Salma h ismail biography of abraham lincoln

The Confederates fired on both the fort and the Union fleet, beginning the Civil War. Hopes for a quick Union victory were dashed by defeat in the Battle of Bull Run Manassas , and Lincoln called for , more troops as both sides prepared for a long conflict. While the Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former secretary of war, Lincoln had only a brief and undistinguished period of service in the Black Hawk War to his credit.

He surprised many when he proved to be a capable wartime leader, learning quickly about strategy and tactics in the early years of the Civil War, and about choosing the ablest commanders. General George McClellan , though beloved by his troops, continually frustrated Lincoln with his reluctance to advance, and when McClellan failed to pursue Robert E.

During the war, Lincoln drew criticism for suspending some civil liberties, including the right of habeas corpus , but he considered such measures necessary to win the war. Shortly after the Battle of Antietam Sharpsburg , Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation , which took effect on January 1, , and freed all of the enslaved people in the rebellious states not under federal control, but left those in the border states loyal to the Union in bondage.

Two important Union victories in July —at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania—finally turned the tide of the war. Grant , as supreme commander of the Union forces. In November , Lincoln delivered a brief speech just words at the dedication ceremony for the new national cemetery at Gettysburg. Union victory was near, and Lincoln gave a speech on the White House lawn on April 11, urging his audience to welcome the southern states back into the fold.

Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry out his vision of Reconstruction. Abraham Lincoln was disappointed by most of his generals—but not Ulysses S. His formal schooling was intermittent, the aggregate of which may have amounted to less than twelve months. He never attended college, but Lincoln retained a lifelong interest in learning.

Lincoln continued reading as a means of self-improvement as an adult, studying English grammar in his early twenties and mastering Euclid after he became a member of Congress. Dennis Hanks, a cousin of Lincoln's mother, Nancy, claimed he gave Lincoln "his first lesson in spelling—reading and writing" and boasted, "I taught Abe to write with a buzzards quill which I killed with a rifle and having made a pen—put Abes hand in mind [sic] and moving his fingers by my hand to give him the idea of how to write.

Abraham, aged six, and his sister Sarah began their education in Kentucky, where they attended a subscription school about two miles north of their home on Knob Creek. Classes were held only a few months during the year. The parents of school-aged children paid for the community's schools and its instructors. During Indiana's pioneer era, Lincoln's limited formal schooling was not unusual.

Family, neighbors, and schoolmates of Lincoln's youth recalled that he was an avid reader. His stepmother also acknowledged he did not enjoy "physical labor", but loved to read. Lincoln also first began studying law during this time, his interest in the law having been piqued after being acquitted of a charge of operating a ferryboat without a license.

Lincoln had been using a flatboat he had built to ferry passengers to steamboats on the Ohio River between Indiana and Kentucky when two brothers who operated a ferryboat from the Kentucky side accused him of infringing on their business, and Lincoln was charged with operating a ferryboat without a license. A local justice of the peace , Squire Samuel Pate, ruled in Lincoln's favor.

Lincoln asked numerous questions about law and court procedure. At Pate's invitation, Lincoln returned several times to observe Pate holding court. He subsequently began reading The Revised Statutes of Indiana. As an officer of the law, Turnham was required to keep the book for ready reference and could not loan it, so Lincoln repeatedly visited his home to read it.

Turnham recalled that "he would come to my house and sit and read it. It was the first law book he ever saw. He took particular interest in the historic documents in the book such as the Declaration of Independence , the United States Constitution , and the Constitution of Indiana. In addition, Lincoln attended court sessions in Boonville , Rockport , and Princeton.

As well as reading, Lincoln cultivated other skills and interests during his youth in Kentucky and Indiana. He developed a plain, backwoods style of speaking, which he practiced during his youth by telling stories and sermons to his family, schoolmates and members of the local community. By the time he was twenty-one, Lincoln had become "an able and eloquent orator"; [ ] however, some historians have argued his speaking style, figures of speech, and vocabulary remained unrefined, even as he entered national politics.

