Abraham lincoln biography printable

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Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you.... You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it."

Lincoln thought secession illegal, and was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union. When Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, he called on the states for 75,000 volunteers. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy but four remained within the Union. The Civil War had begun.

The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln had to struggle for a living and for learning. Five months before receiving his party's nomination for President, he sketched his life:

"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks.... My father ... removed from Kentucky to ... Indiana, in my eighth year.... It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up.... Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher ... but that was all."

Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years. His law partner said of him, "His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest."

He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator. He lost the election, but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that w

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809–April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States. He led the country through the Civil War and worked to end slavery. His life was cut short early in his second term when he was assassinated.

Abraham Lincoln was born to uneducated farmers. They lived in a one-room log cabin in Hodgenville, Kentucky. The family later moved to southern Indiana. Throughout Lincoln’s life, he demonstrated that anyone can achieve greatness. But it requires dedication and hard work. Lincoln attended school for no more than a year. He was an avidavidMARKUS WEGMANN/GETTY IMAGES very enthusiastic (adjective)As an avid soccer fan, she wrote to all her favorite players. reader, however. He did not attend law school. Instead, he studied on his own. He became an attorney in 1836.

As a lawyer, Lincoln earned a reputation for being clever, fair, and honest. Five years after moving to Springfield, Illinois, he married Mary Todd. They eventually had four children: Robert, Eddie, Willie, and Tad.

In 1834, Lincoln won the first of four consecutiveconsecutiveHERO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES following one after another (adjective)Jason has been late to practice for three consecutive days. elections to the Illinois State Legislature. He then served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1847 to 1849. In 1858, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate. During the race, he debated Stephen Douglas seven times. Lincoln gained national attention for his skills as an oratororatorCAIAIMAGE/SAM EDWARDS—GETTY IMAGES a public speaker (noun)Her skills as an orator helped her inspire the audience.. Two years after losing the Senate race, he made a remarkable comeback. He was elected president.

Defender of the Union

President Abraham Lincoln meets with Union army General George McClellan at his headquarters on the battlefield of Antietam in Maryland, October 1862.