Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), the 16th president of the United States, guided the United States through one of the most devastating experiences in its national history, the Civil War. He was the first president to be assassinated, the first president born outside of the 13 original colonies, and the first to represent the Republican Party. He is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest American presidents.

His nickname was "Honest Abe."

Early Life:

Lincoln was born on 12 February 1809 in a log cabin in Hardin County (now LaRue County), KY. His father, Thomas, was a skilled carpenter; his mother was Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Lincoln had an older sister, Sarah, and a younger brother, Thomas, who died in infancy. In 1816, the family moved to Indiana, and two years later his mother died. His father married Sarah Bush Johnston; in 1830, the family moved to Illinois.

Illinois Legislature:

In 1832, Lincoln ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Illinois State legislature. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1834 for the first of four successive terms; he represented the Whig Party. He became a lawyer in 1836; he married Mary Todd in 1842.

First Entry Into National Politics:

Lincoln served one term (1847-49) as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He, like the rest of his party, opposed the Mexican War as unnecessary and unconstitutional. He supported a prohibition on slavery in any territory gained as a result of the Mexican War (Texas).

He did not run for re-election.

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates:

Lincoln opposed the the Kansas-Nebraska Act, sponsored by Stephen Douglas, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed the spread of slavery. In 1856, Lincoln joined the newly formed Republican Party and ran against Douglas for the U.S. Senate. Douglas agreed to seven debates with the underdog; nevertheless, the Illinois legislature re-elected Douglas to the Senate. However, the ability of the telegraph to spread news across the country almost instantly helped these debates propel Lincoln into the national spotlight.

Election To The Presidency:

In February 1860, Lincoln addressed a rally at the Cooper Union in New York. At the second national Republican convention, held in Chicago in May, Lincoln won the nomination unanimously on the third ballot, although he was the second choice of the majority. He won the presidency by defeating Douglas, the Northern Democrat; John C. Breckinridge, the Southern Democrat; and John Bell, the the Constitutional Union candidate. Lincoln did not appear on the ballot in nine Southern states, but won with 40% of the electoral vote by carrying the more populous north as well as Oregon and California.

The Civil War:

When Lincoln was inaugurated in March 1861, seven states had seceded from the Union. On 12 April 1861, South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter, in the Charleston harbor, when Lincoln attempted to provide provisions to Union soldiers under siege. Those shots ignited the Civil War.

The Emancipation Proclamation & Re-Election:

The Constitution protected slavery in peace, but Lincoln believed that as commander in chief he could abolish slavery as a military necessity. The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation of 22 September 1862 included this military justification. By 1864, Democrats and Republicans differed clearly in their platforms on slavery. Lincoln endorsed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery, whereas Democrats pledged to return to the South the rights it had held in 1860. Nevertheless, Lincoln was re-elected in 1864.

Lincoln's Death:

On 14 April 1865, five days after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Lincoln attended a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington. It was here that John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln. The next morning, 15 April, Lincoln died.