In , when Lincoln was twenty-one years of age, thirteen members of the extended Lincoln family moved to Illinois. Johnston, went as one family. Dennis Hanks and his wife Elizabeth, who was also Abraham's stepsister, and their four children joined the party. Hanks's half-brother, Squire Hall, along with his wife, Matilda Johnston, another of Lincoln's stepsisters, and their son formed the third family group.

Historians disagree on who initiated the move, but it may have been Dennis Hanks rather than Thomas Lincoln. He owned land and was a respected member of his community, but Hanks had not fared as well. Dennis later remarked that Sally refused to part with her daughter, Elizabeth, so Sally may have persuaded Thomas to move to Illinois. It is generally agreed they crossed the Wabash River at Vincennes, Indiana, into Illinois, and the family settled on a site selected in Macon County, Illinois , [ ] 10 miles 16 km west of Decatur.

Lincoln, who was twenty-one years old at the time, helped his father build a log cabin and fences, clear 10 acres 40, m 2 of land and put in a crop of corn. That autumn the entire family fell ill with a fever , but all survived. The early winter of was especially brutal, with many locals calling it the worst they had ever experienced.

In Illinois it was known as the "Winter of Deep Snow". In the spring, as the Lincoln family prepared to move to a homestead in Coles County, Illinois , Lincoln was ready to strike out on his own. Although Sally Lincoln and his cousin, Dennis Hanks, maintained that Thomas loved and supported his son, the father-son relationship became strained after the family moved to Illinois.

Historian Rodney O. Davis has argued that the reason for the strain in their relationship was due to Lincoln's success as a lawyer and his marriage to Mary Todd Lincoln, who came from a wealthy, aristocratic family, and the two men no longer related to each other's circumstances in life. Departing from Springfield in late April or early May along the Sangamon River , their boat had difficulty getting past a mill dam 20 miles 32 km northwest of Springfield, near the village of New Salem.

Offutt, who was impressed by New Salem's location and believed that steamboats could navigate the river to the village, made arrangements to rent the mill and open a general store. Offutt hired Lincoln as his clerk and the two men returned to New Salem after they discharged their cargo in New Orleans. When Lincoln returned to New Salem in late July , he found a promising community, but it probably never had a population that exceeded a hundred residents.

New Salem was a small commercial settlement that served several local communities. The village had a sawmill, grist mill, blacksmith shop, cooper's shop, wool carding shop, a hat maker, general store, and a tavern spread out over more than a dozen buildings. Offutt did not open his store until September, so Lincoln found temporary work in the interim and was quickly accepted by the townspeople as a hardworking and cooperative young man.

Lincoln's humor, storytelling abilities, and physical strength fit the young, raucous element that included the so-called Clary's Grove boys, and his place among them was cemented after a wrestling match with a local champion, Jack Armstrong. Although Lincoln lost the fight with Armstrong, he earned the respect of the locals. His performance in the club, along with his efficiency in managing the store, sawmill, and gristmill, in addition to his other efforts at self-improvement soon gained the attention of the town's leaders, such as Dr.

In March Lincoln announced his candidacy in a written article that appeared in the Sangamo Journal , which was published in Springfield. While Lincoln admired Henry Clay and his American System , the national political climate was undergoing a change and local Illinois issues were the primary political concerns of the election. Lincoln opposed the development of a local railroad project, but supported improvements in the Sangamon River that would increase its navigability.

Although the two-party political system that pitted Democrats against Whigs had not yet formed, Lincoln would become one of the leading Whigs in the state legislature within the next few years.

Salma h ismail biography of abraham lincoln

By the spring of , Offutt's business had failed and Lincoln was out of work. Around this time, the Black Hawk War erupted and Lincoln joined a group of volunteers from New Salem to repel Black Hawk , who was leading a group of warriors along with 1, women and children to reclaim traditional tribal lands in Illinois. Lincoln was elected as captain of his unit, but he and his men never saw combat.

Lincoln later commented in the late s that the selection by his peers was "a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. When the votes were tallied, Lincoln finished eighth out of thirteen candidates. Only the top four candidates were elected, but Lincoln managed to secure out of the votes cast in the New Salem precinct.

Without a job, Lincoln and William F. The two men signed personal notes to purchase the business and a later acquisition of another store's inventory, but their enterprise failed. By New Salem was no longer a growing community; the Sangamon River proved to be inadequate for commercial transportation and no roads or railroads allowed easy access to other markets.

