Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865), 16th president of the United States
(1861-1865) and one of the great men of history. A humane,
farsighted statesman in his lifetime, he became a legend and a
folk hero after his death.
Lincoln rose from humble backwoods origins to become one of the
great presidents of the United States. In his effort to preserve
the Union during the Civil War, he assumed more power than any
preceding president. If necessity made him almost a dictator, by
fervent conviction he was always a democrat. A superb
politician, he persuaded the people with reasoned word and
thoughtful deed to look to him for leadership. He had a lasting
influence on American political institutions, most importantly
in setting the precedent of vigorous executive action in time of
national emergency.
In the American Civil War, his chief concern was the preservation
of the Union from which the Confederate (Southern) slave states
had seceded on his election. In 1863 he announced the freedom of
the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation. He was re-elected
1864 with victory for the North in sight, but was assassinated
at the end of the war.
Early career
Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky. Self-educated, he
practised law from 1837 in Springfield, Illinois. He was a
member of the state legislature 1832-42, during which period he
was known as Honest Abe, and in 1846 sat in Congress, although
his law practice remained his priority. The repeal of the
Missouri Compromise 1854 and the reopening of the debate on the
extension of slavery in the new territories of the USA drew him
back into politics. He joined the new Republican Party 1856 and
two years later was chosen as their candidate for senator in
Illinois, opposing the incumbent Stephen Douglas, who had been
largely responsible for repeal of the Compromise. In the ensuing debate,
Lincoln revealed his power as an orator, but failed to
wrest the post from Douglas. However, he had established a
national reputation and in 1860 was chosen by the Republicans,
now pledged to oppose the extension of slavery, as their
presidential candidate. He was elected on a minority vote,
defeating Douglas and another Democratic Party candidate.
Presidency
Prior to Lincoln's inauguration, seven Southern states proclaimed
their formal secession from the Union. Lincoln's inaugural
address March 1861 was conciliatory: he declared he had no
intention of interfering with slavery where it already existed,
but pronounced the Union indissoluble, declaring that no state
had the right to secede from it. His refusal to concede to
Confederate demands for the evacuation of the federal garrison
at Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina the following month
precipitated the first hostilities of the Civil War.
In 1862, following an important Union victory at Antietam,
Lincoln proclaimed the emancipation of all slaves in states
engaged in rebellion, thereby surpassing the limits of the
constitution he had gone to war to maintain. In the Gettysburg
Address 1863 he declared the aims of preserving a 'nation
conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal'. With the war turning in favour of the
North, he was re-elected 1864 with a large majority on a
National Union ticket, having advocated a reconciliatory policy
towards the South 'with malice towards none, with charity for
all'.
Five days after General Lee's surrender, Lincoln was shot in a
theatre audience by an actor and Confederate sympathizer, John
Wilkes Booth.
"Lincoln, Abraham," 2000 Canadian Encyclopedia World Edition. Copyright (c) 1999 McClelland & Steward Inc.
Other Links of interest
Abraham Lincoln Online
History Place Presents: Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum
