Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln. (February 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865). , The son of a Kentucky farm couple, Abraham Lincoln was a self-educated man. During his childhood, his family moved to Indiana and later to Illinois. Lincoln's unusual height (6 feet 4 inches) and strength gave him an advantage at many physical tasks, from wrestling to wielding an axe. After serving in the Illinois General Assembly and U.S. House of Representatives, Lincoln embarked on a career as a lawyer. He later returned to politics to oppose slavery. In the 1860 Presidential election, he defeated three other candidates, despite not being on the ballot in nine Southern states. Faced with the South's secession shortly after taking office, Lincoln guided the country through war and back to peace again. , , 1832 , Lincoln's first run for political office was an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the Illinois General Assembly. , , 1834 , After serving in the Illinois militia and working as a storekeeper, postmaster and surveyor, Lincoln was elected to the Illinois General Assembly and began to study law. , , 1842 , Lincoln married Mary Todd on November 4, 1842. Only one of their four children lived past childhood. , , 1858 , Lincoln became famous for his oratory in seven debates against Stephen Douglas in a race for a U.S. Senate seat, which Lincoln ultimately lost. The debates centered on the Issue of slavery, which Lincoln opposed. , , 1860 , Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States and the first President from the newly-formed Republican Party. He faced the risk of assassination even before taking office because of his opposition to slavery. , , Watershed Moment , 1863 , On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing nearly 4 million slaves within the Confederacy. Lincoln was concerned that the Proclamation would be seen as a temporary wartime measure so he supported a constitutional amendment to make slavery illegal. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed in 1865 and officially abolished slavery. Also in 1863, Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19 at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The speech, which lasted just over two minutes, is regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history. , , 1865 , Elected to a second presidential term, Lincoln witnessed the end of the Civil War but was assassinated six days later while attending a play in Washington, D.C.