In January, Berry applied for a liquor license, but the added revenue was not enough to save the business. However, in May , with the assistance of friends interested in keeping him in New Salem, Lincoln secured an appointment from President Andrew Jackson as the postmaster of New Salem, a position he kept for three years. Another friend helped Lincoln obtain an appointment as an assistant to county surveyor John Calhoun, a Democratic political appointee.

Lincoln had no experience at surveying, but he relied on borrowed copies of two works and was able to teach himself the practical application of surveying techniques as well as the trigonometric basis of the process. His income proved sufficient to meet his day-to-day expenses, but the notes from his partnership with Berry were coming due. In Lincoln's decision to run for the state legislature for a second time was strongly influenced by his need to satisfy his debts, what he jokingly referred to as his "national debt", and the additional income that would come from a legislative salary.

By this time Lincoln was a member of the Whig party. His campaign strategy excluded a discussion of the national issues and concentrated on traveling throughout the district and greeting voters. Local Democrats, who feared Stuart more than Lincoln, offered to withdraw two of their candidates from the field of thirteen, where only the top four vote-getters would be elected, to support Lincoln.

Stuart, who was confident of his own victory, told Lincoln to go ahead and accept the Democrats' endorsement. On August 4 Lincoln polled 1, votes, the second highest number of votes in the race, and won one of the four seats in the election, as did Stuart. Stuart, a cousin of Lincoln's future wife, Mary Todd, was impressed with Lincoln and encouraged him to study law.

While the family was still in Kentucky, his father was frequently involved with filing land deeds, serving on juries, and attending sheriff's sales, and later, Lincoln may have been aware of his father's legal issues. When the family moved to Indiana, Lincoln lived within 15 miles 24 km of three county courthouses. Attracted by the opportunity of hearing a good oral presentation, Lincoln, as did many others on the frontier, attended court sessions as a spectator.

The practice continued when he moved to New Salem. New Salem residents recalled Lincoln reading law books in or Lincoln biographer Douglas L. Wilson considers this reading to have been "exploratory". Lincoln wrote that he began studying law "in earnest" after the election of Using books borrowed from the law firm of Stuart and Judge Thomas Drummond , Lincoln began to study law in earnest during the first half of Although he was never a formal apprentice, Lincoln may have been mentored by Stuart in his law studies.

New Salem resident William Greene stated that Stuart gave Lincoln "many explanations and elucidations" of law. After passing an oral examination by a panel of practicing attorneys, Lincoln received his law license on September 9, In April he was enrolled to practice before the Supreme Court of Illinois, and moved to Springfield, where he went into partnership with Stuart.

Lincoln's first session in the Illinois legislature ran from December 1, , to February 13, As the second youngest legislator in this term, and one of thirty-six first-time attendees, Lincoln was primarily an observer, but his colleagues soon recognized his mastery of "the technical language of the law" and asked him to draft bills for them. When Lincoln announced his bid for reelection in June , he addressed the controversial issue of expanded suffrage.

Democrats advocated universal suffrage for white males residing in the state for at least six months. They hoped to bring Irish immigrants, who were attracted to the state because of its canal projects, onto the voting rolls as Democrats. Lincoln supported the traditional Whig position that voting should be limited to property owners. This delegation of two senators and seven representatives was nicknamed the "Long Nine" because all of them were above average height.

Despite being the second youngest of the group, Lincoln was viewed as the group's leader and the floor leader of the Whig minority. The Long Nine's primary agenda was the relocation of the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield and a vigorous program of internal improvements for the state. By the — legislative session, Lincoln served on at least fourteen committees and worked behind the scenes to manage the program of the Whig minority.

Lincoln had published an inflammatory letter in the Sangamon Journal , a Springfield newspaper, that poked fun at Shields. Lincoln's future wife, Mary Todd, and her close friend, continued writing letters about Shields without Lincoln's knowledge. Shields took offense to the articles and demanded "satisfaction". The incident escalated to the two parties meeting on Missouri 's Sunflower Island, near Alton, Illinois , to participate in a duel, which was illegal in Illinois.

