USA > United States

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin on a farm in Hardin County KY on February 12, 1809. At age 7, his family moved near Gentryville IN and later to Macon County, Illinois.

Lincoln lost his first campaign for the state legislature in 1832 but won in 1834 as a Whig. He became a successful attorney in Springfield. In 1856, he campaigned for the new Republican Party and in 1858 was its candidate for United States Senate. He lost to Stephen Douglas but gained national attention.

He was nominated by the Republicans in the 1860 presidential election and his victory led to the secession of first South Carolina and then 10 more southern states. The Civil War broke out as a result of the Confederate Attack on Fort Sumter. On September 22, 1862, Lincoln announced that slaves in the territories then in rebellion would be free on January 1, 1863. On November 19, 1863, he delivered the Gettysburg Address. Re-elected for a second term in 1864, he was shot by John Wilkes Booth at the Ford's Theatre and died the next day.