Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States
(March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865)
Full Name: Abraham Lincoln
Nicknames: "Honest Abe"; "Illinois Rail Splitter"
Born: February 12, 1809, in Hardin (now Larue) County, Kentucky
Died: April 15, 1865, at Petersen's Boarding House in Washington, D.C.
Father: Thomas Lincoln (1778-1851)
Mother: Nancy Hanks Lincoln (1784-1818)
Stepmother: Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln (1788-1869)
Married: Mary Todd (1818-1882), on November 4, 1842
Children: Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926); Edward Baker Lincoln (1846-50); William Wallace Lincoln (1850-62); Thomas "Tad" Lincoln (1853-71)
Religion: No formal affiliation
Education: No formal education
Occupation: Lawyer
Political Party: Republican
Other Government Positions:
- Elected to Illinois State Legislature, 1834
- Member of U.S. House of Representatives, 1847-49
Presidential Salary: $25,000/year
Presidential Election Results:
Year Candidate Popular Votes Electoral Votes
1860 Abraham Lincoln 1,865,593 180
(map) John C. Breckinridge 848,356 72
John Bell 592,906 39
Stephen A. Douglas 1,382,713 12
Year Candidate Popular Votes Electoral Votes
1864 Abraham Lincoln 2,206,938 212
(map) George B. McClellan 1,803,787 21
(Votes Not Cast) 81
Vice Presidents: Hannibal Hamlin (1861-65); Andrew Johnson (1865)
Cabinet:
- Secretary of State
- William H. Seward (1861-65)
- Secretary of the Treasury
- Salmon P. Chase (1861-64)
William P. Fessenden (1864-65)
Hugh McCulloch (1865) - Secretary of War
- Simon Cameron (1861-62)
Edwin M. Stanton (1862-65) - Attorney General
- Edward Bates (1861-64)
James Speed (1864-65) - Postmaster General
- Montgomery Blair (1861-64)
William Dennison (1864-65) - Secretary of the Navy
- Gideon Welles (1861-65)
- Secretary of the Interior
- Caleb B. Smith (1861-63)
John P. Usher (1863-65)
Supreme Court Justices:
Noah Haynes Swayne (1862-1881)
Samuel Freeman Miller (1862-1890)
David Davis (1862-1877)
Stephen Johnson Field (1863-1897)
Salmon P. Chase, Chief (1864-1873)
Notable Events:
- 1861
- On April 12, Confederate troops open fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina beginning the Civil War.
- On July 21, the Battle of Bull Run.
- 1862
- On February 20, Lincoln's son, Willie, died from typhoid fever.
- On March 9, battle of ironclad warships - the Confederate Virginia (formerly the Merrimack) and the Union Monitor. The union won control of Norfolk, VA.
- On April 16, slavery abolished in the District of Columbia.
- 1863
- Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation effective on January 1, freeing all slaves in the states that had seceded and that were not yet under Northern control.
- On November 19, Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
- 1864
- On September 2, Union forces led by General Sherman occupied Atlanta, GA. Two weeks later he began his March to the Sea.
- 1865
- On January 31, the House of Representatives approved the Thirteenth Amendment.
- On April 9, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, marking the end of the Civil War.
- At approximately 10:15 pm on April 14, famous actor John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln died at 7:22 am the next day.
Internet Biographies:
- Abraham Lincoln -- from The Presidents of the United States of America
- Compiled by the White House.
- Abraham Lincoln -- from The American President
- From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.
- Abraham Lincoln -- from Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Facts about Lincoln and his presidency.
- Abraham Lincoln -- from History Place
- History of Abraham Lincoln in a timeline format with photographs. Hypertext links add more detail to the issues of the time.
Videos:
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Abraham Lincoln - U.S. President | Mini Bio | BIOBooth Saved Lincoln’s Life - a Presidential Story Ep. 8Lincoln’s Beard Started a Board Game Empire - a Presidential Story Ep. 49Lincoln Was a Hall of Fame Wrestler - a Presidential Story Ep. 63America's Presidents - Abraham Lincoln1 / 4
Historical Documents:
- First Inaugural Address (1861)
- Second Inaugural Address (1865)
- Lyceum Address (1838)
- House Divided Speech (1858)
- Lincoln's Autobiography (1860)
- Cooper Union Address (1860)
- Farewell Address (1861)
- Addresses to the New Jersey State Senate and General Assembly (1861)
- Address in Independence Hall (1861)
- Proclamation Calling Militia and Convening Congress (1861)
- Proclamation of Blockade Against Southern Ports (1861)
- Letter to Horace Greeley (1862)
- Meditation on the Divine Will (1862)
- Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
- Thanksgiving Proclamation (1863)
- Gettysburg Address (1863)
- Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (1863)
- The Writings of Abraham Lincoln
- Abraham Lincoln Digital Collections - from the Library of Congress
Other Internet Resources:
- Abraham Lincoln Research Site
- Created by Roger Norton, a retired American History teacher, this site provides information on the assassination, his words and accomplishments, and a chronology.