Lincoln took responsibility for the articles and accepted. Lincoln chose cavalry broadswords as the duel's weapons because Shields was known as an excellent marksman. Just prior to engaging in combat, Lincoln demonstrated his physical advantage his long arm reach by easily cutting a branch above Shields's head. Their seconds intervened and convinced the men to cease hostilities on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters.

The Illinois governor called for a special legislative session during the winter of — in order to finance what became known as the Illinois and Michigan Canal , which connected the Illinois and Chicago rivers and linked Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. Lincoln voted in favor of the commitment, which passed 28— Lincoln had always supported Henry Clay's vision of the American System, which saw a prosperous America supported by a well-developed network of roads, canals, and, later, railroads.

Lincoln favored raising the funds for these projects through the federal government's sale of public lands to eliminate interest expenses; otherwise, private capital should bear the cost alone. Fearing that Illinois would fall behind other states in economic development, Lincoln shifted his position to allow the state to provide the necessary support for private developers.

In the next session a newly elected legislator, Stephen A. However, the Panic of effectively destroyed the possibility of more internal improvements in Illinois. The state became "littered with unfinished roads and partially dug canals"; the value of state bonds fell; and interest on the state's debts was eight times its total revenue. The state government took forty years to pay off this debt.

Lincoln had a couple of ideas to salvage the internal improvements program. First, he proposed that the state buy public lands at a discount from the federal government and then sell them to new settlers at a profit, but the federal government rejected the idea. Next, he proposed a graduated land tax that would have passed more of the tax burden to the owners of the most valuable land, but the majority of the legislators were unwilling to commit any further state funds to internal improvement projects.

The state's financial depression continued through In the s Illinois welcomed more immigrants, many from New York and New England, who tended to move into the northern and central parts of the state. Vandalia, which was located in the more stagnant southern section, seemed unsuitable as the state's seat of government. On the other hand, Springfield, in Sangamon County, was "strategically located in central Illinois" and was already growing "in population and refinement".

Those who opposed the relocation of the state government to Springfield first attempted to weaken the Sangamon County delegation's influence by dividing the county into two new counties, but Lincoln was instrumental in first amending and then killing this proposal in his own committee. Throughout the lengthy debate "Lincoln's political skills were repeatedly tested".

The final action was tabled twice, but Lincoln resurrected it by finding acceptable amendments to draw additional support, including one that would have allowed reconsideration in the next session. As other locations were voted down, Springfield was selected by a 46 to 37 vote margin on February 28, Under Lincoln's leadership reconsideration efforts were defeated in the — sessions.

Lincoln, like Henry Clay, favored federal control over the nation's banking system, but President Jackson had effectively killed the Bank of the United States by That same year Lincoln crossed party lines to vote with pro-bank Democrats in chartering the Illinois State Bank. As he did in the internal improvements debates, Lincoln searched for the best available alternative.

A well-regulated bank would provide a sound, elastic currency, protecting the public against the extreme prescriptions of the hard-money men on one side and the paper inflationists on the other; it would be a safe depository for public funds and provide the credit mechanisms needed to sustain state improvements; it would bring an end to extortionate money-lending.

Opponents of the state bank initiated an investigation designed to close the bank in the — legislative session. On January 11, , Lincoln made his first major legislative speech supporting the bank and attacking its opponents. He condemned "that lawless and mobocratic spirit 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. Lincoln decided to challenge sitting U. Senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. In a letter to Tennessee military governor Andrew Johnson encouraging him to lead the way in raising black troops, Lincoln wrote, "The bare sight of fifty thousand armed, and drilled black soldiers on the banks of the Mississippi would end the rebellion at once".

Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield cemetery on November 19, He defined the war as dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality for all. He declared that the deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain, that the future of democracy would be assured, and that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".

Defying his prediction that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here", the Address became the most quoted speech in American history. Responding to criticism of Grant after Shiloh, Lincoln had said, "I can't spare this man. He fights. Meade's failure to capture Lee's army after Gettysburg and the continued passivity of the Army of the Potomac persuaded Lincoln to promote Grant to supreme commander.

