Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) was the 16th president of the United States of America, and one of its greatest leaders. He is famous for guiding the nation through one of the most difficult periods in its history. He became president as civil war threatened to split the North (the Union) and South (the Confederacy) apart forever. Lincoln led the Union to victory and finally abolished slavery in the USA.

Early life

Abraham Lincoln was born in a tiny log cabin in Kentucky on 12th February 1809. His father Thomas was a farmer. His mother Nancy died when he was nine years old, and his father then married Sarah Bush Johnston. Abraham became close to his stepmother, who encouraged him to read and to learn. He later called her his "angel mother".

In 1831 Lincoln went to live in New Salem, a small village in Illinois. There he ran a small general store. In 1832, he enlisted as a volunteer to fight in a brief war against the Black Hawk Native Americans. He did not see any action, but the experience taught him about the hardships of a soldier’s life.

​​​​​​​His first experience as a politician was gained as a member of the Illinois General Assembly, to which he was elected in 1834. Lincoln later taught himself law from borrowed books and in 1836 he passed the examinations he needed to practise law.

Marriage

Lincoln moved to Springfield, Illinois. He soon gained a reputation as an able lawyer. He also met Mary Todd, who came from a wealthy family from Lexington, Kentucky. The two were married in 1842. The couple went on to have four sons, although only the eldest, Robert, lived to adulthood.

Confederacy

Lincoln did not get any votes from the South. His views on slavery caused alarm in the Southern states, which strongly supported slavery. South Carolina was the first state to secede (withdraw) from the Union. Six more states (Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas) followed even before Lincoln took office. They joined together to form the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy).

Lincoln was determined to preserve the Union, even at the risk of war. Only a few weeks after he took office, shots were fired when Confederate forces attacked US troops at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, in April 1861. This event marked the beginning of the American Civil War.

Lincoln called on all states to send troops to "preserve the Union". This forced each state to decide which side to take. Four more states (Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia) joined the Confederacy. Lincoln took on the role of commander-in-chief. He imposed a blockade on Southern ports (stopping ships entering or leaving), and appointed generals to lead the US army.

Ending slavery

Lincoln’s main aim in the Civil War was to bring the Confederate states back into the Union. But on 1st January 1863 he issued his Emancipation Proclamation. This freed all slaves in states still under Confederate control. The Proclamation meant that the war had now become a struggle to end slavery. Lincoln later made a Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. This amendment abolished slavery throughout the USA.

Gettysburg Address

In July 1863, Union forces fought their first battle on northern soil at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle is often described as a turning point in the war, when Union forces began to get the upper hand. In November of that year, Lincoln gave a short speech at Gettysburg. Many consider it to be one of the greatest in US history. Lincoln ended with the words: "… government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Assassination

Lincoln stood for president and was re-elected for a second term in 1864. The end of the war came in April 1865. A few days later, Lincoln was shot while attending a performance at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. He died the following morning, 15th April 1865. His assassin was John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate and a supporter of slavery.