Today I’m going to talk about Abraham Lincoln. I’m going to summarize his life as best I can, but focus mostly on his childhood and early years because I think most people don’t talk about Lincoln’s childhood and it was one of the more interesting compared to some other historical figures. I will begin by talking about his birthplace and early years, before I begin talking about his political life, and, eventually, his presidency and assassination.
Lincoln was born in Kentucky on a farm in 1809. His parents were quite rich at the time, but that all changed when Lincoln’s father lost most of his land and money in a legal dispute over the titles to said land. Lincoln’s family moved to Perry County, Indiana in 1817, which is just across the Ohio river from Kentucky. Lincoln was 8 when he moved. Just one year later, Lincoln’s mother died of tremetol. His father remarried, and young Abe bonded with his stepmother better than most. Abe’s stepmother also encouraged him to learn how to read, which would help him much later in life. He only had about eighteen months of formal schooling, and these were only a few days at a time. Abe had to walk miles and miles just to borrow a book so that he could practice reading, but he was determined to learn, and so he did not flinch from long exertions to enhance his knowledge. In 1830 (Abe was twenty-one at this time) his family moved again. This time they moved to Illinois. They moved again about one year later, but this time Lincoln struck out on his own, now that he was a grown man.
The next chapter in Lincoln’s life began when he moved off his parent’s land. Lincoln was tall, at six feet four inches, and quite physically strong. He made a living for himself splitting wood with his ax. He moved to the town of New Salem, Illinois. He would go on to work as a shopkeeper, then a postmaster, and, lastly, a general store owner. Lincoln had been mostly isolated in his childhood, and so it was here that he finally was able to gain social skills that would help him go on to become the president of the United States.
Lincoln was elected to the Illinois state legislature in 1834; he was actually a member of the Whig party, and supported their thoughts and ideas. He would later change to the Republican party. Lincoln decided to become a lawyer after his term in the state legislature ended. Lincoln then moved to Springfield, Illinois, to practice law some more, for, up to that point, Lincoln had only read books about law, and hadn’t had a chance to practice. Lincoln served one term in the House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849. After his term he left for his home in Springfield to continue practicing law. Lincoln would serve as an attorney for the Illinois Central Railroad. He began working for other companies in addition to the railroad, such as banks and insurance companies. It was about this time that Lincoln married to Mary Todd, and they had four children.
After the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the republican party was formed, and Lincoln promptly joined it. Lincoln then attempted to join the Senate, running against the pro-slavery Stephen Douglas. While Douglas won, it got Lincoln the publicity he would need to be nominated for the Presidency. Lincoln was elected president in 1859, and took the oath of office in 1860.
I’m not going in detail about the civil war because I will likely have another essay about it, but, suffice it to say, Lincoln read up on military tactics, and became a good military stratigist. At the end of the war, he declared the emancipation proclamation, and freed all the slaves of the nation, earning him the respect of people all over the country.