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site
- Tourist information on the 116.5-acre park that commemorates the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. Located in Hogenville, Kentucky.
- Assassination of President Lincoln And the Trial of the Assassins
- This site illustrates and presents a 50 page paper of Brigadier-General Henry L. Burnett's memories of the Lincoln Assassination Trial at which he served as special judge advocate. The paper was discovered in a file on Gen. Burnett in the library at Goshen NY, the town in which Gen. Burnett lived at the end of his life. Created by Mary S. Van Deusen.
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
- The museum combines priceless historical artifacts with innovative, contemporary storytelling technologies. The library provides access to an extensive collection of materials relating to Abraham Lincoln and his era.
- The Best Biographies of Abraham Lincoln
- In 2012, Stephen Floyd started his search for the best biography of each president. He usually has reviews of multiple biographies for each president.
- Ford's Theater
- The Washington, D.C. theater where Lincoln was shot. This site by the National Park Service contains history, virtual tours, tourist information and a list of related web sites.
- Health and Medical History of Abraham Lincoln
- Medical background of each president with references. Compiled by John Sotos, MD.
- Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
- Tourist information for this Lincoln City, Indiana site where Lincoln spent fourteen years of his life growing up.
- Lincoln Home National Historic Site
- Visitors information on the only home Lincoln ever owned. Located in Springfield, Illinois.
- Lincoln Log Cabin
- Located near Charleston, Illinois. Tourist information and history of the cabin can be found here.
- Lincoln Memorial
- Tribute to the 16th President of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C. From the National Park Service.
- Lincoln Tomb State Historical Site
- The burial site of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln and three of their four children. A virtual tour, as well as tourist information, can be found on this site.
- Lincoln-Douglas Debate Site
- While running for the U.S. Senate in 1856, Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas debated seven times throughout the state of Illinois. Here are the locations that those debates took place.
- Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site
- The only one of three law offices of Lincoln's still standing. Tourist information on this Springfield, Illinois site also available.
- Mount Rushmore
- Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt stand 60 feet tall.
- Petersen's Boarding House
- The house where Lincoln died. Narratives and photos of the place where Lincoln spent his last few hours.
Points of Interest:
212 N 6th St, Springfield, IL 62701
212 N 6th St, Springfield, IL 62701
402 S Lincoln Hwy, Lerna, IL 62440
3027 E S St, Lincoln City, IN 47552
413 South 8th Street, Springfield, Illinois
1500 North Monument Avenue, Springfield, Illinois
516 10th St NW, Washington, DC 20004
511 10th St NW, Washington, DC 20004
2995 Lincoln Farm Road, Hodgenville, Kentucky
2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW, Washington, DC 20037
212 N 6th St, Springfield, IL 62701
212 N 6th St, Springfield, IL 62701
402 S Lincoln Hwy, Lerna, IL 62440
3027 E S St, Lincoln City, IN 47552
413 South 8th Street, Springfield, Illinois
1500 North Monument Avenue, Springfield, Illinois
516 10th St NW, Washington, DC 20004
511 10th St NW, Washington, DC 20004
2995 Lincoln Farm Road, Hodgenville, Kentucky
2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW, Washington, DC 20037
Additional Facts:
- Lincoln was the first president to die by assassination.
- Abraham Lincoln was shot while watching a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. The same play was also running at the McVerick Theatre in Chicago on May 18, 1860, the day Lincoln was nominated for president in that city.
- The contents of his pockets on the night of his assassination weren't revealed until February 12, 1976. They contained two pairs of spectacles, a chamois lens cleaner, an ivory and silver pocketknife, a large white Irish linen handkerchief, slightly used, with "A. Lincoln" embroidered in red, a gold quartz watch fob without a watch, a new silk-lined, leather wallet containing a pencil, a Confederate five-dollar bill, and news clippings of unrest in the Confederate army, emancipation in Missouri, the Union party platform of 1864, and an article on the presidency by John Bright.
- At 6 foot, 4 inches, Lincoln was the tallest president.
- Abe Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died when the family dairy cow ate White Snakeroot and she drank the milk.
- Lincoln had a wart on his right cheek, a scar on his thumb from an ax accident, and a scar over his right eye from a fight with a gang of thieves.
- Mrs. Lincoln's brother, half-brothers, and brothers-in-law fought in the Confederate Army.
- Lincoln was the only president to receive a patent, for a device for lifting boats over shoals.
- He was the first president to wear a beard.
- During the Civil War, telegraph wires were strung to follow the action on the battlefield. But there was no telegraph office in the White House, so Lincoln went across the street to the War Department to get the news.
- He was the first president to be photographed at his inauguration. John Wilkes Booth (his assassin) can be seen standing close to Lincoln in the picture.
- Lincoln and his wife held seances in the White House. They had great interest in psychic phenomena.
- His son, Robert, who was in Washington when his father was killed, was also on the scene when Garfield was shot in 1881 and McKinley was assassinated in 1901.
- Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be born outside of the original thirteen colonies.
- Lincoln loved the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Quotes:“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”
“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”
“Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”
“Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.”
“If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”
“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”
“Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”
“Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.”
“If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”