Grant then assumed command of Meade's army. Lincoln was concerned that Grant might be considering a presidential candidacy in He arranged for an intermediary to inquire into Grant's political intentions, and once assured that he had none, Lincoln promoted Grant to the newly revived rank of Lieutenant General, a rank which had been unoccupied since George Washington.

His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 2, Grant in waged the bloody Overland Campaign , which exacted heavy losses on both sides. He emphasized defeat of the Confederate armies over destruction which was considerable for its own sake. As Grant continued to weaken Lee's forces, efforts to discuss peace began. Lincoln refused to negotiate with the Confederacy as a coequal; his objective to end the fighting was not realized.

The Confederate government evacuated Richmond and Lincoln visited the conquered capital. On April 9, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox , officially ending the war. Lincoln ran for reelection in , while uniting the main Republican factions along with War Democrats Edwin M. Stanton and Andrew Johnson. Lincoln used conversation and his patronage powers—greatly expanded from peacetime—to build support and fend off the Radicals' efforts to replace him.

To broaden his coalition to include War Democrats as well as Republicans, Lincoln ran under the label of the new Union Party. Grant's bloody stalemates damaged Lincoln's re-election prospects, and many Republicans feared defeat. Lincoln confidentially pledged in writing that if he should lose the election, he would still defeat the Confederacy before turning over the White House; [ ] Lincoln did not show the pledge to his cabinet, but asked them to sign the sealed envelope.

The pledge read as follows:. This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterward.

The Democratic platform followed the "Peace wing" of the party and called the war a "failure"; but their candidate, McClellan, supported the war and repudiated the platform. Meanwhile, Lincoln emboldened Grant with more troops and Republican party support. The National Union Party was united by Lincoln's support for emancipation. State Republican parties stressed the perfidy of the Copperheads.

On March 4, , Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address. In it, he deemed the war casualties to be God's will. Historian Mark Noll places the speech "among the small handful of semi-sacred texts by which Americans conceive their place in the world;" it is inscribed in the Lincoln Memorial. Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.

Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether".

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

Among those present for this speech was actor John Wilkes Booth , who, on April 14, , just over a month after Lincoln's second inauguration , assassinated him. Reconstruction preceded the war's end, as Lincoln and his associates considered the reintegration of the nation, and the fates of Confederate leaders and freed slaves. When a general asked Lincoln how the defeated Confederates were to be treated, Lincoln replied, "Let 'em up easy.

His main goal was to keep the union together, so he proceeded by focusing not on whom to blame, but on how to rebuild the nation as one. Thaddeus Stevens , Sen. Charles Sumner and Sen. Benjamin Wade , who otherwise remained Lincoln's allies. Determined to reunite the nation and not alienate the South, Lincoln urged that speedy elections under generous terms be held.

His Amnesty Proclamation of December 8, , offered pardons to those who had not held a Confederate civil office and had not mistreated Union prisoners, if they were willing to sign an oath of allegiance. As Southern states fell, they needed leaders while their administrations were restored. Banks to promote a plan that would reestablish statehood when 10 percent of the voters agreed, and only if the reconstructed states abolished slavery.

Democratic opponents accused Lincoln of using the military to ensure his and the Republicans' political aspirations. The Radicals denounced his policy as too lenient, and passed their own plan, the Wade—Davis Bill , which Lincoln vetoed. The Radicals retaliated by refusing to seat elected representatives from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Lincoln's appointments were designed to harness both moderates and Radicals.

Chase, whom Lincoln believed would uphold his emancipation and paper money policies. After implementing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln increased pressure on Congress to outlaw slavery throughout the nation with a constitutional amendment. He declared that such an amendment would "clinch the whole subject" and by December an amendment was brought to Congress.

Passage became part of Lincoln's reelection platform, and after his successful reelection, the second attempt in the House passed on January 31, Lincoln believed the federal government had limited responsibility to the millions of freedmen. He signed Senator Charles Sumner's Freedmen's Bureau bill that set up a temporary federal agency designed to meet the immediate needs of former slaves.

The law opened land for a lease of three years with the ability to purchase title for the freedmen. Lincoln announced a Reconstruction plan that involved short-term military control, pending readmission under the control of southern Unionists. Historians agree that it is impossible to predict how Reconstruction would have proceeded had Lincoln lived.

