Abraham Lincoln Essay -- essays research papers fc

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was born on Sunday, February 12, 1809. His parents were Tom and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. When he was seven, he and his family moved to southern Indiana. His mother had died recently of a disease and his father eventually remarried. While growing up, his nature was that of someone who wanted to learn and read rather than help with the farm. Even at an early age he showed signs of being an intelligent person with insight into the world around him. Later on, he moved to New Salem, Illinois, where he lived until he was about 28 years old. He worked several odd jobs during his time here and even earned the famous nickname â€Å"Honest Abe† during his stay. Eventually he made a run for the Illinois legislature and lost the first time he tried. However, he won the next four times after that first one. At first, Lincoln was a member of the Whig party, but later changed to Republican. Another endeavor during his time there included studying in his spare time and he eventual ly became a certified lawyer. In Springfield, Illinois, he met his future wife, Mary Todd. They became fast friends and about three years later, they wed. During the next eleven years, they had four children, all boys. Sadly, all but one died before the age of 18. Lincoln himself had to go through the misery of burying two of them. He became a very successful attorney and grew to be very wealthy. It was in the year of 1846 that Lincoln decided to continue his political career and decided to run for the United States House of Representatives. To no one’s surprise, he won. He was widely known for his advocacy against slavery. Lincoln felt that slavery was a great evil within a great nation. â€Å"For him, slavery and freedom were incompatible; for one to live, the other must die.† (History Book, 512). He also strongly opposed The Mexican War. After his term was over, he decided to go home and continue with his law practice. In 1850, he decided to join the Republican Party and ran against Stephen A. Do uglas for his spot in the Senate. In 1858, at one of his speeches in Illinois, he made a quite informative speech about his and the Republican party’s point of view on slavery. â€Å"We have in this nation the element of domestic slavery. The Republican Party thinks it wrong - we think it is a moral, a social, and a political wrong. We think it is wrong not confining itself merely to the... ...omb at Oak Ridge cemetery. To this day, people remember him not only as a one of the greatest presidents ever, but also as a great human being. His dedication and courage throughout the war helped make The United States whole again and made sure that something like this would hopefully never happen again. His face is seen every day on a five dollar bill, on a penny and even on Mount Rushmore. He did something not very men have ever done. He brought an entire nation together again and guided it through the most devastating experience that this nation has faced. Works Cited Books - Mason, Lorna C, William Jay Jacobs, and Robert P Ludlum. The History of the United States. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Donald, David H. LINCOLN. New York, New York: Touchstone Company, 1996 Guelzo, Allen C. Abraham Lincoln. Boston: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999 Internet –   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a8334a50e83.htm, Why was Lincoln Shot?, Unknown, 05-16-01 http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln75.html, Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Unknown, 12-1-03 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=114491&tocid=0, Abraham Lincoln, Brità ¡nica.