The Democrats nominated former Secretary of State James Buchanan and the Know-Nothings nominated former Whig President Millard Fillmore. ", "Rating the Presidents of the United States, 1789–2000", "Americans Say Reagan Is the Greatest U.S. President", "Lincoln and the Problem of Race: A Decade of Interpretations", "Holding Up a Flawed Mirror to the American Soul: Abraham Lincoln in the Writings of Lerone Bennett Jr", "The Obama-Lincoln Parallel: A Closer Look", "Obama to be sworn in with Lincoln, King Bibles", "History of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)", "$18.5 million gift to help refurbish Lincoln Memorial", "15 Most Visited National Landmarks in Washington, D.C.", "Abraham Lincoln Historical Tours in Springfield, Illinois", "Abraham Lincoln: Conservative Statesman", "Abraham Lincoln and the Corwin Amendment", "The Other Civil War Lincoln and the Indians", ALPLM's ongoing digitization of all Lincoln papers, "Abraham Lincoln collected news and commentary", Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Abraham Lincoln: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress, American Writers: A Journey Through History, Abraham Lincoln: Original Letters and Manuscripts, Lincoln/Net: Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, In Popular Song:Our Noble Chief Has Passed Away by Cooper/Thomas, Abraham Lincoln Recollections and Newspaper Articles Collection, the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, National Republican Congressional Committee, List of Union Civil War monuments and memorials, List of memorials to the Grand Army of the Republic, List of Confederate monuments and memorials, Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials.

Thomas was a strong and determined pioneer who found a moderate level of prosperity and was well respected in the community. The couple had two other children: Lincoln's older sister Sarah and younger brother Thomas, who died in infancy. Lincoln warned that Douglas’ "Slave Power" was threatening the values of republicanism, and accused Douglas of distorting the Founding Fathers' premise that all men are created equal. And the Union victory at Antietam on September 22, 1862, while by no means conclusive, was hopeful, giving Lincoln the confidence to officially change the goals of the war. He was the only Whig in the Illinois delegation, but as dutiful as any, participated in almost all votes and made speeches that toed the party line. [91], The debate over the status of slavery in the territories failed to alleviate tensions between the slave-holding South and the free North, with the failure of the Compromise of 1850, a legislative package designed to address the issue. [8] Thomas and Nancy married on June 12, 1806, in Washington County, and moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Union troops at Fort Sumter and began the fight. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks…. [25], Lincoln was mostly self-educated, except for some schooling from itinerant teachers of less than 12 months aggregate. Learn more about Abraham Lincoln ‘s spouse, Mary Todd Lincoln. [301] After Willie's death, he questioned the divine necessity of the war's severity. [190] But Pope was then soundly defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the summer of 1862, forcing the Army of the Potomac back to defend Washington. When the couple became engaged in 1840, many of their friends and family couldn't understand Mary’s attraction; at times Lincoln questioned it himself. [202], In June 1862, Congress passed an act banning slavery on all federal territory, which Lincoln signed. David Davis was Lincoln's campaign manager in 1860 and had served as a judge in the Illinois court circuit where Lincoln practiced. [337][338] Bennett won wide attention when he called Lincoln a white supremacist in 1968. He suggested that postmodernism and multiculturalism have diluted greatness as a concept. [218] Authorization for such a promotion "with the advice and consent of the Senate" was provided by a new bill which Lincoln signed the same day he submitted Grant's name to the Senate. Douglas's argument was more legal, claiming that Lincoln was defying the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision. [143] Lincoln's ideas of abolishing slavery grew, drawing more supporters.

[253] When the Confederates protested turning POWs into Indian fighters, Lincoln revoked the policy. [354], He has been memorialized in many town, city, and county names,[355] including the capital of Nebraska. [91] The case is famous for Lincoln's use of a fact established by judicial notice to challenge the credibility of an eyewitness. [192] Two days after McClellan's return to command, General Robert E. Lee's forces crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, leading to the Battle of Antietam. [219], Grant in 1864 waged the bloody Overland Campaign, which exacted heavy losses on both sides. [39] In the early 1830s, he met Mary Owens from Kentucky.

In surveys of U.S. scholars ranking presidents conducted since 1948, the top three presidents are Lincoln, Washington, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, although the order varies. Edward Baker Lincoln (Eddie), born in 1846, died February 1, 1850, probably of tuberculosis. [362], This article is about the 16th president of the United States. [37], Lincoln's first romantic interest was Ann Rutledge, whom he met when he moved to New Salem. Her death was said to have left Lincoln severely depressed. Historian Allan Nevins argued that the newly inaugurated Lincoln made three miscalculations: underestimating the gravity of the crisis, exaggerating the strength of Unionist sentiment in the South, and overlooking Southern Unionist opposition to an invasion. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation, reshaping the cause of the Civil War from saving the Union to abolishing slavery.

After remaining in a coma for eight hours, Lincoln died at 7:22 am on April 15. 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 family then migrated west, passing through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War, the country's greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. [211], The Proclamation included Lincoln's earlier plans for colonies for newly freed slaves, though that undertaking ultimately failed. [171][172], Lincoln took executive control of the war and shaped the Union military strategy. As the 1856 elections approached, Lincoln joined the Republicans and attended the Bloomington Convention, which formally established the Illinois Republican Party. [153] The upper South and border states (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas) initially rejected the secessionist appeal. General George Meade missed the opportunity to deliver a final blow against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, and Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Grant, as supreme commander of the Union forces. [178] He relied on his combative Secretary of State William Seward while working closely with Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Charles Sumner. [244], Lincoln believed the federal government had limited responsibility to the millions of freedmen. He was often at odds with his generals, his Cabinet, his party and a majority of the American people. … In April 1865, with the Union on the brink of victory, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln then squared off against Douglas in a series of famous debates; though he lost the Senate election, Lincoln’s performance made his reputation nationally. The government will not assail you…. In 1863, Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November of that year to be a day of Thanksgiving. [8] By the 1970s, "Negro History Week" had become "Black History Month". [286] The train followed a circuitous route from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois, stopping at many cities for memorials attended by hundreds of thousands. [32][d] Abraham then became increasingly distant from Thomas, in part due to his father's lack of education. [258] Goodwin described the group in her biography as a Team of Rivals. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. [4] Lincoln's paternal grandparents, his namesake Captain Abraham Lincoln and wife Bathsheba (née Herring), moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Kentucky. 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. [1] Connecticut,[2] Illinois,[3] Indiana,[4] Ohio, Texas, California, Missouri, and New York observe the holiday. [112] He argued the decision was at variance with the Declaration of Independence; he said that while the founding fathers did not believe all men equal in every respect, they believed all men were equal "in certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". [224] Lincoln's engagement became distinctly personal on one occasion in 1864 when Confederate general Jubal Early raided Washington, D.C.. [259], Lincoln adhered to the Whig theory of a presidency focused on executing laws while deferring to Congress' responsibility for legislating. Lincoln also worked in some criminal trials. He was largely self-taught, gaining much of his education from reading and rereading such books as the King James Bible, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Aesop's Fables, and Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. Lincoln, one of America’s most admired presidents, grew … Whither it is tending seems plain. [206], The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on September 22, 1862, and effective January 1, 1863, affirmed the freedom of slaves in 10 states not then under Union control, with exemptions specified for areas under such control. Lincoln did believe in an all-powerful God that shaped events and by 1865 was expressing those beliefs in major speeches. While many Democrats hoped that Dred Scott would end the dispute over slavery in the territories, the decision sparked further outrage in the North. Lincoln evoked the Declaration of Independence, saying it was up to the living to ensure that the “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” and this Union was “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”.