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{{dablink|For other uses of Abraham Lincoln and Abe Lincoln see ] or ].}}
{{pp-semi|small=yes}}

{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Abraham Lincoln
|nationality=American
|image=Abraham Lincoln head on shoulders photo portrait.jpg
|order=] ]
|term_start=March 4, 1861
|term_end=April 15, 1865
|predecessor=]
|successor=]
|state2=]
|district2=]
|term_start2=March 4, 1847
|term_end2=March 3, 1849
|predecessor2=]
|successor2=]
|birth_date={{birth date|mf=yes|1809|2|12|mf=y}}
|birth_place=]
|death_date={{Death date and age|mf=yes|1865|4|15|1809|2|12}}
|death_place=]
|restingplace=]<br/>], ]<br/>{{Coord|39|49|24|N|89|39|21|W|type:landmark}}
|spouse=]
|children=], ], ], ]
|occupation=]
|religion=See: ]
|party=] (1832–1854), ] (1854–1864), ] (1864–1865)
|vicepresident=] <small>(1861–1865)</small><br/>] <small>(1865)</small>
|signature=Abraham Lincoln Signature.svg
|branch=Illinois Militia
|serviceyears=1832
|battles=]
}}
'''Abraham Lincoln''' (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the ] from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the ], preserving the Union and ] slavery. Before his election in 1860 as the first ] president, Lincoln had been a ], an ] ], a member of the ], and twice an unsuccessful candidate for election to the ]. As an outspoken opponent of the expansion of ],<ref>], p. 91.
</ref><ref>
], p. 232.
</ref>
Lincoln won the ] nomination in 1860 and was ] later that year. His tenure in office was occupied primarily with the defeat of the ] ] in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the ] of ], issuing his ] in 1863 and promoting the passage of the ] to the Constitution. Six days after the large-scale surrender of Confederate forces under General ], Lincoln became the first American president to be ].

Lincoln closely supervised the victorious war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including ]. Historians have concluded that he handled the factions of the Republican Party well, bringing leaders of each faction into his cabinet and forcing them to cooperate. Lincoln successfully defused the ], a war scare with ] late in 1861. Under his leadership, the ] took control of the ] at the start of the war. Additionally, he managed his own reelection in the ].

] and other opponents of the war criticized Lincoln for refusing to compromise on the slavery issue. Conversely, the ], an abolitionist faction of the Republican Party, criticized him for moving too slowly in abolishing slavery. Even with these opponents, Lincoln successfully rallied public opinion through his rhetoric and speeches; his ] (1863) became an iconic symbol of the nation's duty. At the close of the war, Lincoln held a moderate view of ], seeking to speedily reunite the nation through a policy of generous reconciliation. Lincoln has consistently been ] as one of the greatest of all U.S. Presidents.

==Personal life==
===Childhood and education===
], Hingham, Massachusetts]]

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to ] and ], two farmers, in a one-room ] on the {{convert|348|acre|km2|1|sing=on}} Sinking Spring Farm, in southeast ]<ref>], pp. 20&ndash;22
</ref>
(now part of ]), making him the first president born in the west. Lincoln was not given a middle name.<ref>], p. 101
</ref>
His ancestor ] had arrived in ] from ] in the 17th century.<ref>], p. 20
</ref>
His grandfather, also named ], had moved to Kentucky, where he owned over {{convert|5000|acres|km2|0|abbr=on}}, and was ambushed and killed by an ] in 1786.<ref>], p. 12, 13
</ref>

Thomas Lincoln was a respected citizen of rural Kentucky. He owned several farms, including the Sinking Spring Farm, although he was not wealthy. The family belonged to a ] church, which had high moral standards frowning on alcohol consumption and dancing, and many church members were opposed to slavery.<ref>], pp. 22, 24
</ref>
Abraham himself never joined their church, or any other church.<ref>], p. 189.
</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/history/2009/02/12/abraham-lincolns-religious-uncertainty.html |title=Abraham Lincoln's Religious Uncertainty |last=Gilgoff |first=Dan |date=February 12, 2009 |publisher=] |accessdate=2009-10-11}}
</ref>

In 1816, the Lincoln family left Kentucky to avoid the expense of fighting for one of their properties in court, and made a new start in ], Indiana (now in ]). Lincoln later noted that this move was "partly on account of slavery", and partly because of difficulties with land deeds in Kentucky. Abraham's father disapproved of slavery on religious grounds and because it was hard to compete economically with farms operated by slaves. Unlike land in the ], Kentucky never had a proper U.S. survey, and farmers often had difficulties proving title to their property.<ref>], pp. 23&ndash;24.
</ref>

]]]

When Lincoln was nine, his mother, then 34 years old, died of ]. Soon afterwards, his father remarried to ]. Lincoln and his stepmother were close; he called her "Mother" for the rest of his life, but he became increasingly distant from his father. Abraham felt his father wasn't a success, and didn't want to be like him. In later years, he would occasionally lend his father money.<ref>], pp. 28, 152
</ref>
In 1830, fearing a milk sickness outbreak, the family settled on public land in ].<ref>], p. 36
</ref>

The next year, when his father relocated the family to a ] in ], 22-year-old Lincoln struck out on his own, canoeing down the ] to the village of ] in ].<ref>], p. 163.
</ref>
Later that year, hired by New Salem businessman ] and accompanied by friends, he took goods from New Salem to ] via flatboat on the Sangamon, ] and ] rivers.<ref>], pp. 22&ndash;23
</ref>
Lincoln's formal education consisted of about 18 months of schooling, but he was largely self-educated and an avid reader. He was also skilled with an axe and a talented local wrestler, the latter of which helped give him confidence.<ref>], pp. 25, 31, 47.
</ref>
Lincoln avoided hunting and fishing because he did not like killing animals, even for food.<ref>], p. 10.
</ref>

===Marriage and family===
{{further
|]; ]; ]}}
], wife of Abraham Lincoln]]

Lincoln's first love was ]. He met her when he first moved to New Salem, and by 1835 they had reached a romantic understanding. Rutledge, however, died on August 25, probably of ].<ref>], pp. 55&ndash;58
</ref>

Earlier, in either 1833 or 1834, he had met Mary Owens, the sister of his friend Elizabeth Abell, when she was visiting from her home in Kentucky. Late in 1836, Lincoln agreed to a match proposed by Elizabeth between him and her sister, if Mary ever returned to New Salem. Mary did return in November 1836 and Lincoln courted her for a time; however they both had second thoughts about their relationship. On August 16, 1837, Lincoln wrote Mary a letter from Springfield, to which he had moved that April to begin his law practice, suggesting he would not blame her if she ended the relationship. She never replied, and the courtship was over.<ref>], pp. 67&ndash;69; ], pp. 56&ndash;57, 69&ndash;70.
</ref><ref>
Donald quotes a key phrase from the letter, "I now say, that you can now drop the subject , dismiss your thoughts (if you ever had any) from me forever, and leave this letter unanswered, without calling forth one accusing murmur from me." ], pp. 67&ndash;69.
</ref>

In 1840, Lincoln became engaged to ], from a wealthy slaveholding family based in ].<ref>], p. 43.
</ref>
They met in Springfield in December 1839,<ref name="ReferenceB">], pp. 46&ndash;48.
</ref>
and were engaged sometime around that Christmas.<ref>], p. 86
</ref>
A wedding was set for January 1, 1841, but the couple split as the wedding approached.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> They later met at a party, and then married on November 4, 1842, in the Springfield mansion of Mary's married sister.<ref>], pp. 50&ndash;51.
</ref>
In 1844, the couple bought a house on Eighth and Jackson in Springfield, near Lincoln's law office.<ref>], p. 125.
</ref>

The Lincolns soon had a budding family, with the birth of son ] in ] on August 1, 1843, and second son ] on March 10, 1846, also in Springfield.<ref name=Whitep126/> According to a house girl, Abraham "was remarkably fond of children".<ref name=Whitep126>], p. 126.
</ref>
The Lincolns did not believe in strict rules and tight boundaries when it came to their children.<ref>], p. 120.
</ref>
] photo depicts President Lincoln reading a book with his youngest son, ]]]

Robert, however, would be the only one of the Lincolns' children to survive into adulthood. Edward Lincoln died on February 1, 1850 in Springfield, likely of tuberculosis.<ref>], p. 179.
</ref>
The Lincolns' grief over this loss was somewhat assuaged by the birth of ] nearly eleven months later, on December 21. But Willie himself died of a fever at the age of eleven on February 20, 1862, in ], during President Lincoln's first term.<ref>], pp. 181, 476.
</ref>
The Lincolns' fourth son ] was born on April 4, 1853, and, although he outlived his father, died at the age of eighteen on July 16, 1871 in Chicago.<ref>], p. 181.
</ref>
Robert Lincoln eventually went on to attend ] and ]. His (and by extension, his father's) last known lineal descendant, ], died December 24, 1985.<ref>
{{cite news |title=Lincoln's Last Descendant Dies |publisher=Associated Press |newspaper=The Spkesman-Review |date=December 26, 1985 |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=et8SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Mu8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=400,5684384}}
</ref>

The death of the Lincolns' sons had profound effects on both Abraham and Mary. Later in life, Mary Todd Lincoln found herself unable to cope with the stresses of losing her husband and sons, and this (in conjunction with what some historians consider to have been pre-existing ]<ref>], p. '''page number needed'''
</ref>
) eventually led Robert Lincoln to involuntarily commit her to a mental health asylum in 1875.<ref>
{{cite journal |last=Emerson |first=Jason |year=2006 |month=June/July |title=The Madness of Mary Lincoln |journal=American Heritage |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/people/articles/web/20060601-mary-todd-lincoln-abraham-lincoln-robert-todd-lincoln-batavia-illinois-sanitarium-james-bradwell-marriage.shtml |accessdate=2009-09-03 }}
</ref>
Abraham Lincoln himself was contemporaneously described as suffering from "melancholy" throughout his legal and political life, a condition which modern mental health professionals would now typically characterize as ].<ref>
{{cite web |publisher=The Atlantic |date=October 2005 |first=Joshua Wolf |last=Shenk |title=Lincoln's Great Depression |url=http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200510/lincolns-clinical-depression |accessdate=2009-10-08}}
</ref>

