1. Born near Hodgenville, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809, Lincoln was the central figure of the Civil War, and is regarded by many historians as not only the foremost of our presidents but also the greatest American of all time.
2. With scant formal education, from a poor family, this lawyer held the nation together through the worst crisis in its history. He is viewed as the savior of the American union.
3. Lincoln was born into an obscure family who moved to Indiana when he was 7. His mother died 2 years later and his father married awidow, Sarah Bush Johnston, who exerted a good influence on the boy.
4. Though his education was limited to a few months in a 1-teacher school, Lincoln avidly read books such as the Bible and “Pilgrim's Progress”.
5. He supported himself by manual labor until he was 21, when he settled in New Salem. There he continued his self-education while serving as storekeeper, militia captain in the Black Hawk War, and postmaster.
6. In 1832, he lost a race for the state legislature but won a seat 2 years later, serving 4 terms and gaining statewide popularity for his wit and integrity.
7. During this period, Lincoln also began his private study of law, borrowing books from a local attorney, and was licensed to practice in 1836. In 1844, 2 years after his marriage to Mary Todd, a young woman of aristocratic pretensions, he formed a partnership with William H. Herndon and went on to become one of Illinois ablest lawyers.
8. In 1847, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and during his single term became known for both his opposition to the Mexican War and the institution of slavery. On February 27, 1860, in New York City, he delivered his brilliant “Cooper Union” speech, in which he argued the Federal governments power to limit slavery in the territories.
9. In July the Republicans nominated Lincoln for the presidency on the third ballot at the convention in Chicago. The Democratic Party split into Northern and Southern factions, each with its own presidential candidate.
10. Lincoln's election the following November, over 3 other candidates, with only 40% of the popular vote, was unacceptable to Southern politicians and became the pretext for first South Carolina and in quick order 10 other states to secede from the Union.
11. By the time Lincoln arrived in Washington to be sworn in as the nation’s 16th president, Mar 4, 1861, the Confederate States of America had been formed. In his first inaugural address, Lincoln tried to woo the South back into the Union, but after the bombardment of Fort Sumter , April 12, he called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress "the insurrection" and declared a blockade of Southern ports.
12 Only after the war was under way and the presidency was firmly in his hands Lincoln called Congress to meet July 4, 1861, in a special session. Thereafter the history of Lincoln's administration followed the course of the Civil War.
13. A man of gentle spirit, Lincoln accepted the fact that only a vigorous prosecution of the war would restore the Union. His will to win never flagged despiteenormous battle casualties and much political opposition, a substantial amount of it coming from members of his cabinet and from among the Radical Republicans.
14. As commander in chief, Lincoln not only took care to win and keep the affection of the ordinary Union soldier but also displayed a surprising aptitude for military strategy. Though charges of disloyalty were made against his wife because 4 of her brothers and 2 of her brothers-in-law served in the Confederate army, Lincoln ignored them, as he did much brutal criticism of his administration and his personal character.
15. On the evening of April 14, 1865, while attending a special performance of the comedy, "Our American Cousin," President Abraham Lincoln was shot. Accompanying him at Ford's Theater that night were his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, a twenty-eight year-old officer named Major Henry R. Rathbone, and Rathbone'sfiancee, Clara Harris.
16. After the play was in progress, a figure with a derringer pistol stepped into the presidential box, aimed, and fired. The president slumped forward. The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, dropped the pistol and waved a dagger. Rathbone fought with him and slashed in the arm, forced the killer to the railing.
17. Booth leapt from the balcony and shattered a bone in his leg on landing. Though injured, he rushed out the back door, and disappeared into the night.
18. A doctor in the audience immediately went upstairs to the box. The bullet had entered through Lincoln's left ear and lodged behind his right eye. He was paralyzed and barely breathing. He was carried across Tenth Street, to a boarding-house opposite the theater, but the doctors' best efforts failed. Nine hours later, at 7:22 AM on April 15th, Lincoln died.
19. Booth was shot and captured while hiding in a barn near Bowling Green, Virginia, and died later the same day.
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