Abraham Lincoln Biography: Civil War, Gettysburg Address

Found on the coin called the penny, and the five-dollar bill is Abraham Lincoln. Also called, “Honest Abe”. Born on February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Hardin County, Kentucky. He died on April 15, 1865. Abraham was the middle child, he had two other siblings, Sarah and Thomas Lincoln. Unfortunately, Thomas did not survive infancy. He was married to Mary Todd and had four children. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. Served as President from 1861 until he died in 1865. Lincoln led the nation during its bloodiest war, the American Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln was raised in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky. His family moved a lot during his childhood. They ended up settling in the town of New Salem, Illinois where Abraham worked as a shopkeeper and postmaster. Unfortunately, Abraham’s mother died on October 5, 1818, when Abraham was only nine. This led Sarah (Abraham’s older sister) to take responsibility for the household. He had very little education but he read immensely when he was not working on his father’s farm. He married Mary Todd in 1842 and they had four children. Only one of their children lived to adulthood. Mary grew up wealthy and her mother also died when she was a young age. He met Mary at Springfield, Illinois, where Abraham was working as a lawyer. He became a part of politics when he became a supporter of the Whig Party and won the election to the Illinois State legislature in 1834. He taught himself law and worked as a lawyer for the following years. This is when he earned the nickname “Honest Abe.”

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He served as President from 1861 until he died in 1865. After Lincoln’s election, the state of South Carolina proclaimed its withdrawal from the union. Abraham Lincoln was anti-slavery and focused on commerce and cities rather than agriculture. Since he was anti-slavery, it made him unpopular among southerners. Although, as President, Abraham Lincoln had many achievements. One of them being on January 1, 1863, when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared forever free those slaves within the confederacy. He also built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. During his presidency, Abraham wrote his own speeches. A well-known one is the Gettysburg Address, which he gave during the Civil War. The Civil War was a big part of his Presidency. Lincoln’s election is said to have a part in why the war broke out. After Lincoln’s death, Andrew Jhonson assumed the presidency.

The Civil War was a war between the Union and the Confederate States. It was primarily over the enslavement of black people and the debate between the power to the States or the National Government. This War lasted from 1861 to 1865. When Abraham Lincoln was elected as President, seven southern states seceded and formed the Confederate States. They formed the Confederate States to threaten Abraham Lincoln since he was anti-slavery. Abraham Lincoln was commander in chief during the Civil War. Some of the important battles fought during the Civil War include The Battle of Fort Sumter, Antietam, Shiloh, Pea Ridge, Atlanta, and other battles. The Battle of Fort Sumter is the first battle of the American Civil War. The Confederates bombarded the Union soldiers. It took place in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The Civil War ended in the spring of 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant. The last battle was The Battle of Palmito Ranch. It took place in Texas, on May 13, 1865. Roughly 620,000 soldiers died during the Civil War. The Union won this war and ended slavery. The process of rebuilding a united nation without slavery began.

On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. This was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The Gettysburg Address would be remembered as one of the most important speeches in American History. Lincoln spoke for less than two minutes and his speech was less than 275 words long.

Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. John Booth was a famous actor and confederate sympathizer. Booth had already planned a kidnapping of Abraham Lincoln to take him to Richmond, the Confederate Capital. Lincoln failed to appear at the spot where the kidnapping would’ve taken place. Unfortunately, Booth had already planned something eviler. Lincoln was assassinated only five days after the last Confederate army surrendered. Lincoln was pronounced dead at 7:22 am on April 15, 1865. Abraham Lincoln died at the age of 56. The President’s death quickly spread and the nation mourned the death of their President.