,380,202
popular votes.
From March 4, 1861 to
April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln served his four-year term as President of the
United States, and from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865, the American Civil War
was fought. The war lasted four years, becoming one of the bloodiest battles in
American history. On April 15th President Lincoln called for 75,000 militia,
after which Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee seceded from the
Union in the following weeks.
During the bloody war
the president tried to lead the Union to success while the Confederacy tried to
drag the Union through the mud. Soldiers dropped like flies due to war
conditions or sicknesses like pneumonia, typhoid, diarrhea/dysentery, and
malaria. Many deaths were a result of infected battle wounds that were left
untreated.
The first two years of the war
dragged by for the soldiers, for the president, and for the United States as a
whole. While not actually fighting on the battlefield himself, Lincoln would
communicate with the military using electronic devices such as the telegram,
making him the first president in history to do so.
After Lincoln was
elected the South started to secede from the Union, with South Carolina being
the first to secede on December 20 of 1860. Lincoln had to secretly arrive in
Washington DC after an assassin attempt in Baltimore. One March 4th, Lincoln
was Inaugurated the 16th president of the United States. On April 12th the
Confederacy fired on the Union held Fort Sumter, starting the Civil War.
On January 1st of 1863,
the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, which stated enslaved people in
rebelling states could be free. Black troops were happy, but white southerners
were outraged. This document was a turning point, because now the end goal was
to make a better Union without slavery.
The next two years of
the war felt like two decades, but on April 9, 1865 at last the Union won over
the Confederacy. With the war finished, the 13th Amendment went into effect,
freeing all enslaved people in the nation. Unfortunately, the president would
only have six days to celebrate with the Union.
On April 14th at 10:20 p.m. Lincoln
was watching a play at Ford's Theater when John Wilkes Booth snuck up behind
him and shot him straight into the back of his head. Lincoln was taken across
the street at the Petersen boarding house, since it was thought Lincoln would
not survive the ride to the White House due to bumpy roads. In Lincoln´s room,
his wife Mary checked on him regularly. Outside thousands of people were on the
street waiting for news.
At 7:22 a.m. President
Lincoln was pronounced dead; for this was one hit the president could not shake
off. However, his leadership changed the state of Illinois and the entire
country more than any other president.
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