Abraham Lincoln Research Paper

This article is about the American president. For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation).
Abraham Lincoln
An iconic black and white photograph of a bearded Abraham Lincoln showing his head and shoulders.
An 1863 daguerreotype of Lincoln, at the age of 54.
16th President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
Vice President Hannibal Hamlin (1861–1865)
Andrew Johnson (1865)
Preceded by James Buchanan
Succeeded by Andrew Johnson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 7th district
In office
March 4, 1847 – March 4, 1849
Preceded by John Henry
Succeeded by Thomas Harris
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
In office
December 1, 1834 – 1842
Personal details
Born February 12, 1809
Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died April 15, 1865 (aged 56)
Petersen House,
Washington D.C., U.S.
Resting place Lincoln's Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery
Springfield, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality American
Political party Whig (1834–1854)
Republican (1854–1865)
National Union (1864–1865)
Spouse(s) Mary Todd
Children Robert Todd Lincoln
Edward Baker Lincoln
Willie Lincoln
Tad Lincoln
Profession Lawyer
Politician
Religion See: Abraham Lincoln and religion
Signature Cursive signature in ink
Military service
Service/branch Illinois Militia
Years of service 3 months (April 21, 1832 - July 10, 1832)
Rank
Captain (April 21, 1832 - May 27, 1832)
Private (May 28, 1832 - July 10, 1832)
Discharged from his command and re-enlisted as a Private.

Battles/wars Black Hawk War
Abraham Lincoln Listeni/ˈeɪbrəhæm ˈlɪŋkən/ (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional and political crisis.[1][2] In doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy.

Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, Lincoln was a self-educated lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, state legislator during the 1830s, and a one-term member of the Congress during the 1840s. He promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks, canals, railroads and tariffs to encourage the building of factories; he opposed the war with Mexico in 1846. After a series of highly publicized debates in 1858, during which Lincoln spoke out against the expansion of slavery, he lost the U.S. Senate race to his archrival, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas.

In 1860 Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state. With very little support in the slave states, Lincoln swept the North and was elected president in 1860. His election prompted seven southern slave states to form the Confederacy before he took the office. No compromise or reconciliation was found regarding slavery.

When the North enthusiastically rallied behind the Union after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, Lincoln concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war effort. His primary goal was to reunite the nation. He unilaterally suspended habeas corpus, arresting and temporarily detaining thousands holding secessionist or anti-war views in the border states without trial, ignoring the ruling by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice that such suspension was unconstitutional (unless done by Congress). Lincoln averted potential British intervention by defusing the Trent Affair in late 1861. His complex moves toward ending slavery centered on the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, using the Army to protect escaped slaves, encouraging the border states to outlaw slavery, and helping

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