==Early political career and military service==
{{Main|Abraham Lincoln's early life and career|Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk War}}
]
Lincoln began his political career in March 1832 at age 23 when he announced his candidacy for the ]. He made the decision based on self-confidence; he felt himself equal to any man. He was esteemed by the residents of New Salem, but he didn't have an education, powerful friends, or money. The centerpiece of his platform was the undertaking of navigational improvements on the ]. Before the election he served as a captain in a company of the Illinois militia during the ], although he never saw combat. Lincoln returned from the militia after a few months and was able to campaign throughout the county before the August 6 election. At {{convert|6|ft|4|in|m|2|abbr=off}}, he was tall and "strong enough to intimidate any rival." At his first political speech, he grabbed a man accosting a supporter by his "neck and the seat of his trousers", and threw him. When the votes were counted, Lincoln finished eighth out of thirteen candidates (only the top four were elected), but he did manage to secure 277 out of the 300 votes cast in the New Salem precinct.<ref>], pp. 41–46.
</ref>

In 1834, he won an election to the state legislature. He was labeled a ], but ran a bipartisan campaign.<ref>], p. 59.
</ref>
He then decided to become a lawyer, and began teaching himself law by reading '']''.<ref>], p. 16.
</ref>
] in 1837, he moved to Springfield, Illinois, that April,<ref>], p. 17.
</ref>
and began to practice law with ], Mary Todd's cousin, who let Lincoln have the run of his law library while studying to be a lawyer.<ref>], pp. 71, 79, 108.
</ref>
With a reputation as a formidable adversary during cross-examinations and closing arguments, Lincoln became an able and successful lawyer. <!--- page number needed for following claim: "It is reputed that, had Stuart not lent Lincoln his law books, Lincoln would not have gone into a career in politics."<ref>], p.
</ref>
--->
In 1841, Lincoln entered law practice with ], whom Lincoln thought "a studious young man".<ref>], pp. 67&ndash;69, pp. 100&ndash;101.
</ref>
He served four successive terms in the ] as a representative from Sangamon County, affiliated with the Whig party.<ref>], pp. 67&ndash;69 pp. 75, 121.
</ref>
In 1837, he and another legislator declared that slavery was "founded on both injustice and bad policy"<ref>], p. 40.
</ref><ref>
], p. 16;
</ref>
the first time he had publicly opposed slavery.<!--- Compare the resolutions with the protest -- he seemingly disagreed most with the wording of the resolution stating that slavery could not be abolished in Washington DC -- and **perhaps** (who knows) with the faintness with which the resolutions decried slavery--> In the 1835&ndash;1836 legislative session he'd voted to restrict ] to whites only.<ref> p. 62</ref> He would later say{{Citation needed|date=November 2009|which of what follows is he supposed to have actually said???}} that he had been against slavery since he was a boy, but being labelled an abolitionist was "political suicide" in Sangamon County in those years, and so he chose his words carefully when discussing the issue publicly.<ref>], pp. 37, 38
</ref>

===National politics===
]

Lincoln was a Whig, and since the early 1830s had strongly admired the policies and leadership of ].<ref>], pp. 212, 222.
</ref>
"I have always been an old-line Henry Clay Whig" he professed to friends in 1861.<ref>], p. 63.
</ref>
The party favored economic expansion such as improving roads and increasing trade.<ref>], p. 52
</ref>

In 1846, Lincoln was elected to the ], where he served one two-year term.<ref>], p. 135.
</ref>
As a House member, Lincoln was a dedicated Whig, showing up for most votes and giving speeches that echoed the party line.<ref>], p. 79.
</ref>
He used his office as an opportunity to speak out against the ], which he attributed to ]'s desire for "military glory — that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood".<ref>], pp. 181&ndash;182.
</ref>
Lincoln's main stand against Polk occurred in his ]: The war had begun with a violent confrontation on territory disputed by Mexico and ],<ref>], pp. 79&ndash;80.
</ref>
but as Lincoln pointed out, Polk had insisted that Mexican soldiers had "invaded ''our territory'' and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our ''own soil''".<ref name="Basler1pp199-202">], pp. 199&ndash;202.
</ref>
Lincoln demanded that Polk show Congress the exact spot on which blood had been shed, and proof that that spot was on American soil.<ref name="Basler1pp199-202"/> Congress never enacted the resolution or even debated it,<ref name="McGovern, p. 33">], p. 33.
</ref>
and its introduction resulted in a loss of political support for Lincoln in his district;<ref>], p. 202.
</ref>
one Illinois newspaper derisively nicknamed him "spotty Lincoln."<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/lincoln-resolutions/ |title=Teaching With Documents: Lincoln's Spot Resolutions |last=Mueller |first=Jean West |coauthors=Wynell B. Schamel |publisher=National Archives |accessdate=2009-09-26}}
</ref>

Despite his admiration for Henry Clay, Lincoln was a key early supporter of ]'s candidacy for the ].<ref name="McGovern, p. 33"/> When Lincoln's term ended, the incoming Taylor administration offered him the governorship of the ]. The territory leaned heavily Democratic, and Lincoln doubted they would elect him as governor or as a senator after they were admitted to the union, so he returned to Springfield.<ref>], pp. 140&ndash;141.
</ref>

===Prairie lawyer===
Back in Springfield, Lincoln turned most of his energies to making a living practicing law, even appearing before the ], arguing a case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge.<ref>], pp. 142&ndash;143, 156, 157
</ref>
By the mid-1850s, Lincoln was representing competing transportation interests; the river ]s and the ]s. As a riverboat man, Lincoln had initially favored riverboat interests, but ultimately he represented whoever hired him.<ref>], pp. 156&ndash;157.
</ref>
In 1849, he had received a ] for a "device to buoy vessels over shoals". Lincoln's goal had been to lessen the draft of a river craft by pushing horizontal floats into the water alongside the hull. The floats would have served as temporary ]s.<ref name="NMAH">
{{cite web |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=19 |title=Abraham Lincoln's Patent Model: Improvement for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals |publisher=National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution |accessdate=2008-06-17}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite journal |last=Emerson |first=Jason |title=A Man of Considerable Mechanical Genius |journal=Invention and Technology |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=10–13 |date=Winter 2009}}
</ref>
The idea was never commercialized, but Lincoln is still the only person to hold a patent and serve as President of the United States.<ref>], pp. 100&ndash;101.
</ref>
As the 1850s began, Lincoln also argued cases on behalf of the railroad industry. In 1851, he represented the ] in a dispute with one of its shareholders, James A. Barret, who had refused to pay the balance on his pledge to the railroad on the grounds that it had changed its originally planned route.<ref name="Donald p. 155">], p. 155.
</ref><ref>
], p. 92.
</ref>
Lincoln argued that as a matter of law a corporation is not bound by its original charter when that charter can be amended in the public interest, that the newer proposed Alton & Sangamon route was superior and less expensive, and that accordingly the corporation had a right to sue Mr. Barret for his delinquent payment. He won this case, and the decision by the ] was eventually cited by 25 other courts throughout the United States.<ref name="Donald p. 155"/> Lincoln appeared in front the of the Illinois Supreme Court 175 times, 51 times as sole counsel, of which, 31 were decided in his favor.<ref>
{{cite journal |last=Handy |first=James S. |title=Book Review: Abraham Lincoln, the Lawyer-Statesman |journal=Illinois Law Review |volume=11 |issue=6 |page=440 |publisher=Northwestern University Law Pub. Association |location=Evanston, IL |date=January 1917}}
</ref>

Lincoln's most notable criminal trial came in 1858 when he defended ], who was on trial for the murder of James Preston Metzker.<ref name="ReferenceA">], pp. 150&ndash;151.
</ref>
The case is famous for Lincoln's use of ] to show an eyewitness had lied on the stand. After the witness testified to having seen the crime in the moonlight, Lincoln produced a ] to show that the moon on that date was at such a low angle it could not have produced enough illumination to see anything clearly. Based on this evidence, Armstrong was acquitted.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==Republican politics 1854&ndash;1860==
Lincoln returned to politics in response to the ] (1854), which expressly repealed the limits on slavery's extent as established by the ] (1820). Illinois Democrat ], the most powerful man in the Senate, proposed ] as the solution to the slavery impasse, and incorporated it into the Kansas–Nebraska Act. Douglas argued that in a democracy the people should have the right to decide whether to allow slavery in their territory, rather than have such a decision imposed on them by the national Congress.<ref>], pp. 36&ndash;37.
</ref>

In the October 16, 1854, "]",<ref>], p. 792.
</ref>
Lincoln outlined his position on slavery that he would repeat over the next six years on the route to the presidency.<ref>], pp. 94&ndash;95.
</ref>

{{quote| ''declared'' indifference, but as I must think, covert ''real'' zeal for the spread of slavery, I cannot but hate it. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world — enables the enemies of free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us as hypocrites — causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity, and especially because it forces so many really good men amongst ourselves into an open war with the very fundamental principles of civil liberty — criticizing the Declaration of Independence, and insisting that there is no right principle of action but ''self-interest''.<ref>
], p. 255.
</ref>}}

According to a newspaper account of the speech, Lincoln spoke with "a thin high-pitched falsetto voice of much carrying power, that could be heard a long distance in spite of the hustle and bustle of the crowd ... the accent and pronunciation peculiar to his native state, Kentucky."<ref>], p. 199.
</ref>

In late 1854, Lincoln decided to run for the United States Senate as a Whig.<ref>], p. 119.
</ref>
Despite leading in the first six rounds of voting in the state legislature, Lincoln instructed his backers to vote for ] to prevent pro-Nebraska candidate ] from winning. Trumbull beat Matteson in the tenth round of voting.<ref>], pp. 205&ndash;208.
</ref>
The Whigs had been irreparably split by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. "I think I am a Whig, but others say there are not Whigs, and I am an abolitionist, even though I do no more than oppose the expansion of slavery" he said. Drawing on remnants of the old Whig party, and on disenchanted Free Soil, Liberty, and Democratic party members, he was instrumental in forging the shape of the new Republican Party.<ref>], pp. 38&ndash;39.
</ref>
At the Republican convention in 1856, Lincoln placed second in the contest to become the party's candidate for Vice-President.<ref>], p. 193.
</ref>

In 1857–58, Douglas broke with President ], leading to a fight for control of the Democratic Party. Some eastern Republicans even favored the reelection of Douglas in 1858, since he had led the opposition to the ], which would have admitted Kansas as a ].<ref>], pp. 138&ndash;139.
</ref>
Accepting the Republican nomination for Senate in 1858, Lincoln delivered ]: "'A house divided against itself cannot stand.'(] 3:25) I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."<ref>], p. 251.
</ref>
The speech created an evocative image of the danger of disunion caused by the slavery debate, and rallied Republicans across the north.<ref>], p. 98.
</ref>

===Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858===
{{Main|Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858}}
The 1858 campaign featured the Lincoln–Douglas debates, generally considered the most famous political debate in American history.<ref>], p. 182.
</ref>
Lincoln warned that "]" was threatening the values of ], while ] emphasized the supremacy of ], as set forth in his ], which said that local settlers should be free to choose whether to allow slavery or not and could overrule the Supreme Courts ] decision.<ref>], pp. 134&ndash;135.
</ref>
Though the Republican legislative candidates won more popular votes, the Democrats won more seats, and the legislature reelected Douglas to the Senate.<ref>], p. 136.
</ref>
Nevertheless, Lincoln's speeches on the issue transformed him into a national political figure.<ref>], p. 135.
</ref>

On February 27, 1860, New York party leaders invited Lincoln to give a ] to group of powerful Republicans. In one of the most important speeches of his career, Lincoln showed that he was a contender for the Republican's presidential nomination.<ref>], p. 141.
</ref>
Journalist ] reported, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience."<ref>], p. 97.
</ref><ref>], p. 157.
</ref>

==1860 Presidential election==
{{Main|United States presidential election, 1860}}

]'' editor ]) on right.]]

