Abe lincoln biography summary organizers

Stuart law firm. In , Lincoln partnered with William Herndon in the practice of law. Although the two had different jurisprudent styles, they developed a close professional and personal relationship. So to supplement his income, he followed the court as it made its rounds on the circuit to the various county seats in Illinois. On November 4, , Lincoln wed Mary Todd , a high-spirited, well-educated woman from a distinguished Kentucky family.

Mary and Lincoln met later at a social function and eventually did get married. Before marrying Todd, Lincoln was involved with other potential matches. Around , he purportedly met and became romantically involved with Anne Rutledge. Before they had a chance to be engaged, a wave of typhoid fever came over New Salem, and Anne died at age Her death was said to have left Lincoln severely depressed.

About a year after the death of Rutledge, Lincoln courted Mary Owens. The two saw each other for a few months, and marriage was considered. But in time, Lincoln called off the match. In , Lincoln began his political career and was elected to the Illinois state legislature as a member of the Whig Party. More than a decade later, from to , he served a single term in the U.

House of Representatives. His foray into national politics seemed to be as unremarkable as it was brief. He was the lone Whig from Illinois, showing party loyalty but finding few political allies. As a congressman, Lincoln used his term in office to speak out against the Mexican-American War and supported Zachary Taylor for president in His criticism of the war made him unpopular back home, and he decided not to run for second term.

Instead, he returned to Springfield to practice law. By the s, the railroad industry was moving west, and Illinois found itself becoming a major hub for various companies. Lincoln served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad as its company attorney. Success in several court cases brought other business clients as well, including banks, insurance companies, and manufacturing firms.

Lincoln also worked in some criminal trials. Lincoln referred to an almanac and proved that the night in question had been too dark for the witness to see anything clearly. His client was acquitted. As a member of the Illinois state legislature, Lincoln supported the Whig politics of government-sponsored infrastructure and protective tariffs.

This political understanding led him to formulate his early views on slavery, not so much as a moral wrong, but as an impediment to economic development. In , Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act , which repealed the Missouri Compromise , allowing individual states and territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. Lincoln joined the Republican Party in In , the Supreme Court issued its controversial Dred Scott decision, declaring Black people were not citizens and had no inherent rights.

He spoke against the Mexican-American War. He served a two-year term as a congressman. After that, he returned to being a lawyer. He again returned to politics only to abolish slavery for good.

Abe lincoln biography summary organizers

He defeated Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, John C. The American Civil War broke out in He was re-elected as president in during the war. Abraham Lincoln led the United States to victory in He was the first American president to be assassinated. James A. Kennedy were assassinated after him. He loved to tell stories to illustrate a serious point through the use of humour and parables.

Lincoln was shy around women but after a difficult courtship, he married Mary Todd in They had four children, who Lincoln was devoted to. Although three died before reaching maturity — which caused much grief to both parents. As a lawyer, Abraham developed a capacity for quick thinking and oratory. His interest in public issues encouraged him to stand for public office.

In , he was elected to the House of Representatives for Illinois and served from After his political career appeared to be over, he returned to working as a lawyer in Illinois. However, the s saw the slavery question re-emerge as a prominent divisive national issue. Lincoln abhorred slavery and from a political perspective wished to prevent slavery being extended and ultimately be phased out.

He gave influential speeches, which drew on the Declaration of Independence to prove the Founding Fathers had intended to stop the spread of slavery. In particular, Lincoln used a novel argument that although society was a long way from equality, America should aspire towards the lofty statement in the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln had a strong capacity for empathy.

He used this concept of empathy to speak against slavery. When I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally. In , Lincoln was nominated as Republican candidate for the Senate. He undertook a series of high-profile debates with the Democratic incumbent Stephen Douglass. Douglass was in favour of allowing the extension of slavery — if citizens voted for it.

In , Lincoln stood for re-election and won. In his second inaugural address, he was conciliatory towards the southern states. It had lasted for more than four years and , Americans had died. Less than a week later, Lincoln was shot while attending a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC and died the next morning, 15 April His assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was a strong supporter of the Confederacy.

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