Throughout American history, there are a handful of really good presidents. Abraham Lincoln’s legacy, this great nation from the cliff of Mt. Rushmore to Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC Lincoln’s face is always present in American daily life thanks to the penny and the five-dollar bill. But where is this great man comes from and what made him such an important part of our history? Lincoln greatness begins with his humble background and great determination. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was the son of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, and was named after his pioneer grandfather. His father worked in the areas where he often accompanied his mother and was a carpenter on the side. In 1816 his parents moved to Abraham and his sister Sarah to Indiana. The March 4, 1818 his mother died of milk sickness when he was only nine years old. His father eventually remarried to Sarah Bush Johnston.

With a total school Abraham add up to an amount less than one year, he took it upon himself to be taught in all ways. He wanted to borrow books and newspapers, and eventually found a growing interest in the great works, like Robinson Crusoe, Arabian Nights and The George Washington Biography. He also enjoyed Shakespeare and Robert Burns. When he was 18, his sister died while giving birth to her first Sun in 1830, at the age of 21 the family moved back to Illinois. He was only with them for one year, even before he decided to New Salem, Ill., moving on its own. There he joined the New Salem debating club, and worked at the desk in Denton Offutt’s store. There was little business that enabled him to further indulge his passion for reading. The shop went under in 1832, which is when he decided to run for the state legislature. During this time he was a member of the State Militia, where he was elected captain for his troops against the invading Indians lead. In the three-month campaign, Lincoln’s men have never seen any action. Because of the fighting, he was not able to campaign well, and came in eighth place of 13, but lost the election. He would try his luck as a boundary to store, manage a mixed bag with a partner who later died. He left Lincoln in 1100 U.S. dollars of debt that would take him 15 years to pay. Lincoln was chosen as the postmaster in New Salem, which he knew nothing about, but learned all liability position for 6 weeks. In 1834 he again ran for the state legislature and set 2: one of 13, eventually serving four consecutive periods. At 25, he bought a lot on credit and $ 36 went to the State Capitol in Vandalia, Illinois. He was 1 of 4 of the Illinois House of Representatives Sagamon County and $ 3 per day.

Abraham Lincoln also studied law for three years until he was able all his exams and is admitted to practice in a marts 1837th in 1830, at age 30, he met Mary Ann Todd, daughter of a disapproving, Kentucky wealthy banker. They were married on 4 November 1842 and nine months later, Robert Todd Lincoln was born. He was named after Mary’s father, and the first of four children: Eddie (1846), Willie (1850) and Thomas (1853). Unfortunately, February 1, 1850, Eddie Lincoln fell ill and died at his parents’ side. In 1846 Abraham was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. That’s when he began to consider slavery with quotes like: “.. If slavery is not wrong, nothing wrong I can not remember if I do not think and feel” of his Congressional term in 1849 and took a break from politics. For five years he continued his law firm until his political silence was ended by the intervention of Stephen A. Douglas. Douglas was a U.S. senator from Illinois, who helped push the Kansas Nebraska Act, which replaced the Missouri Compromise. Kansas Nebraska Act now allowed slavery in new areas where the Missouri Compromise was banned. Lincoln had earlier hoped would help the Missouri Compromise slavery die a natural death “, but it was no longer the case.

Abraham was always a strong supporter of the Declaration of Independence and believed that “all men created equal” with having the inalienable right to “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. “In 1855 he made an unsuccessful bid for the Senate as part of the Whig party, but won the Republican nomination in 1858. He ended up running against Democratic candidate Stephen. A. Douglas, and lost a very tight margin. After this reduction,” Honest Abe “reluctantly decided to run for president. On May 9, 1860, Abraham was” unanimously chosen by the [Republicans] favorite candidate’s son. “A week later in Chicago, he was appointed to the third round of voting against Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge and John Bell. A week before the election, a 11-year old named Grace Bedell of Westfield, NY, wrote to Abraham, and suggested that he grow a beard. They thought it would suit him better on very thin face. On 6 November 1860, at age 52, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States and was inaugurated on April marts 1861st.

Three months before accession, South Carolina seceded from the Union, and when he had six more followed, with four more soon to come. A month before the inauguration date was Jefferson Davis sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America. Two weeks after Lincoln took office, attacked the southern Fort Sumner and the Civil War officially began on 12 April 1861st Abraham Lincoln endured many headaches in his administration because of the war. He was criticized by Congress, who clamed that he was “inexperienced,” a little corruption in his War Department, and had constant disputes within his own Cabinet to take. 20. February 1862, his son Willie died of a fever from which his wife Mary would never recover. After Willie’s death, she suffered from a constant depression, imaginary fears, and led Abraham to question her sanity. On 23 September released final rendition of Abraham Lincoln of the Emancipation Proclamation to the press that all southern slaves were freed as the Union army captured the southern cities. The release of the document came as an attempt to African Americans to the north and south to persuade fugitive slaves to call in the Union army. At a New Year reception at the White House in 1962, Abraham Lincoln and his quiet members of the cabinet and pushed the party officially signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

During this period, Lincoln was constantly criticized for the draft that was held, military arrests, African-American troops, and the Emancipation Proclamation. This summer draft riots in New York City. To complete the whole, Lincoln had many problems with the generals, who could not seem to do the job for North to get. General Robert E. Lee, commander of the southern army, took advantage of the northern poor leadership and his troops marched all the way to Pennsylvania. Currently Lincoln hired George Gordon Meade to cut off Lee, and the two forces met on July 1, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Meade was able to thwart Lee, but at a devastating price. Both parties have suffered a total loss of 50,000 men. Four months later, November 19, 1863, Lincoln followed a 2 hour speech by Edward Everett with a 2 minute speech. This would become known as his famous Gettysburg Address, which actually was ill conceived at the time. Many people had waited all day to hear Lincoln speak and was very disappointed by the unusually short speech. Lincoln had a way with words themselves. He even made time for everyone who stopped by the White House wanted to talk. A famous example of his intimacy with the people can be found in his Letter to Mrs. Bixby, a mother who was found to have lost five sons in the war. His letter to her is filled with poetry when he tried to console, comfort, and congratulate her on the sacrifice of her.

Early in 1864, things started to look. Newly appointed Ulysses Grant had begun to make progress in the war, and just in time too. Many people were skeptical that Lincoln even running for office again, but with the end of the war finally in sight, he was reelected on November 8 1864th On January 31, 1865 was passed the 13th Amendment prohibiting slavery. It was huge for Lincoln, because the courts, would a future president or Congress has passed the Emancipation Proclamation, but it was written in stone. On 9 April, General Robert E. Lee to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, officially ending a civil war that had lasted nearly four years and has more than 600,000 lives. On 14 April 1865 Abraham Lincoln went to the play Our American Cousin at Ford Theater with his wife Mary, a large Henry R. Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris. After his bodyguard, John Parker, went to the play, John Wilkes Booth to see the burst mode sports a Derringer pistol and a hunting knife. He fired a shot in the back of the head of Lincoln Rathbone and cut the arm before jumping 12 feet on the stage Bellow actually breaking his left shin. Then he walked across the stage, he shouted the slogan of the Commonwealth of Virginia to the public: Sic Semper Tyrannis, or always to tyrants. He jumped on a horse waiting outside the back door and moving away. Booth had disappeared 12 days later and shot by federal troops while hiding in a barn.