Abraham Lincoln was cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln, and they also had two other children, Abraham's older sister Sarah and younger brother Thomas junior who died in infancy.
1818-1818
When young Abraham was 9 and a half years old his mother died of tremetol at age 34 and it was devastating to him at such a young age. A few months after his mom’s death, his dad married Sarah Bush Johnston, a Kentucky widow with three children of her own. She was a strong and loving woman with whom Abraham quickly grew a relationship with. Though both his parents were not really educated, his step mom encouraged him to read.
During his teenage years Lincoln received his real education, and for about 18 months reading material was in short supply, and neighbors remember how he would walk for miles to borrow a book.
1847-1849
Abraham Lincoln served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives from, and was part of the Whig political party. He used his term in office, to speak out against the Mexican-American War, and supported Zachary Taylor for office. His opinion on the war made him unpopular so, he decided not to run for second term, but instead practiced law.
1840-1842
Lincoln became engaged to Mary Todd, a educated and respected woman. The couple got married on November 4, 1842, and had four children, of which only one, Robert, survived to his older years.
1850
The railroad industry was moving west and, becoming popular, so Illinois found itself becoming a major hotspot. Abraham Lincoln worked as the Railroads attorney, and Success in court brought other business as well such as banks, insurance companies, manufacturers, and criminals.
1854-1856
Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which canceled the Missouri Compromise, and allowed individual states and territories to decide for independently whether to allow slavery or not. The law was not accepted in Kansas and Illinois, and this awakened Abraham Lincoln's political passion once again, and his thoughts on slavery moved more toward his ego, so Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1856.
1857
Supreme Court issued its decision that African Americans were not citizens and had no right to inheret. Although Abraham Lincoln felt African Americans were not equal to whites, he believed that America's founders intended that all men were created with obvious rights, so Lincoln decided to challenge sitting U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas for senator, and got elected. In his nomination acceptance speech, he criticized Douglas, the Supreme Court, and President Buchanan for promoting slavery and declared "a house divided cannot stand."
1858
Senate campaign featured seven debates held in different cities all over Illinois. The two candidates, Abraham Lincoln and Stephan Douglas, didn't disappoint the public at all, and giving stirring debates on issues ranging from states' rights to western expansion, but the central issue in all the debates was slavery. Newspapers intensely covered the debates, often times with pro-party editing and interpretation. In the end, Douglas won, but the experience got Lincoln into national politics.
1860
Republican politicians in Illinois organized a campaign to support Lincoln for the presidency. On May 18th at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Abraham Lincoln surpassed better known candidates such as William Seward of New York and Salmon P. Chase of Ohio. Lincoln's nomination was based on three things, his views on slavery, his support for improving the national government, and the protective tariff.
In the general election, Lincoln faced his friend and rival, Stephan Douglas, this time besting him in a four-way race that included John C. Breckinridge of the Northern Democrats, and John Bell of the Constitution Party. Lincoln received about 40 percent of the popular vote, but carried 180 of 303 Electoral votes.
Abraham Lincoln selected a strong cabinet composed of many of his political rivals,