Biographers James G. Randall and Richard Current , according to David Lincove, argue that: [ ]. It is likely that had he lived, Lincoln would have followed a policy similar to Johnson's, that he would have clashed with congressional Radicals, that he would have produced a better result for the freedmen than occurred, and that his political skills would have helped him avoid Johnson's mistakes.

Eric Foner argues that: [ ]. Unlike Sumner and other Radicals, Lincoln did not see Reconstruction as an opportunity for a sweeping political and social revolution beyond emancipation. He had long made clear his opposition to the confiscation and redistribution of land. He believed, as most Republicans did in April , that voting requirements should be determined by the states.

He assumed that political control in the South would pass to white Unionists, reluctant secessionists, and forward-looking former Confederates. But time and again during the war, Lincoln, after initial opposition, had come to embrace positions first advanced by abolitionists and Radical Republicans. Lincoln undoubtedly would have listened carefully to the outcry for further protection for the former slaves.

It is entirely plausible to imagine Lincoln and Congress agreeing on a Reconstruction policy that encompassed federal protection for basic civil rights plus limited black suffrage, along the lines Lincoln proposed just before his death. Lincoln's relationship with Native Americans started before he was born, with their killing of his grandfather in front of his sons, including Lincoln's father Thomas.

While in office his administration faced difficulties guarding Western settlers, railroads, and telegraphs, from Indian attacks. On August 17, , the Dakota War broke out in Minnesota. Hundreds of settlers were killed, 30, were displaced from their homes, and Washington was deeply alarmed. Lincoln sent General John Pope as commander of the new Department of the Northwest two weeks into the hostilities.

Cloud, Minnesota. Serving under Gen. Pope was Minnesota Congressman Henry H. The legitimacy of military commissions trying opposing combatants had been established during the Mexican War. Pope ordered all detained be tried. Lincoln ordered Pope send all trial transcripts to Washington, where Lincoln and two of his staff examined them. Lincoln realized the trials could be divided into two groups: combat between combatants and combat against civilians.

In the second group were forty cases. One he commuted for becoming a state's witness. Sibley dismissed another when proof surfaced exonerating the defendant. The remaining 38 were executed in the largest mass execution in U. Congressman Alexander Ramsey told Lincoln in , he would have gotten more re-election support in Minnesota had he executed all of the Mdewakanton.

Lincoln responded, "I could not afford to hang men for votes. Some he released due to the efforts of Bishop Henry Whipple. Lincoln adhered to the Whig theory of a presidency focused on executing laws while deferring to Congress' responsibility for legislating. Under this philosophy, Lincoln vetoed only four bills during his presidency, including the Wade-Davis Bill with its harsh Reconstruction program.

The Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act provided government grants for agricultural colleges in each state. The Pacific Railway Acts of and granted federal support for the construction of the United States' first transcontinental railroad , which was completed in In the selection and use of his cabinet Lincoln employed the strengths of his opponents in a manner that emboldened his presidency.

Lincoln commented on his thought process, "We need the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services. There were two measures passed to raise revenues for the federal government: tariffs a policy with long precedent , and a federal income tax.

In , Lincoln signed the second and third Morrill Tariffs , following the first enacted by Buchanan. He also signed the Revenue Act of , creating the first U. The Lincoln Administration presided over the expansion of the federal government's economic influence in other areas. The National Banking Act created the system of national banks. The U.

In response to rumors of a renewed draft, the editors of the New York World and the Journal of Commerce published a false draft proclamation that created an opportunity for the editors and others to corner the gold market. Lincoln attacked the media for such behavior, and ordered a military seizure of the two papers which lasted for two days.

Lincoln is largely responsible for the Thanksgiving holiday. It had been sporadically proclaimed by the federal government on irregular dates. The prior proclamation had been during James Madison 's presidency 50 years earlier. In , Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November of that year to be a day of Thanksgiving. In June Lincoln approved the Yosemite Grant enacted by Congress, which provided unprecedented federal protection for the area now known as Yosemite National Park.

