Abraham Lincoln was born Sunday, February 12, 1809, in a log cabin near
Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was the son of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and he
was named for his paternal grandfather. Thomas Lincoln was a carpenter and a
farmer. Both of Abraham's parents were members of a baptist congregation which
had seperated from an another church due to opposition of slavery. Lincoln was a
pretty average his whole life, despite his giantism. When he was older his
opposition in slavery led him to run for president. In the 1860 Republican
Presidential nomination Lincoln won, beating Hannibal Hamlin. On November 6,
1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president, defeating Douglas, John Bell, and
John C. Breckinridge. In February of 1861 the Lincoln's left by train for
Washington D.C. Lincoln was now wearing a beard at the suggestion of an 11 year
old girl. After Lincoln's election many Southern states, fearing Republican
control in government, seceded from the Union. Lincoln faced great internal
crisis of any US president. After the fall of Ft. Sumter, Lincoln raised an army
and decided to fight to save the Union from falling apart. Despite enormous
pressures, loss of life, battlefield setbacks, generals who weren't ready to
fight, assasination threats, and other things, Lincoln stuck with this pro-Union
policy for 4 long years of Civil War. On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation
Proclamation was signed by Lincoln. This ment that all slaves in the confederate
states could go free. Also in November of 1863 he gave the Gettysburg Address
which dedicated the battlefield there to the soldiers who had perished. He
called on the living to finish the tasks of the dead soldiers. In April of 1865
Lincoln attened a play at Ford's Theatre entitled, "Our American
Cousin." During the performance John Booth arrived at the theatre and shot
Lincoln in the back of the head. Lincoln was a great man who was beloved by many
people. he set many goals from people and goals for himself that helped resolve
many national issues. His knowledge was that he knew if he didn't fight to save
the Union that it would fall apart. He alsi knew that slavery had to be stopped.
He stopped slavery by the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. By fighting
the Civil War he also stopped the Union from falling apart. In all Abraham
Lincoln was a great man and his knowledge let him to power and sucess.