On May 9–10, 1860, the Illinois Republican State Convention was held in ].<ref>], p. 244.
</ref>
At this convention, Lincoln received his first endorsement to run for the presidency.<ref>], pp. 175&ndash;176.
</ref>
On May 18, at the ] in ], Lincoln emerged as the Republican candidate on the third ballot, beating candidates such as ] and ].<ref>], pp. 118&ndash;119.
</ref>

Why Lincoln won the nomination has been subject of much debate. His expressed views on slavery were seen as more moderate than those of rivals Seward and Chase.<ref>], p. 24.
</ref>
Some feel that Seward lost more than Lincoln won, including Seward himself. Others attribute it to luck, and the fact that the convention was held in Lincoln's home state. Historian ] believes the real reason was Lincoln's skill as a politician.<ref>], pp. 253&ndash;254.
</ref>
Most Republicans agreed with Lincoln that the North was the aggrieved party<ref>], p. 10.
</ref>
as the Slave Power tightened its grasp on the national government with the ] decision and the presidency of ]. Throughout the 1850s Lincoln denied that there would ever be a civil war, and his supporters repeatedly rejected claims that his election would incite secession.<ref>], pp. 13, 18.
</ref>

Meanwhile, Douglas was selected as the candidate of the northern Democrats, with ] as the vice-presidential candidate. Delegates from eleven slave states walked out of the Democrat's convention, disagreeing with Douglas's position on ], and ultimately selected ] as their candidate.<ref>], pp. 261&ndash;272.
</ref>

As Douglas stumped the country, Lincoln was the only one of the four major candidates to give no speeches whatever. Instead he monitored the campaign closely but relied on the enthusiasm of the Republican Party. It did the leg work that produced majorities across the North. It produced tons of campaign posters and leaflets, and thousands of newspaper editorials. There were thousands of Republican speakers who focused first on the party platform, and second on Lincoln's life story, emphasizing his childhood poverty. The goal was to demonstrate the superior power of "free labor", whereby a common farm boy could work his way to the top by his own efforts. The Republican Party's production of campaign literature dwarfed the combined opposition. A '']'' writer produced a pamphlet that detailed Lincoln's life, and sold one million copies.<ref>], pp. 277, 290, 298&ndash;305.
</ref><ref>
], pp. 171, 197&ndash;198, 202&ndash;203, 210, 218.
</ref>

]

On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States, beating Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, ] of the Southern Democrats, and ] of the new ]. He was the first Republican president, winning entirely on the strength of his support in the North: he was not even on the ballot in ten states in the South, and won only two of 996 counties in all the Southern states.<ref>], p. 61.
</ref><!---The following site is interesting AND contains this statement: "Lincoln, who was not on the ballot in any southern state"
{{cite web |url=http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/lincoln/essays/biography/3 |title=American President: Abraham Lincoln: Campaigns and Elections |publisher=Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia |accessdate=2009-04-22}}---> Lincoln received 1,866,452 votes, Douglas 1,376,957 votes, Breckinridge 849,781 votes, and Bell 588,789 votes. The electoral vote was decisive: Lincoln had 180 and his opponents added together had only 123. Turnout was 82.2%, with Lincoln winning the free northern states. Douglas won Missouri, and split New Jersey with Lincoln.<ref>], p. 243.
</ref>
Bell won Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and Breckinridge won the rest of the South.<ref>], p. 350.
</ref>
There were ] in which all of Lincoln's opponents combined to form one ticket in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island, but even if the anti-Lincoln vote had been combined in every state, Lincoln still would have won because he would still have had a majority in the electoral college.<ref>], p. 312 notes that if the opposition had formed fusion tickets in every state, Lincoln still would have 169 electoral votes; he needed 152 to win the Electoral College. ], p. 437, and ], p. 227 both conclude it was impossible for Lincoln's opponents to combine because they hated each other.
</ref>

==Presidency and the Civil War==
{{Main|Origins of the American Civil War|Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War}}
With the emergence of the Republicans as the nation's first major sectional party by the mid-1850s, the old ] collapsed and a ] created the ]. It became the stage on which ] were played out. Although little of the West–the focal point of sectional tensions– was fit for cotton cultivation, Southern secessionists read the political fallout as a sign that their power in national politics was rapidly weakening. The slave system had been buttressed by the Democratic Party, which was increasingly seen by anti-slavery elements as representing a more pro-Southern position that unfairly permitted the ] to prevail in the nation's territories and to dominate national policy before the Civil War. Yet the Democrats suffered a significant reverse in the electoral realignment of the mid-1850s; they lost the dominance they had achieved over the Whig Party and, indeed, were the minority party in most of the northern states. The 1854 election was a ] or "critical election" that saw a realignment of voting patterns.<ref>Steven Hansen, ''The making of the third party system: voters and parties in Illinois, 1850-1876'' (1980); Michael F. Holt, "The New Political History and the Civil War Era," ''Reviews in American History,'' Vol. 13, No. 1 (Mar., 1985), pp. 60-69
</ref>
Abraham Lincoln's election was a watershed in the balance of power of competing national and parochial interests and affiliations.<ref>], p. 325&ndash;327, 355, 445&ndash;447.
</ref>

===Secession winter 1860–1861===
{{Main|Baltimore Plot|Cornerstone Speech}}
As Lincoln's election became more likely, secessionists made clear their intent to leave the Union.<ref>
{{cite book |last=Edgar |first=Walter B. |title=South Carolina: A History |year=1998 |page=350 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=9781570032554}}
</ref>
On December 20, 1860, ] took the lead; by February 1, 1861, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,<ref name="Donald, p. 267">], p. 267.
</ref>
and Texas had followed.<ref>], p. 498.
</ref>
The seven states soon declared themselves to be a new nation, the ].<ref name="Donald, p. 267"/> The upper South (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas) listened to, but initially rejected, the secessionist appeal.<ref>
{{cite book |title=Reluctant Confederates: Upper South Unionists in the Secession Crisis |first=Daniel W. |last=Crofts |year=1993}}
</ref><ref>
], p. 362.
</ref>
President Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy.<ref>], pp. 520, 569&ndash;570.
</ref>
Attempts at compromise, such as the ] which would have extended the ], were discussed.<ref name=White360-361>], pp. 360&ndash;361.
</ref>
Despite support for the Crittenden Compromise among some Republicans, Lincoln denounced it in private letters,<ref name=White360-361/> saying "either the Missouri line extended, or ... Pop. Sov. would lose us everything we gained in the election; that filibustering for all South of us, and making slave states of it, would follow in spite of us, under either plan",<ref>], p. 192.
</ref>
while other Republicans publicly stated it "would amount to a perpetual covenant of war against every people, tribe, and state owning a foot of land between here and ]."<ref>], p. 115.
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The Confederate States of America selected ] on February 9, 1861, as their provisional President.<ref>], p. 369.
</ref>
]]]

President-elect Lincoln ], and on February 23, 1861, arrived in disguise in Washington, D.C.<ref>], p. 234.
</ref>
At his inauguration on March 4, 1861, sharpshooters watched the inaugural platform, while soldiers on horseback patrolled the surrounding area.<ref>], p. 388.
</ref>
In his ], Lincoln declared, "I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments," arguing further that the purpose of the ] was "to form a more perfect union" than the ] which were ''explicitly'' perpetual, thus the Constitution too was perpetual. He asked rhetorically that even were the Constitution a simple contract, would it not require the agreement of all parties to rescind it?<ref>], pp. 140, 143.
</ref>

Also in his inaugural address, in a final attempt to reunite the states and prevent certain war, Lincoln supported the pending ] to the Constitution, which had passed Congress the previous day. This amendment, which explicitly protected slavery in those states in which it already existed, was considered by Lincoln to be a possible way to stave off secession.<ref>], p. 22.
</ref>
A few short weeks before the war he went so far as to pen a letter to every governor asking for their support in ratifying the Corwin Amendment.<ref>[http://www.lib.niu.edu/2006/ih060934.html
]</ref>

By the time Lincoln took office, the Confederacy was an established fact,<ref name="Donald, p. 267"/> and no leaders of the insurrection proposed rejoining the Union on any terms. The failure of the ] rendered legislative compromise virtually impossible. Buchanan might have allowed the southern states to secede, and some members of his cabinet recommended that. However, conservative Democratic nationalists, such as ], ], and ] had taken control of Buchanan's cabinet in early January, and refused to accept secession.<ref>], pp. 297&ndash;298.
</ref>
Lincoln and nearly every Republican leader adopted this position by March 1861: the Union could not be dismantled. Believing that a peaceful solution was still possible, Lincoln decided to not take any action against the South unless the Unionists themselves were attacked first.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} This finally happened in April 1861.<ref name="Donald, p. 292">], p. 292.
</ref>

Historian ] argues that Lincoln made three miscalculations in believing that he could preserve the Union, hold government property, and still avoid war. He "temporarily underrated the gravity of the crisis", overestimated the strength of Unionist sentiment in the South and border states, and misunderstood the conditional support of Unionists in the border states.<ref>], p. 29.
</ref>

===Fighting begins===
{{Main|American Civil War}}
On April 12, 1861, Union troops at ] were fired upon and forced to surrender.<ref name="Donald, p. 292"/> On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to send detachments totaling 75,000 troops,<ref name="Oates, p. 226">], p. 226
</ref>
to recapture forts, protect the capital, and "preserve the Union", which in his view still existed intact despite the actions of the seceding states.<ref>David H. Donald, ''Lincoln'' (Simon & Schuster, 1996), 302.</ref> These events forced the states to choose sides. ] declared its secession, after which the Confederate capital was moved from ] to Richmond. ], ], and ] also voted for secession over the next two months. ], ] and ] threatened secession,<ref name="Oates, p. 226"/> but neither they nor the slave state of ] seceded. Lincoln urgently negotiated with state leaders there, promising not to interfere with slavery.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009|also: where is "there"?}}
Troops headed south towards Washington, D.C. to protect the capital in response to Lincoln's call. On April 19, angry secessionist mobs in ], a Maryland city to the north of Washington that controlled the rail links, ] traveling to the capital. ], the ], and other suspect Maryland politicians were arrested and imprisoned at ].<ref>], p. 174
</ref>
Rebel leaders were also arrested in other border areas{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} and held in military prisons without trial. Over 18,000 were arrested. One, ], was exiled, but the remainder were released, usually after two or three months (''see'': ]).<ref>Mark E. Neely, ''the fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties'' (1991) pp 3-31.
</ref>

===Conducting the war effort===
{{Main|Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War}}
], ], ], and ] take a swing at the Lincoln administration]]
The war was a source of constant frustration for the president and occupied nearly all of his time. He had a contentious relationship with General ],<ref>], p. 338, 339
</ref>
who became general-in-chief of all the Union armies in the wake of the embarrassing Union defeat at the ] and after the retirement of ] in late 1861.<ref>], p. 168&ndash;171
</ref>
Despite his inexperience in military affairs, Lincoln immediately took an active part in determining war strategy. His priorities were twofold: to ensure that ] was well defended; and to conduct an aggressive war effort that would satisfy the demand in the North for prompt, decisive victory.<ref>], pp. 295&ndash;296 notes that major northern newspapers expected victory within 90 days.
</ref>
McClellan, a youthful ] graduate and railroad executive called back to active military service,<ref>White Jr., p. 440
</ref>
took a more cautious approach.<ref name="ReferenceA">], p. 1276
</ref>
He took several months to plan and execute his ], with the objective of capturing ] by moving the ] by boat to the ] and then traveling by land to Richmond. McClellan's delay concerned Lincoln, as did his insistence that no troops were needed to defend Washington, Lincoln insisted on holding some of McClellan's troops to defend the capital, a decision McClellan blamed for the ultimate failure of the Peninsula Campaign.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> McClellan, a conservative ],<ref>], p. 440
</ref>
was passed over for general-in-chief (that is, chief strategist) in favor of ], after giving Lincoln his ''Harrison's Landing Letter'', where he offered unsolicited political advice to Lincoln urging caution in the war effort.<ref>], p. 360, 361
</ref>
McClellan's letter incensed Radical Republicans, who successfully pressured Lincoln to appoint ], a Republican, as head of the new ]. Pope complied with Lincoln's strategic desire to move toward Richmond from the north, thus protecting the capital from attack. However, Pope was soundly defeated at the ] in the summer of 1862, forcing the Army of the Potomac to defend Washington for a second time.<ref>], p. 2:159&ndash;62
</ref>
In response to his failure, Pope was sent to Minnesota to fight the ].<ref>
], pp. 335&ndash;338, 346.
</ref>

Despite his dissatisfaction with McClellan's failure to reinforce Pope, Lincoln restored him to command of all forces around Washington, to the dismay of his cabinet (all save Seward), who wished McClellan gone.<ref>], p. 478, 479
</ref>
Two days after McClellan's return to command, General Lee's forces crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, leading to the ] (September 1862).<ref>], pp. 478&ndash;480. Lincoln reappointed McClellan owing to his military prowess, not his personality.
</ref>
The ensuing Union victory, one of the bloodiest in American history, enabled Lincoln to give notice that he would issue an Emancipation Proclamation in January,<ref>], p. 481
</ref>
but he relieved McClellan of his command after waiting for the conclusion of the 1862 midterm elections and appointed Republican ] to head the Army of the Potomac.<ref>], p. 389, 390
</ref>
Burnside was politically neutral, which Lincoln desired, and for the most part supported the President's aims.<ref name="Donald, p. 390">], p. 390
</ref>
Burnside had promised to follow through on Lincoln's strategic vision for a strong offensive against Lee and Richmond. After Burnside was stunningly defeated at ] in December,<ref>], pp. 2:343&ndash;52
</ref>
] took command, despite his history of "loose talk" and criticizing former commanders.<ref>], p. 538
</ref>
Hooker was routed by Lee at the ] in May, 1863,<ref>], pp. 2:432&ndash;50
</ref>
but continued to command his troops for roughly two months. Hooker did not agree with Lincoln's desire to divide his troops, and possibly force Lee to do the same, and tendered his resignation, which was accepted. During the ] he was replaced by ].<ref>], pp. 444&ndash;445.
</ref>

Using black troops and former slaves was official government policy after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. At first Lincoln was reluctant to fully implement this program, but by the spring of 1863 he was ready to initiate "a massive recruitment of Negro troops." In a letter to Andrew Johnson, the military governor of Tennessee, encouraging him to lead the way in raising black troops, Lincoln wrote, "The bare sight of fifty thousand armed, and drilled black soldiers on the banks of the Mississippi would end the rebellion at once."<ref>], pp. 430&ndash;431.
</ref>
By the end of 1863, at Lincoln's direction, General Lorenzo Thomas had recruited twenty regiments of African Americans from the Mississippi Valley.<ref>], p. 431.
</ref>

===Grant===
], with ] and Major General ] at Antietam]]

After the Union victory at Gettysburg, Meade's failure to pursue Lee and months of inactivity for the Army of the Potomac persuaded Lincoln that a change was needed. McClellan was seeking the Democratic nomination for President, and Lincoln worried that Grant might also have political aspirations. Lincoln convinced himself that Grant didn't have political aspirations, in the immediate at least, and made ] commander of the Union Army.<ref>], p. 490, 491
</ref>
Grant already had a solid string of victories in the Western Theater, including the battles of Vicksburg and ].<ref>], p. 868
</ref>
Responding to criticism of Grant, Lincoln replied, "I can't spare this man. He fights."<ref>], p. 315.
</ref>
Grant waged his bloody ] in 1864 with a strategy of a ], characterized by high Union losses at battles such as the ] and ], but by proportionately higher Confederate losses.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} The high casualty figures alarmed the nation, and, after Grant lost a third of his army, Lincoln asked what Grant's plans were. "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer," replied Grant. Lincoln and the Republican party mobilized support throughout the North, backed Grant to the hilt, and replaced his losses.<ref>], pp. 422&ndash;424.
</ref>
The Confederacy was out of replacements, so Lee's army shrank with every battle, forcing it back to trenches outside ]. In April 1865, Lee's army finally crumbled under Grant's pounding, and Richmond fell.<ref>], p. 668
</ref>

Lincoln authorized Grant to target the Confederate infrastructure &ndash; such as plantations, railroads, and bridges &ndash; hoping to destroy the South's morale and weaken its economic ability to continue fighting. This strategy allowed Generals ] and ] to destroy plantations and towns in the ], ], and South Carolina. The damage caused by ] through Georgia totaled more than $100 million by Sherman's own estimate.<ref>
{{cite journal |last=Neely, Jr. |first=Mark E. |title=Was the Civil War a Total War? |journal=Civil War History |volume=50 |issue=4 |date=December 2004 |pages=434&ndash;458}}
</ref>

Lincoln grasped the need to control strategic points (such as the Mississippi River and the fortress city of Vicksburg) and understood the importance of defeating the enemy's army, rather than simply capturing territory. He had, however, limited success in motivating his commanders to adopt his strategies until late 1863, when he found a man who shared his vision of the war in ]. Only then could he relentlessly pursue a series of coordinated offensives in multiple theaters, and have a top commander who agreed on the use of black troops.<ref>], pp. 6&ndash;17.
</ref><!---
the following citation does not support this statement; in fact, these pages center on Lincoln's disagreement with Grant's proposed North Carolina campaign
{{cite book |first=Brooks D. |last=Simpson |title=Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph over Adversity, 1822&ndash;1865 |year=2000 |pages=252&ndash;253 |isbn=9780395659946 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |location=New York}}
--->
Two days a week, Lincoln would meet with his cabinet in the afternoon, and occasionally his wife would force him to take a carriage ride because she was concerned he was working too hard. Throughout the war, Lincoln showed an intense interest with the military campaigns. He spent hours at the War Department telegraph office, reading dispatches from the field.<ref>], pp. 391, 392
</ref>
He visited battle sites frequently, and seemed fascinated by scenes of war.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} During ]'s ] in 1864, Lincoln was watching the combat from an exposed position; captain ] shouted at him, "Get down, you damn fool, before you get shot!"<ref>], p. 434.
</ref>

===Emancipation Proclamation===
{{Main|Abraham Lincoln on slavery|Emancipation Proclamation}}
{{Emancipation Proclamation draft}}
Lincoln maintained that the powers of his administration to end slavery were limited by the Constitution. He expected to cause the eventual extinction of slavery by stopping its further expansion into any U.S. territory, and by persuading states to accept ] if the state would outlaw slavery (an offer that took effect only in Washington, D.C.). Guelzo says Lincoln believed that shrinking slavery in this way would make it uneconomical, and place it back on the road to eventual extinction that the Founders had envisioned.<ref>
{{cite web |author=Mackubin Thomas Owens |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/books/owens200403251139.asp |title=Mackubin Thomas Owens on ''Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America'' on National Review Online |publisher=''National Review'' |date=March 8, 2004}}
</ref>

In July 1862, Congress passed the Second ], which freed the slaves of anyone convicted of aiding the rebellion. Although Lincoln believed it wasn't in Congress's remit to free any slaves, he approved the bill. He felt freeing the slaves could only be done by the Commander in Chief during wartime, and that signing the bill would help placate those in Congress who wanted to do it through legislation. In that month, Lincoln discussed a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation with his cabinet. In it, he stated that "as a fit and necessary military measure" (and according to Donald not for moral reasons) on January 1, 1863, "all persons held as a slaves" in the Confederate states will " thenceforward, and forever, be free."<ref>], pp. 364, 365
</ref>

In a shrewdly penned August reply to an editorial by Horace Greeley in the influential ''New York Tribune'', with a draft of the Proclamation already on Lincoln's desk, the president subordinated the goal of ending slavery to the cause of preserving the Union, while, at the same time, preparing the public for emancipation being incomplete at first. Lincoln had decided at this point that he could not win the war without freeing the slaves, and so it was a necessity "to do more to help the cause":{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}
{{quote|I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was."&nbsp;... My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.<ref>
{{cite web |accessdate=2008-05-21 |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/greeley.htm |title=Letter to Horace Greeley |publisher=Abraham Lincoln Online}}
</ref>}}
The ], announced on September 22, 1862 and put into effect on January 1, 1863, freed slaves in territories not already under Union control. As Union armies advanced south, more slaves were liberated until all of them in Confederate territory (over three million) were freed. Lincoln later said: "I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper." The proclamation made the abolition of slavery in the rebel states an official war goal. Lincoln then threw his energies into passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to permanently abolish slavery throughout the nation.<ref>
{{cite web |accessdate=2008-05-21 |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/hodges.htm |title=Letter to Albert G. Hodges |publisher=Abraham Lincoln Online |date=1864-04-04}}
</ref>
He personally lobbied individual Congressmen for the Amendment, which was passed by the Congress in early 1865, shortly before his death.<ref>], p. 555.
</ref>
A few days after the Emancipation was announced, thirteen Republican governors met at the ]; they supported the president's Proclamation, but suggested the removal of General ] as commander of the Union's ].<ref>J. G, Randall, ''Lincoln the President: Springfield to Gettysburg'' (1945) 2: 229-32; Allan Nevins, ''The War for the Union: War Becomes Revolution'' (1960) 2:239-40.
</ref>
For some time, Lincoln continued earlier plans to set up ] for the newly freed slaves. He commented favorably on colonization in the Emancipation Proclamation, but all attempts at such a massive undertaking failed. As ] observed, Lincoln was, "The first great man that I talked with in the United States freely who in no single instance reminded me of the difference between himself and myself, of the difference of color."<ref>
{{cite book |title=The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass |author=Douglass, Frederick |publisher=Digital Scanning |month=April |year=2001 |isbn=1582183678}}
</ref>

===Gettysburg Address===
{{Main |Gettysburg Address}}
Although the ] was a Union victory, it was also the bloodiest battle of the war and dealt a blow to Lincoln's war effort. As the Union Army decreased in numbers due to casualties, more soldiers were needed to replace the ranks. Lincoln's 1863 military drafts were considered "odious" among many in the north, particularly immigrants. The ] of July 1863 were the most notable manifestation of this discontent.
Writing to Lincoln in September 1863, the ], ], warned that political sentiments were turning against Lincoln and the war effort:
<blockquote>''If the election were to occur now, the result would be extremely doubtful, and although most of our discreet friends are sanguine of the result, my impression is, the chances would be against us. The draft is very odious in the State ... the Democratic leaders have succeeded in exciting prejudice and passion, and have infused their poison into the minds of the people to a very large extent, and the changes are against us.''<ref>
{{cite web |accessdate=2008-05-21 |url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mal:@field(DOCID+@lit(d2604300)) |title=Andrew G. Curtin to Abraham Lincoln, Friday, September 4, 1863 (Politics in Pennsylvania) |publisher=] |date=1863-09-03 |author=Curtin, Andrew G.}}
</ref> </blockquote>

Therefore, in the fall of 1863, Lincoln's principal aim was to sustain public support for the war effort. This goal became the focus of his address at the Gettysburg battlefield cemetery on November 19.

The ''Gettysburg Address'' is one of the most quoted speeches in ].<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/25.htm |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070813234249/http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/25.htm |archivedate=2007-08-13 |title=Introduction to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address |publisher=United States Department of State |work=InfoUSA |accessdate=2007-11-30 |quote=Few documents in the growth of American democracy are as well known or as beloved as the prose poem Abraham Lincoln delivered at the dedication of the military cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/65/ge/GettysbuAd.html |title=Gettysburg Address |accessdate=2007-11-30 |work=Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition |month=May |year=2001 |publisher=Columbia University Press via ] |quote=It is one of the most famous and most quoted of modern speeches.}}
</ref><ref>
Historian ] has called it "The most eloquent expression of the new birth of freedom brought forth by reform liberalism." ], p. 185.
</ref>
It was delivered at the dedication of the ] in ], on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, during the ], four and a half months after the ] armies defeated those of the ] at the decisive ].
Abraham Lincoln's carefully crafted address, secondary to other presentations that day, came to be regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history. In just over two minutes, Lincoln invoked the principles of human equality espoused by the ] and redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the ], but as "a new birth of ]" that would bring true equality to all of its citizens, and that would also create a unified nation in which ] were no longer dominant.
Beginning with the now-iconic phrase, ''Four ] and seven years ago ...'', Lincoln referred to the events of the ] and described the ceremony at Gettysburg as an opportunity not only to consecrate the grounds of a cemetery, but also to dedicate the living to the struggle to ensure that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".<ref>Text at ], p. 263.
</ref>

===1864 election===
{{Main|United States presidential election, 1864}}
]
After Union victories at ], ], and ] in 1863, overall victory seemed at hand, and Lincoln promoted ] General-in-Chief on March 12, 1864. When the spring campaigns turned into bloody stalemates, Lincoln supported Grant's strategy of wearing down ] Confederate army at the cost of heavy Union casualties. With an election looming, he easily defeated efforts to deny his renomination. At the Convention, the Republican Party selected ], a ] from the Southern state of Tennessee, as his running mate to form a broader coalition. They ran on the new ] ticket uniting Republicans and War Democrats.

Nevertheless, Republicans across the country feared that Lincoln would be defeated. Acknowledging this fear, Lincoln wrote and signed a pledge that, if he should lose the election, he would still defeat the Confederacy before turning over the White House:<ref>], p. 80.
</ref>
{{quote|This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards.<ref>], p. 514.
</ref>}}

Lincoln did not show the pledge to his cabinet, but asked them to sign the sealed envelope.
While the Democratic platform followed the ] of the party and called the war a "failure," their candidate, General ], supported the war and repudiated the platform.
Lincoln provided Grant with new replacements and mobilized his party to support Grant and win local support for the war effort. ] capture of ] in September ended defeatist jitters; the Democratic Party was deeply split, with some leaders and most soldiers openly for Lincoln; the Union party was united and energized, and Lincoln was easily reelected in a landslide. He won all but three states, including 78% of the Union soldiers' vote.<ref>], p. 111.
</ref><ref>
], p. 250. There is a good discussion of Lincoln's 1864 election anxieties and the effect of Sherman's victory at Atlanta in ], pp. 231-250.
</ref>

===Second Inaugural Address===
{{Main|Lincoln's second inaugural address}}
]
On March 4, 1865, Lincoln delivered his ], his favorite of all his speeches. At this time, a victory over the rebels was at hand, slavery was dead, and Lincoln was looking to the future.
{{quote|Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether." 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.<ref>], p. 333.
</ref>}}

===Reconstruction===
{{Main|Reconstruction era of the United States}}
Reconstruction began during the war as Lincoln and his associates pondered questions of how to reintegrate the Southern states and what to do with Confederate leaders and the freed slaves. Lincoln led the "moderates" regarding Reconstruction policy, and was usually opposed by the Radical Republicans, under ] in the House and ] and ] in the Senate (though he cooperated with these men on most other issues). Determined to find a course that would reunite the nation and not alienate the South, Lincoln urged that speedy elections under generous terms be held throughout the war in areas behind Union lines. His ] of December 8, 1863, offered pardons to those who had not held a Confederate civil office, had not mistreated Union prisoners, and would sign an oath of allegiance.<ref>
{{cite web |accessdate=2008-05-21 |url=http://www.bartleby.com/43/37.html |title=Proclamation of Amnesty |publisher=] |year=1863}}
</ref>
Critical decisions had to be made as state after state was reconquered. Of special importance were ], where Lincoln appointed ] as governor, and ], where Lincoln attempted a plan that would restore statehood when 10% of the voters agreed to it. The Radicals thought this policy too lenient, and passed their own plan, the ], in 1864. When Lincoln ]ed the bill, the Radicals retaliated by refusing to seat representatives elected from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.<ref>], §20.
</ref>

Near the end of the war, Lincoln made an extended visit to Grant's headquarters at City Point, Virginia. This allowed the president to confer in person with Grant and Sherman about ending hostilities (as Sherman managed a hasty visit to Grant from his forces in North Carolina at the same time).<ref>This meeting was memorialized in G.P.A. Healy's famous painting
{{cite web |title=The Peacemakers |url=http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_about/whitehouse_collection/whitehouse_collection-art-06.html |publisher=White House Historical Association |accessdate=2009-10-12}}
</ref>
Lincoln also was able to visit Richmond after it was taken by the Union forces and to make a public gesture of sitting at ] own desk, symbolically saying to the nation that the President of the United States held authority over the entire land. He was greeted at the city as a conquering hero by freed slaves, whose sentiments were epitomized by one admirer's quote, "I know I am free for I have seen the face of Father Abraham and have felt him." When a general asked Lincoln how the defeated Confederates should be treated, Lincoln replied, "Let 'em up easy."<ref>], pp. 576, 580.
</ref><ref>
{{cite web |accessdate=2008-05-21 |url=http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/richmond.htm |title=President Lincoln Enters Richmond, 1865 |publisher=Eyewitness to History}}
</ref>
Lincoln arrived back in Washington on the evening of April 9, 1865, the day Lee surrendered at ] in Virginia. The war was effectively over. The other rebel armies surrendered soon after, and there was no subsequent guerrilla warfare.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.thelincolnlog.org/view/show_date?day=09&month=04&year=1865 |title=The Lincoln Log, April 9, 1865.}}
</ref>

==Home front==
]

===Redefining Republicanism===
Lincoln's ] defined the issues of the war for the nation, the world, and posterity. The ] defied Lincoln's own prediction that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." His second inaugural address is also greatly admired and often quoted.
In recent years, historians have stressed Lincoln's use of and redefinition of ]. As early as the 1850s, a time when most political rhetoric focused on the sanctity of the ], Lincoln shifted emphasis to the ] as the foundation of American political values—what he called the "sheet anchor" of republicanism.<ref>], p. 399.
</ref>
The Declaration's emphasis on freedom and equality for all, rather than the Constitution's tolerance of slavers, shifted the debate. As Diggins concludes regarding the highly influential ], "Lincoln presented Americans a theory of history that offers a profound contribution to the theory and destiny of republicanism itself."<ref>], p. 307.
</ref>
His position gained strength because he highlighted the moral basis of republicanism, rather than its legalisms.<ref>], p. 215.
</ref><ref>
], pp. 61&ndash;64.
</ref>
Nevertheless, in 1861 Lincoln justified the war in terms of legalisms (the Constitution was a contract, and for one party to get out of a contract all the other parties had to agree), and then in terms of the national duty to guarantee a "republican form of government" in every state.<ref>], p. 263.
</ref>
That duty was also the principle underlying federal intervention in ].
In his ] Lincoln redefined the American nation, arguing that it was born not in 1789 but in 1776, "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." He declared that the sacrifices of battle had rededicated the nation to the propositions of democracy and equality, "that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." By emphasizing the centrality of the nation, he rebuffed the claims of ]. While some critics say Lincoln moved too far and too fast, they agree that he dedicated the nation to values that marked "a new founding of the nation."<ref>], p. 39.
</ref>

===Civil liberties suspended===
During the Civil War, Lincoln appropriated powers no previous President had wielded: he used his war powers to proclaim a ], suspended the writ of ], spent money before Congress appropriated it, and imprisoned between 15,000 and 18,000 suspected Confederate sympathizers without trial.<ref>], p. 253, n. 7.
</ref>

===Domestic measures===
Lincoln believed in the Whig theory of the presidency, which left Congress to write the laws while he signed them; Lincoln only exercised his ] only four times, the only significant instance being his pocket veto of the Wade-Davis Bill.<ref>], p. 137.
</ref>
Thus, he signed the ] in 1862, making millions of acres of government-held land in the West available for purchase at very low cost. The ], also signed in 1862, provided government grants for state agricultural colleges in each state. The ] of 1862 and 1864 granted federal support for the construction of the United States' ], which was completed in 1869.<ref>], p. 116.
</ref>

Other important legislation involved two measures to raise revenues for the Federal government: tariffs (a policy with long precedent), and a Federal income tax (which was new). In 1861, Lincoln signed the second and third ] (the first had become law under ]). In 1861, Lincoln signed the ]<ref>Revenue Act of 1861, sec. 49, 12 Stat. 292, at 309 (August 5, 1861).
</ref>
creating the first U.S. ]. This created a ] of 3% on incomes above $800 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|800|1861}}}} in current dollars), which was later changed by the ]<ref>Revenue Act of 1862, sec. 90, 12 Stat. 432, at 473 (July 1, 1862).
</ref>
to a progressive rate structure.<ref>], p. 111.
</ref>

Lincoln also presided over the expansion of the federal government's economic influence in several other areas. The creation of the system of national banks by the ]s of 1863, 1864, and 1865 allowed the creation of a strong national financial system. In 1862, Congress created, with Lincoln's approval, the ], although that institution would not become a Cabinet-level department until 1889. The Legal Tender Act of 1862 established the ], the first ] in United States history since the ] that were issued during the ]. This was done to increase the money supply to pay for fighting the war.<!---
---- The following passage has been removed as uncited to a page number, and a review of the Paludan book cites no such claim: "During the war, Lincoln's ] effectively controlled all cotton trade in the occupied South &ndash; the most dramatic incursion of federal controls on the economy."<ref>]
</ref>--->

In 1862, Lincoln sent a senior general, ], to put down the "]" in ]. Presented with 303 ]s for convicted ] who were accused of killing innocent farmers, Lincoln ordered a personal review of these warrants, eventually approving 39 of these for ] (one was later ]).<ref>
{{cite book |first=Hank H. |last=Cox |title=Lincoln And The Sioux Uprising of 1862 |year=2005 |isbn=9781581824575 |publisher=Cumberland House Publishing |location=Nashville |page=182}}
</ref>

Abraham Lincoln is largely responsible for the institution of the ] in the United States. Prior to Lincoln's presidency, Thanksgiving, while a regional holiday in New England since the 17th century, had only been proclaimed by the federal government sporadically, and on irregular dates. The last such proclamation was during ] presidency fifty years before. In 1863, Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November to be a day of Thanksgiving, and the holiday has been celebrated annually then ever since.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/source/sb2/sb2w.htm |title=1863 Thanksgiving proclamation |author=National Park Service}}
</ref>

==Assassination==
{{Main|Abraham Lincoln assassination}}
{{further|]}}
], ], Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln and ]]]

Originally, ], a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland, had formulated a plan to ] Lincoln in exchange for the release of Confederate prisoners. After attending an April 11 speech in which Lincoln promoted voting rights for blacks, an incensed Booth changed his plans and determined to assassinate the president.<ref>], pp. 3&ndash;4.
</ref>

Learning that the President and ] would be attending ], he laid his plans, assigning his co-conspirators to assassinate ] ] and ] ].
Without his main bodyguard ], to whom he related his famous dream regarding his own assassination, Lincoln left to attend the play '']'' on April 14, 1865. As a lone bodyguard wandered, and Lincoln sat in his state box (Box 7) in the balcony, Booth crept up behind the President and waited for what he thought would be the funniest line of the play ("You sock-dologizing old man-trap"), hoping the laughter would muffle the noise of the gunshot. When the laughter began, Booth jumped into the box and aimed a single-shot, round-slug 0.44 caliber Deringer at his head, firing at point-blank range. Major ] momentarily grappled with Booth but was cut by Booth's knife. Booth then leaped to the stage and shouted "'']!''" ({{lang-la|Thus always to tyrants}}) and escaped, despite a broken leg suffered in the leap.<ref>
{{cite book |first=James L. |last=Swanson |title=Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |page=48 |isbn=9780060518509}}
</ref><!---no page reference and not web-accessible:<ref name=Townsend>
{{cite book |last=Townsend |first=George Alfred |title=The Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth |location=New York |publisher=] |year=1865}}
</ref>--->
A twelve-day manhunt ensued, in which Booth was chased by Federal agents (under the direction of ] ]).<ref>
{{cite book |first=James L. |last=Swanson |title=Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |pages=113&ndash;115 |isbn=9780060518509}}
</ref>
He was eventually cornered in a Virginia barn house and shot, dying of his wounds soon after.<ref>
{{cite book |first=James L. |last=Swanson |title=Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |pages=334&ndash;335 |isbn=9780060518509}}
</ref>
] carried his remains, as well as 300 mourners and the casket of his son, William, {{convert|1654|mi|km|abbr=off}} to Illinois]]

An army surgeon, Doctor ], initially assessed Lincoln's wound as ]. The President was taken across the street from the theater to the ], where he lay in a coma for nine hours before dying. Several physicians attended Lincoln, including ] ] of the ]. Using a probe, Barnes located some fragments of Lincoln's skull and the ball lodged {{convert|6|in|cm|abbr=off}} inside his brain. Lincoln never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 7:22:10 a.m. April 15, 1865. He was the first president to be assassinated or to ].
Lincoln's body was carried by train in a grand funeral procession through several states on its way back to Illinois.<!---The following citation is not web accessible and has no page citation:<ref name=Townsend />---><ref>], p. 452.
</ref>
While much of the nation mourned him as the savior of the United States, ] celebrated the death of a man they considered a tyrant. The ] in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, is {{convert|177|ft|m|abbr=off}} tall and, by 1874, was surmounted with several bronze statues of Lincoln. To prevent repeated attempts to steal Lincoln's body and hold it for ransom, ] had it ] and reinterred in concrete several feet thick in 1901.
{{clr}}

==Administration, Cabinet and Supreme Court appointments 1861–1865==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-1-of-2}}
]]]

Lincoln appointed the following Justices to the ]:
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#ececec"
|'''Judge'''||'''Seat'''||'''State'''||'''Began active<br/>service'''||'''Ended active<br/>service'''
|-
| ] || Seat 7 || ] || <span style="display:none">18620127</span>January 27, 1862 || <span style="display:none">18810124</span>January 24, 1881
|-
| ] || Seat 8 || ] || <span style="display:none">18620721</span>July 21, 1862 || <span style="display:none">18901013</span>October 13, 1890
|-
| ] || Seat 9 || ] || <span style="display:none">18621210</span>December 10, 1862 || <span style="display:none">18770304</span>March 4, 1877
|-
| ] || Seat 10 || ] || <span style="display:none">18630520</span>May 20, 1863 || <span style="display:none">18971201</span>December 1, 1897
|-
| ] || Seat 1 || ] || <span style="display:none">18641215</span>December 15, 1864 || <span style="display:none">18730507</span>May 7, 1873
|}
{{Col-2-of-2}}
{| cellpadding="1" cellspacing="4" style="margin:3px; border:2px solid Black; float:left;"
|-
!bgcolor="#dcdcdc" colspan="3"|The Lincoln Cabinet
|-
|align="left"|'''OFFICE'''||align="left"|'''NAME'''||align="left"|'''TERM'''
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|] || '''Abraham Lincoln''' || 1861–1865
|-
|] || ''']''' || 1861–1865
|-
| || ''']''' || 1865
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|] || ''']''' || 1861–1865
|-
|] || ''']''' || 1861–1862
|-
| || ''']''' || 1862–1865
|-
|] || ''']''' || 1861–1864
|-
| || ''']''' || 1864–1865
|-
| || ''']''' || 1865
|-
|] || ''']''' || 1861–1864
|-
| || ''']''' || 1864–1865
|-
|] || ''']''' || 1861–1864
|-
| || ''']''' || 1864–1865
|-
|] || ''']''' || 1861–1865
|-
|] || ''']''' || 1861–1862
|-
| || ''']''' || 1863–1865
|}
{{Col-end}}

==States admitted to the Union==
*] &ndash; June 20, 1863
*] &ndash; October 31, 1864

==Religious and philosophical beliefs==
{{See|Abraham Lincoln and religion}}
In March 1860 in a speech in ], ], Lincoln said, regarding slavery, "Whenever this question shall be settled, it must be settled on some philosophical basis. No policy that does not rest upon some philosophical public opinion can be permanently maintained." The philosophical basis for Lincoln's beliefs regarding slavery and other issues of the day require that Lincoln be examined "seriously as a man of ideas." Lincoln was a strong supporter of the American ] version of ] ] who, more than most politicians of the time, was able to express his ideas within the context of Nineteenth Century religious beliefs.<ref>], pp. 18&ndash;19.
</ref>

There were few people who strongly or directly influenced Lincoln's moral and intellectual development and perspectives. There was no teacher, mentor, church leader, community leader, or peer that Lincoln would credit in later years as a strong influence on his intellectual development. Lacking a formal education, Lincoln's personal philosophy was shaped by "an amazingly retentive memory and a passion for reading and learning." It was Lincoln's reading, rather than his relationships, that were most influential in shaping his personal beliefs.<ref name="zsafth">], p. 20.
</ref><ref>
], pp. 57&ndash;59.
</ref>

Even as a child, Lincoln largely rejected ], but the ] "doctrine of necessity" would remain a factor throughout his life. In 1846 Lincoln described the effect of this doctrine as "that the human mind is impelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control."<ref>], p. 15.
</ref>
In April 1864, in justifying his actions regarding Emancipation, Lincoln wrote, "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it."<ref>], p. 514.
</ref>

As Lincoln matured, and especially during his term as president, the idea of a divine will somehow interacting with human affairs increasingly influenced his public expressions. On a personal level, the death of his son Willie in February 1862 may have caused Lincoln to look towards religion for answers and solace.<ref>], pp. 251&ndash;254.
</ref>
After Willie's death, in the summer or early fall of 1862, Lincoln attempted to put on paper his private musings on why, from a divine standpoint, the severity of the war was necessary:
{{quote|The ] of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party—and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect his purpose. I am almost ready to say this is probably true—that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere quiet power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.<ref>], p. 254.
</ref>}}
Lincoln's religious ] was fueled by his exposure to the ideas of the ] ] and classical liberalism, especially ].<ref name="zsafth"/> Consistent with the common practice of the Whig party, Lincoln would often use the ] as the philosophical and moral expression of these two philosophies.<ref>], p. 194.
</ref>
In a February 22, 1861 speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia Lincoln said,
{{quote|I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.&nbsp;... It was not the mere matter of the separation of the Colonies from the motherland; but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but, I hope, to the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men. This is a sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence.<ref>], p. 258.
</ref>}}
He found in the Declaration justification for Whig economic policy and opposition to territorial expansion and the ] platform of the ]s. In claiming that all men were created free, Lincoln and the Whigs argued that this freedom required economic advancement, expanded education, territory to grow, and the ability of the nation to absorb the growing immigrant population.<ref>], pp. 194&ndash;195.
</ref>

It was the Declaration of Independence, rather than the ], that Lincoln most relied on to oppose any further territorial expansion of slavery. He saw the Declaration as more than a political document. To him, as well as to many abolitionists and other antislavery leaders, it was, foremost, a moral document that had forever determined valuable criteria in shaping the future of the nation.<ref>], p. 297.
</ref>

==Legacy and memorials==
{{See|Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln}}
] in heaven (an 1860s work)]]

Lincoln's death made the President a national ],<ref>], p. 50
</ref>
regarded by historians in numerous polls as among the ], usually in the top three, along with George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt.<ref>], p. 5
</ref>
A study published in 2004, found that scholars in the fields of history and politics ranked Lincoln number one, while law scholars placed him second after Washington.<ref>], p. 264
</ref>
Among contemporary admirers, Lincoln is usually seen as personifying classical values of honesty and integrity, as well as respect for individual and minority rights, and human freedom in general.
Many American organizations of all purposes and agendas continue to cite his name and image, with interests ranging from the ]-supporting ] to the ] corporation ]. The ] is also named after him.

The ] ] and the ] ] were named in his honor.<ref>], pp. 242, 256, 266
</ref>
During the ], the American faction of the ] named themselves the ].<ref>], p. '''page number needed'''
</ref>
Lincoln has been memorialized in many town, city, and county names,<ref name="Dennis, p. 194">], p. 194
</ref>
including the ].<ref name="ReferenceC">], p. 194
</ref>
], is the only city to be named for Abraham Lincoln before he became President.<ref>
{{cite book |last=Reinhart |first=Mark S. |title=Abraham Lincoln on Screen: Fictional and Documentary Portrayals on Film and Television |publisher=McFarland |year=2008 |page=94 |isbn=9780786435364}}
</ref>

Lincoln's name and image appear in numerous places. These include the ] in Washington, D.C.,<ref name="ReferenceC"/> the U.S. ] and the ], and Lincoln's sculpture on ]. ] in ],<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/abli/index.htm |title=Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site |date=2009-09-11 |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |accessdate=2009-09-23}}
</ref>
] in ],<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/libo/index.htm |title=Lincoln Home National Historic Site |date=2009-09-15 |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |accessdate=2009-09-23}}
</ref>
and ] in Springfield, Illinois,<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm |title=Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial |date=2009-11-02 |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |accessdate=2009-09-23}}
</ref>
commemorate the president.<ref>], pp. 312, 368
</ref>
In addition, ] (a reconstruction of Lincoln's early adult hometown),<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.lincolnsnewsalem.com/ |title=Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site |accessdate=2009-09-23}}
</ref>
], and Petersen House (where he died) are all preserved as museums.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/about-fords |title=About Ford's |accessdate=2009-09-23}}
</ref>
The ] for Illinois is ''Land of Lincoln''; the slogan has appeared continuously on nearly all ] issued since 1954.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/special/plate_history/1950_1959.pdf |title=1950&ndash;1959 plate history |publisher=Ilinois DMV |accessdate=2009-09-23}}
</ref>

Abraham Lincoln's birthday, February 12, was never a national holiday, but it was observed by 30 states.<ref name="Dennis, p. 194"/> In 1971, ] became a national holiday, combining Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays, and replacing most states' celebration of his birthday.<ref>], p. 196&ndash;199
</ref>
As of 2005, Lincoln's Birthday is a legal holiday in 10 states.<ref>], p. xi
</ref>
The ] was formed in 1908 to commemorate the centennial of Lincoln's birth.<ref>
{{cite book |last=Peterson |first=Merrill D. |title=Lincoln in American Memory |publisher=Oxford University Press US |year=1995 |page=263 |isbn=9780195096453}}
</ref>
The Association is now the oldest group dedicated to the study of Lincoln.<ref>], p. 147
</ref>

To commemorate his 200th birthday in February 2009, Congress established the ] (ALBC) in 2000 to honor Lincoln.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090112/NEWS01/901120364 |title=Let the Lincoln bicentennial celebrations begin |last=Carroll |first=James R. |date=2009-01-12 |work=] |accessdate=2009-09-23}}
</ref>
The ] is located in Springfield and is run by the State of Illinois.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.alplm.com/ |title=The Official Website of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum |publisher=Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum |accessdate=2009-09-23}}
</ref>

Lincoln owned a model 1857 ] William Ellery watch, with serial nmber 67613. This watch is now in the custody of the Smithsonian Museum.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.horologist.com/gallery_9.htm |title=Abraham Lincolns Waltham Pocket Watch |publisher=Antique Time |accessdate=2009-10-28}}
</ref>
On March 11, 2009, the ] found a message engraved inside Lincoln's watch by a watchmaker named Jonathan Dillon who was repairing it at the outbreak of the ]. The engraving reads (in part): "] was attacked by the rebels" and "thank God we have a government."<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE52A0FG20090311 |title=Museum finds 'secret' message in Lincoln's watch |publisher=Reuters |accessdate=2009-03-11}}
</ref>

==See also==
{{Misplaced Pages-Books}}
{{portal|American Civil War|Acw bs 7a.png}}
{{portalpar|Military of the United States|Naval Jack of the United States.svg|65}}
*]
*], Lincoln's economic views.
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Main|Bibliography of Abraham Lincoln}}

{{Refbegin}}

*<cite id="Baker">{{cite book |last=Baker |first=Jean H. |title=Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=1989 |isbn=9780393305869}}
*<cite id="Boritt1997">{{cite book |title=Why the Civil War Came |author=Boritt, Gabor S. |publisher=] |year=1997 |isbn=0195113764}}
*<cite id="Boritt2006">{{cite book |last=Boritt |first=G. S. |title=The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech that Nobody Knows |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=2006 |page=194 |isbn=9780743288200}}
*<cite id="Bose">{{cite book |last=Bose |first=Meenekshi |coauthors=Mark Landis |title=The Uses and Abuses of Presidential Ratings |publisher=Nova Publishers |year=2003 |page=5 |isbn=9781590337943}}
*<cite id="Carwardine">{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Carwardine |title=Lincoln |publisher=Pearson Education Ltd |year=2003 |isbn=9780582032798}}
*<cite id="Carroll">{{cite book |last=Carroll |first=Peter N. |title=The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans in the Spanish Civil War |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1994 |isbn=9780804722773}}
*<cite id="Dennis">{{cite book |last=Dennis |first=Matthew |title=Red, White, and Blue Letter Days: an American Calendar |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2005 |page=194 |isbn=9780801472688}}
*<cite id="Diggins">{{cite book |title=The Lost Soul of American Politics: Virtue, Self-Interest, and the Foundations of Liberalism |last=Diggins |first=John P. |publisher=] |year=1986 |isbn=0226148777}}
*<cite id="Dirck">{{cite book |last=Dirck |first=Brian |title=Lincoln the Lawyer |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2008 |isbn=9780252076145}}
*<cite id="Donald">{{cite book |first=David Herbert |last=Donald |title=Lincoln |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1996 |origyear=1995 |isbn=9780684825359}}
*<cite id="Donald2">{{cite book |first=David Herbert |last=Donald |title=Lincoln Reconsidered |year=2001 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |location=New York |isbn=9780375725326}}
*<cite id="Emerson">{{cite book |title=The Madness of Mary Lincoln |last=Emerson |first=James |isbn=9780809327713 |publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |location=Carbondale, IL |year=2007 }}
*<cite id="Fehrenbacher">{{cite book |editor=Fehrenbacher, Don E. |title=Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859–1865 |publisher=Library of America |year=1989 |isbn=0940450631}}
*<cite id="Ferguson">{{cite book |last=Ferguson |first=Andrew |title=Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America |publisher=Grove Press |year=2008 |page=147 |isbn=9780802143617}}
*<cite id="Foner">{{Cite book |first=Eric |last=Foner |title=Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War |year=1995 |origyear=1970 |isbn=9780195094978 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
*<cite id="Goodwin">{{Cite book |first=Doris Kearns |last=Goodwin |authorlink=Doris Kearns Goodwin |title=Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln |isbn=0684824906 |year=2005 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York}}
*<cite id="Grimsley">{{cite book |title=The Collapse of the Confederacy |last=Grimsley |first=Mark |publisher=] |year=2001 |isbn=0803221703}}
*<cite id="Guelzo">{{Cite book |first=Allen C. |last=Guelzo |title=Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President |isbn=0-8028-3872-3 |year=1999 |publisher=W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co |location=Grand Rapids, Mich.}}
*<cite id="Harrison">{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Lowell Hayes |title=Lincoln of Kentucky |publisher=] |year=2000
|isbn=0813121566}}
*<cite id="Harris">{{cite book |last=Harris |first=William C. |title=Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency |isbn=9780700615209 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |location=Lawrence |year=2007 }}
*<cite id="Heidler">{{cite book |last=Heidler |first=Jeanne T. |title=The Mexican War |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2006 |isbn=9780313327926}}
*<cite id="Heidler2">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History |editors=Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T. Heidler |year=2000 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. |location=New York |page=174 |isbn=9780393047585}}
*<cite id="Holzer">{{Cite book |first=Harold |last=Holzer |title=Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President |year=2004 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9780743299640}}
*<cite id="Holzer2">{{cite book |last=Holzer |first=Harold |coauthors=Edna Greene Medford, Frank J. Williams |title=The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views (Social, Political, Iconographic) |publisher=LSU Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780807131442}}
*<cite id="Jaffa">{{Cite book |first=Harry V. |last=Jaffa |title=A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War |year=2000 |isbn=0-8476-9952-8 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, Md.}}
*<cite id="Lamb">{{cite book |editors=Lamb, Brian and Susan Swain |title=Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President |publisher=PublicAffairs |location=New York |year=2008 |isbn=9781586486761}}
*<cite id="Basler1">{{Cite book |first=Abraham |last=Lincoln |editor=Basler, Roy Prentice |title=Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings |origyear=1946 |year=2001 |isbn=9780306810756 |publisher=Da Capo Press}}
*<cite id="Basler2">{{Cite book |editor=Basler, Roy Prentice |first=Abraham |last=Lincoln |title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (9 vols.) |location=] |publisher=] |year=1953 |isbn=9780813501727}}
*<cite id="Lincoln">{{cite book |last=Lincoln | first=Abraham |title=The Living Lincoln: the Man, his Mind, his Times, and the War he Fought, Reconstructed from his Own Writings |editors=Paul McClelland Angle, Earl Schenck Miers |publisher=Barnes & Noble Publishing |year=1992 |isbn=9781566190435}}
*<cite id="Luthin">{{cite book |first=Reinhard H. |last=Luthin |title=The First Lincoln Campaign |isbn=9780844612928 |year=1944 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA}}
*<cite id="McGovern">{{cite book |last=McGovern |first=George S. |coauthors=Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Sean Wilentz |title=Abraham Lincoln |publisher=Macmillan |year=2008 |isbn=9780805083453}}
*<cite id=McPherson1>{{cite book |first=James M. |last=McPherson |title=Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution |year=1992 |isbn=9780195076066 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
*<cite id="McPherson2">{{cite book |title=Battle Cry of Freedom: the Civil War Era |last=McPherson |first=James M. |year=1993 |firtstyear=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=US |isbn=9780195168952}}<!--finally, a source. but WHO said it? Almost certainly NOT Lincoln – need Congressional Record of 36th Congress, 2nd session, p.651-->
*<cite id="McPherson3">{{cite book |last=McPherson |first=James M. |title=Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |origyear=1996 |isbn=9780195117967}}
*<cite id="McPherson4">{{cite book |first=James M. |last=McPherson |title=Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Press |year=2008 |isbn=9781594201912 }}
*<cite id="Mansch">{{cite book |last=Mansch |first=Larry D. |title=Abraham Lincoln, President-Elect: The Four Critical Months from Election to Inauguration |publisher=McFarland |year=2005 |isbn=078642026X }}
*<cite id="Merrill">{{cite book |last=Peterson |first=Merrill D. |title=Lincoln in American Memory |publisher=Oxford University Press US |year=1995 |pages=312, 368 |isbn=9780195096453}}
*<cite id="Miller">{{Cite book |first=William Lee |last=Miller |title=Lincoln's Virtues: An Ethical Biography |year=2002 |isbn=0-375-40158-X |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York}}
*<cite id="Mitchell">{{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Thomas G. |title=Anti-slavery politics in antebellum and Civil War America |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2007 |isbn=9780275991685}}
*<cite id="Naveh">{{cite book |last=Naveh |first=Eyal J. |title=Crown of Thorns: Political Martyrdom in America From Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King, Jr. |publisher=NYU Press |date=2002 |page=50 |isbn=9780814757765}}
*<cite id="Neely">{{cite book |last=Neely |first=Mark E. |title=The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1992 |isbn=9780195080322}}
*<cite id="Nevins1">{{cite book |last=Nevins |first=Allan |title=Ordeal of the Union; Vol. IV: The Emergence of Lincoln: Prologue to Civil War, 1859-1861 |publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company |year=1950 |isbn=9780684104164}}
*<cite id="Nevins2">{{cite book |last=Nevins |first=Allan |title=The War for the Union; Vol. I: The Improvised War: 1861&ndash;1862 |publisher=Konecky & Konecky |origyear=1971 |year=2000 |isbn=9781568522968}}
*<cite id="Nevins3">{{cite book |first=Allan |last=Nevins |title=The War for the Union; Vol. IV: The Organized War to Victory: 1864&ndash;1865 |origyear=1971 |year=2000 |publisher=Konecky & Konecky |isbn=9781568522999}}
*<cite id="Nevins1960">{{cite book |last=Nevins |first=Allan |title=The War for the Union: War becomes revolution, 1862-1863 |publisher=Konecky & Konecky |date=1960 |isbn=9781568522975}}
*<cite id="Oates">{{cite book |last=Oates |first=Stephen B. |title=With Malice Toward None: a Life of Abraham Lincoln |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1993 |isbn=9780060924713}}
*<cite id="Paludan">{{cite book |last=Paludan |first=Phillip Shaw |title=The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln |isbn=9780700606719 |year=1994 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |location=Lawrence }}
*<cite id="Potter">{{cite book |last=Potter |first=David M. |coauthors=Don Edward Fehrenbacher |title=The impending crisis, 1848&ndash;1861 |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1976 |isbn=9780061319297}}
*<cite id="Prokopowicz">{{cite book |last=Prokopowicz |first=Gerald J. |title=Did Lincoln Own Slaves?: and Other Frequently Asked Questions about Abraham Lincoln |publisher=Random House, Inc. |year=2008 |isbn=9780375425417}}
*<cite id="Roland">{{cite book |last=Roland |first=Charles Pierce |title=An American Iliad: the Story of the Civil War |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2004 |isbn=9780813123004}}
*<cite id="Sandburg">{{cite book |last=Sandburg |first=Carl |title=Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years |editor=Goodman, Edward C. |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company |year=2007 |origyear=1974 |isbn=9781402742880}}
*<cite id="Schreiner">{{cite book |title=The Trials of Mrs. Lincoln |last=Schreiner |first=Samuel Agnew |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2005 |origyear=1987 |isbn=9780803293250}}
*<cite id="Schauffler">{{cite book |last=Schauffler |first=Robert Haven |title=Lincoln's Birthday |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=2005 |page=xi |isbn=9780766198425}}
*<cite id="Schwartz">{{cite book |last=Schwartz |first=Barry |title=Abraham Lincoln in the Post-Heroic Era: History and Memory in Late Twentieth-Century America |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2009 |pages=196&ndash;199 |isbn=9780226741888}}
*<cite id="Sweetman">{{cite book |last=Sweetman |first=Jack |title=American Naval History: An Illustrated Chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775&ndash;Present |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=2002 |isbn=9781557508676}}
*<cite id="Taranto">{{cite book |last=Taranto |first=James |coauthors=Leonard Leo |title=Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House |publisher=Simon and Schuster |page=264 |isbn=9780743254335}}
*<cite id="Thomas">{{Cite book |first=Benjamin P. |last=Thomas |title=Abraham Lincoln: A Biography |year=2008 |origyear=1952 |isbn=9780809328871}}
*<cite id="Thornton">{{cite book |last=Thornton |first=Brian |coauthors=Richard W. Donley |title=101 Things You Didn't Know about Lincoln: Loves and Losses, Political Power Plays, White House Hauntings |publisher=Adams Media |year=2005 |isbn=9781593373993}}
*<cite id="Vorenberg">{{cite book |last=Vorenberg |first=Michael |title=Final Freedom: the Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780521652674}}
*<cite id="White">{{cite book |last=White, Jr. |first=Ronald C. |title=A. Lincoln: A Biography |publisher=Random House, Inc. |year=2009 |isbn=9781400064991}}
*<cite id="Wills">{{Cite book |first=Garry |last=Wills |authorlink=Garry Wills |title=] |isbn=0-671-86742-3 |year=1993 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York}}
*<cite id="Wilson">{{Cite book |first=Douglas L. |last=Wilson |publisher=Knopf Publishing Group |title=Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln |year=1999 |isbn=9780375703966}}

{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{sisterlinks |Abraham Lincoln}}
*{{Dmoz |Society/History/By_Region/North_America/United_States/Presidents/Lincoln,_Abraham}}
*{{Dmoz |Society/History/By_Region/North_America/United_States/Presidents/Lincoln,_Abraham/Speeches_and_Writings}} – Speeches and writings
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*{{CongBio |L000313}}
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* Springfield, Illinois
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*{{US patent |6469 |US PATNo. 6,469}}—''Manner of Buoying Vessels''—A. Lincoln—1849
* (includes good early history)
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* Washington, DC
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* including an introduction by Theodore Roosevelt

'''Project Gutenberg eTexts'''
* List of {{gutenberg author |id=Abraham+Lincoln | name=Abraham Lincoln}}
*{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12462 |title=A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents and more: Volume 6, part 1: Abraham Lincoln |author=Richardson, James D. (compiler) }} includes major (and minor) state papers, but not speeches or letters
*{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2517 |title=Lincoln's Yarns and Stories }}
*{{cite book |title=Abraham Lincoln: a History |year=1890 |first=John |last=Hay |authorlink=John Hay |coauthors=]}} {{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6812 |title=Volume 1}} to 1856; coverage of national politics. {{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11708 |title=Volume 2}} (1832 to 1901); covers 1856 to early 1861; coverage of national politics; part of 10 volume "life and times" by Lincoln's aides
*{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1815 |title=The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln |year=1907 |last=Nicolay |first=Helen }} (1866 to 1954)
*{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6811 |title=The Life of Abraham Lincoln |year=1901 |first=Henry |last=Ketcham }}; popular
*{{cite book |title=Abraham Lincoln |year=1899 |first=John T. |last=Morse}}; a solid scholarly biography {{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12800 |title=Volume 1}}{{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12801 |title=Volume 2}}
*{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14004 |title=The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln |year=1913 |author=Francis Fisher Browne}}; popular
*{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11728 |title=Abraham Lincoln: The People's Leader in the Struggle for National Existence |year=1909 |author=George Haven Putnam, Litt. D.}}
*{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1713 |title=Lincoln's Personal Life |year=1922 |first=Nathaniel W. |last=Stephenson }}; popular
*{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18379 |title=Abraham Lincoln |year=1917 |first=Godfrey Rathbone |last=Benson (Lorn Charnwood) }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
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{{s-ttl |title=] |years=March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865}}
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{{USRSB |state=Illinois |district=7 |before=] |years=March 4, 1847 – March 4, 1849 |after=]}}
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{{s-ttl |title=Persons who have ]<br/>in the ] |years=April 19, 1865 – April 21, 1865}}
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{{end}}
{{Abraham Lincoln}}
{{US Presidents}}
{{USRepPresNominees}}
{{Lincoln cabinet}}
{{Black Hawk War (1832)}}

{{Link FA |de}}

{{Persondata
|NAME=Lincoln, Abraham
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=16th President of the United States of America
|DATE OF BIRTH=February 12, 1809
|PLACE OF BIRTH=Hardin County, Kentucky
|DATE OF DEATH=April 15, 1865
|PLACE OF DEATH=]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Abraham}}
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Revision as of 15:58, 11 January 2010

Abraham Lincoln: Difference between revisions Add topic