Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Abraham Lincoln served as president of the United States during the Civil War. He managed to preserve the unity of the United States and took steps to abolish slavery, but was assassinated before he could implement post-war plans. He began his political career by serving four terms in the Illinois state legislature beginning in 1834. He served one term as representative from Illinois to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected the sixteenth President in 1860, re-elected in 1864, and assassinated in 1865. He helped build the Republican Party, which replaced the Whig Party in the 1850's, from obscurity to the party of choice by 1860. His Gettysburg Address, delivered in November 1863 at the dedication of the national cemetery at the Civil War battlefield, called for national unity despite obstacles. He began the process of freeing slaves in the Confederate states when he issued his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. His most lasting influence remains the Thirteenth Amendment, ratified in December 1865, months after his death. It banned slavery throughout the United States. His likeness is one of four presidents carved into the monument at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. Presidents' Day, a federal holiday, occurs on the third Monday in February, near his birthday, February 12.
Additional Information Can Be Found At...
Abraham Lincoln Online -- Your Source for Lincoln News
Internet Public Library -- POTUS -- Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln Book List for Parents and Teachers
Abraham Lincoln in the Classroom