Lincoln's philosophy on court nominations was that "we cannot ask a man what he will do, and if we should, and he should answer us, we should despise him for it. Therefore we must take a man whose opinions are known. Noah Haynes Swayne was an anti-slavery lawyer who was committed to the Union. Samuel Freeman Miller supported Lincoln in the election and was an avowed abolitionist.

David Davis was Lincoln's campaign manager in and had served as a judge in the Illinois court circuit where Lincoln practiced. Democrat Stephen Johnson Field , a previous California Supreme Court justice, provided geographic and political balance. Chase, became Chief Justice. Lincoln believed Chase was an able jurist, would support Reconstruction legislation, and that his appointment united the Republican Party.

Lincoln named his main political rival, William H. Seward, as Secretary of State and left most diplomatic issues in Seward's portfolio. However, Lincoln did select some top diplomats as part of his patronage policy. He was successful after indicating to Britain and France that the Union would declare war on them if they supported the South.

John Wilkes Booth was a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate army, he had contacts with the Confederate secret service. At the last minute, Grant decided to go to New Jersey to visit his children instead of attending the play. At in the evening, Booth entered the back of Lincoln's theater box, crept up from behind, and fired at the back of Lincoln's head, mortally wounding him.

Lincoln's guest, Major Henry Rathbone , momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped. After remaining in a coma for nine hours, Lincoln died at in the morning on April Two weeks later, Booth, refusing to surrender, was tracked to a farm in Virginia. He was mortally shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett and died on April Secretary of War Stanton had issued orders that Booth be taken alive, so Corbett was initially arrested to be court martialed.

After a brief interview, Stanton declared him a patriot and dismissed the charge. The caskets containing Lincoln's body and the body of his third son Willie then traveled for three weeks on the Lincoln Special funeral train. Many others gathered along the tracks as the train passed with bands, bonfires, and hymn singing [ ] or in silent grief. As a young man Lincoln was a religious skeptic.

In the s Lincoln subscribed to the Doctrine of Necessity , a belief that the human mind was controlled by a higher power. In the s Lincoln asserted his belief in "providence" in a general way and rarely used the language or imagery of the evangelicals; instead, he regarded the republicanism of the Founding Fathers with an almost religious reverence.

He wrote at this time that God "could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds. Lincoln believed in an all-powerful God who shaped events and by was expressing that belief in major speeches. I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.

Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God.

This spirituality can best be seen in his second inaugural address, considered by some scholars [ ] as the greatest such address in American history, and by Lincoln himself as his own greatest speech, or one of them at the very least. Lincoln is believed to have had depression, smallpox , and malaria. Several claims have been made that Lincoln's health was declining before the assassination.

These are often based on photographs of Lincoln appearing to show weight loss and muscle wasting. Lincoln's redefinition of republican values has been stressed by historians such as John Patrick Diggins , Harry V. He did this at a time when the Constitution , which "tolerated slavery", was the focus of most political discourse. His position on war was founded on a legal argument regarding the Constitution as essentially a contract among the states, and all parties must agree to pull out of the contract.

Furthermore, it was a national duty to ensure the republic stands in every state. As a Whig activist Lincoln was a spokesman for business interests, favoring high tariffs, banks, infrastructure improvements, and railroads, in opposition to Jacksonian democrats. Just as the Republican Party of the s absorbed certain elements of Jacksonianism, so Lincoln, whose Whiggery had always been more egalitarian than that of other Whigs, found himself absorbing some of them as well.

And some of the Jacksonian spirit resided inside the Lincoln White House. William C. Harris found that Lincoln's "reverence for the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, the laws under it, and the preservation of the Republic and its institutions strengthened his conservatism. Randall emphasizes his tolerance and moderation "in his preference for orderly progress, his distrust of dangerous agitation, and his reluctance toward ill digested schemes of reform.

In Lincoln's first inaugural address, he explored the nature of democracy. He denounced secession as anarchy, and he explained that majority rule had to be balanced by constitutional restraints. He said, "A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people.

The successful reunification of the states had consequences for how people viewed the country. The term "the United States" has historically been used sometimes in the plural "these United States" and other times in the singular. The Civil War was a significant force in the eventual dominance of the singular usage by the end of the 19th century.

In his company, I was never reminded of my humble origin, or of my unpopular color. In surveys of U. Kennedy , and Ronald Reagan were the top-ranked presidents in eight public opinion surveys, according to Gallup. Lincoln's assassination left him a national martyr. He was viewed by abolitionists as a champion of human liberty. Republicans linked Lincoln's name to their party.

Many, though not all, in the South considered Lincoln as a man of outstanding ability. Allen C. Guelzo states that Lincoln was a "classical liberal democrat—an enemy of artificial hierarchy, a friend to trade and business as ennobling and enabling, and an American counterpart to Mill , Cobden , and Bright whose portrait Lincoln hung in his White House office ".

Sociologist Barry Schwartz argues that Lincoln's American reputation grew slowly from the late 19th century until the Progressive Era —s , when he emerged as one of America's most venerated heroes, even among white Southerners. Schwartz argues that in the s and s the memory of Abraham Lincoln was practically sacred and provided the nation with "a moral symbol inspiring and guiding American life.

Roosevelt, preparing America for war, used the words of the Civil War president to clarify the threat posed by Germany and Japan. Americans asked, "What would Lincoln do? In the Cold War years Lincoln's image shifted to a symbol of freedom who brought hope to those oppressed by Communist regimes. Bennett argued that Lincoln opposed social equality and proposed that freed slaves voluntarily move to another country.

The emphasis shifted away from Lincoln the emancipator to an argument that blacks had freed themselves from slavery, or at least were responsible for pressuring the government to emancipate them. By the s Lincoln had become a hero to political conservatives [ ] —apart from neo-Confederates such as Mel Bradford , who denounced his treatment of the white South—for his intense nationalism, his support for business, his insistence on stopping the spread of slavery, his acting on Lockean and Burkean principles on behalf of both liberty and tradition, and his devotion to the principles of the Founding Fathers.

Barry Schwartz wrote in that Lincoln's image suffered "erosion, fading prestige, benign ridicule" in the late 20th century. In the 21st century President Barack Obama named Lincoln his favorite president and insisted on using the Lincoln Bible for his inaugural ceremonies. Lincoln has often been portrayed by Hollywood, almost always in a flattering light.

Lincoln has also been admired by political figures outside the U. He appears on postage stamps across the world. He was the first of five presidents to do so. He has been memorialized in many town, city, and county names, [ ] including the capital of Nebraska. Contents move to sidebar hide. House of Representatives — Article Talk. Read View source View history.

Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. President of the United States from to For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln disambiguation. Hannibal Hamlin — Andrew Johnson Mar—Apr. Whig before Republican after Mary Todd. Robert Edward Willie Tad. Thomas Lincoln Nancy Hanks.

Captain [ a ] Private [ a ]. This article is part of a series about. Early life and career Family Health Sexuality Patent. First term. Second term. Presidential elections. Speeches and works. Assassination and legacy. Main article: Early life and career of Abraham Lincoln. Mother's death. Education and move to Illinois. President Lincoln with his youngest son, Tad , in Mary Todd Lincoln , Lincoln's wife, c.

Early career and militia service. Illinois state legislature — See also: List of cases involving Abraham Lincoln. Republican politics — Main article: Abraham Lincoln in politics, — Emergence as Republican leader. Further information: Slave states and free states and Abraham Lincoln and slavery. Dred Scott v. Lincoln—Douglas debates and Cooper Union speech.

Further information: Lincoln—Douglas debates and Cooper Union speech. Main article: United States presidential election. The Rail Candidate , a critical Currier and Ives illustration, which depictied Lincoln's platform in the presidential campaign as being held up by a slave and his party. In the presidential election , northern and western electoral votes shown in red put Lincoln into the White House.

Presidency — Main article: Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Secession and inauguration. Main article: Presidential transition of Abraham Lincoln. Further information: Secession winter and Baltimore Plot. Lincoln's first inaugural at the United States Capitol on March 4, with the Capitol dome above the rotunda still under construction. On the left, Lincoln meeting with Union Army officers on October 3, following the Battle of Antietam , including left to right: Col.

Delos Sackett ; 4. George W. Morell ; 5. Alexander S. Webb , Chief of Staff, V Corps; 6. Jonathan Letterman ; Lincoln; Henry J.