He gave the famous Gettysburg Address speech and the Great Emancipation that freed the slaves. [91] He later represented a bridge company against a riverboat company in Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company, a landmark case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge. [119] He argued the decision was at variance with the Declaration of Independence; he said that while the founding fathers did not believe all men equal in every respect, they believed all men were equal "in certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". But he also vowed not to surrender the forts. Lincoln canceled the illegal proclamation as politically motivated and lacking military necessity. He denounced secession as anarchy, and explained that majority rule had to be balanced by constitutional restraints. McClellan, in turn, blamed the failure of the campaign on Lincoln's reservation of troops for the capital. Ohio-born Rutherford B. Hayes was an attorney, Civil War veteran, Congressman and former governor of Ohio when he became the Republican presidential nominee in 1876. In 1863, Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November of that year to be a day of Thanksgiving. McClellan's slow progress frustrated Lincoln, as did his position that no troops were needed to defend Washington. Getty Images Lincoln always opposed slavery, but it would be simplistic. I do not expect the Union to be dissolvedI do not expect the house to fallbut I do expect it will cease to be divided. "Stanton and Lincoln virtually conducted the war together", say Thomas and Hyman. There, as a squatter on public land, he hastily put up a half-faced campa crude structure of logs and boughs with one side open to the weatherin which the family took shelter behind a blazing fire. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Honest Abe became a lawyer and settled in Springfield where he was elected to one term in Congress. Everyone, even his bitterest political opponents, knew exactly where they stood with Lincoln. ", "Rating the Presidents of the United States, 17892000", "Americans Say Reagan Is the Greatest U.S. President", "A Civil War Mystery: Who Named Lincoln the 'Great Emancipator'? Defeated only. [302], On April 14, 1865, hours before he was assassinated, Lincoln signed legislation establishing the United States Secret Service,[303] and, at 10:15 in the evening, Booth entered the back of Lincoln's theater box, crept up from behind, and fired at the back of Lincoln's head, mortally wounding him. Six feet four inches tall, he was rawboned and lanky but muscular and physically powerful. But the debates he had about the enslavement of people with his 1858 senatorial opponent, Stephen Douglas, helped him win the presidential nomination two years later. Together with Congress, he established the Department of Agriculture; supported the development of a transcontinental railroad; enacted the Homestead Act, which opened up land to settlers; and crafted the 13th Amendment, which ended the enslavement of people. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. According to one story, whenever he realized he had shortchanged a customer by a few pennies, he would close the shop and deliver the correct change-regardless of how far he had to walk. Abraham helped to clear the fields and to take care of the crops but early acquired a dislike for hunting and fishing. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and National Geographic Traveler. (This was his second visit to that city, his first having been made in 1828, while he still lived in Indiana.) He first entered national politics in 1847 while serving a single term in Congress. [87] This distant territory was a Democratic stronghold, and acceptance of the post would have disrupted his legal and political career in Illinois, so he declined and resumed his law practice. [180] Donald concludes that, "His repeated efforts to avoid collision in the months between inauguration and the firing on Ft. Sumter showed he adhered to his vow not to be the first to shed fraternal blood. You dont have a Christian Science Monitor is almost monomaniac on the subject of honesty.". [118] Lincoln denounced it as the product of a conspiracy of Democrats to support the Slave Power. The nickname quickly caught on, helping propel Lincoln into the national consciousness. [25], Lincoln was largely self-educated. Virginia seceded and was rewarded with the designation of Richmond as the Confederate capital, despite its exposure to Union lines. In the four-way presidential race of 1860, Lincoln got more votes than any other candidate. Christopher Klein is the author of four books, including When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Irelands Freedom and Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan. Benjamin Franklin isnt the only American political leader who demonstrated an inventive mind. By continuing to browse the site Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed over the following two months. His opponents immediately cried foul, accusing Hayes and the Republicans of making a back-room deal (known as the Compromise of 1877) that gave Hayes the White House in exchange for his pledge to end Reconstruction and dubbing him His Fraudulency and Rutherfraud Hayes. [360], Lincoln's assassination left him a national martyr. He had little formal schooling but . [313], The late President lay in state, first in the East Room of the White House, and then in the Capitol Rotunda from April 19 through April 21. The Civil War was a significant force in the eventual dominance of the singular usage by the end of the 19th century. 1864 photo of President Lincoln with youngest son, U.S. House of Representatives (18471849), LincolnDouglas debates and Cooper Union speech. [106], Nationally, the Whigs were irreparably split by the KansasNebraska Act and other efforts to compromise on the slavery issue. '', The most appealing thing I found about New Salem is its relaxed atmosphere. [270] During his presidency, his policy toward Indians was based on politics. Defeated only once in approximately 300 matches, Lincoln reportedly talked a little smack in the ring. [215] Meade followed Lee north into Pennsylvania and beat him in the Gettysburg Campaign, but then failed to follow up despite Lincoln's demands. Belz. His stepmother doubtless encouraged Lincolns taste for reading, yet the original source of his desire to learn remains something of a mystery. Whither it is tending seems plain. [5] His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, Abraham's father, witnessed the attack. Biographer James G. Randall dissected Lincoln's successful techniques:[194]. He used a loophole in California law to register on both the Democratic and Republican ballots, and then sent out mailers to hundreds of thousands of potential voters, some that falsely claimed that Nixon was a Democrat and others that tried to obscure his party affiliation altogether, in an attempt to attract voters who considered Douglas too radical. In the 1840s, Lincoln subscribed to the Doctrine of Necessity, a belief that the human mind was controlled by a higher power. People relied implicitly upon his honesty, integrity, and impartiality.". By the spring of 1863, Lincoln was ready to recruit black troops in more than token numbers. [207], Despite his dissatisfaction with McClellan's failure to reinforce Pope, Lincoln restored him to command of all forces around Washington. In the late 1970s, The New York Times noted that Reagan was a great communicator, and the apt phrase stuck, as Reagan mastered mass media as a new political tool. Grant's bloody stalemates damaged Lincoln's re-election prospects, and many Republicans feared defeat. [304] After being attended by Doctor Charles Leale and two other doctors, Lincoln was taken across the street to Petersen House. As Richard Carwardine writes in his Lincoln biography, "The nickname 'honest Abe' was not the fabrication of party publicists but a mark of the universal respect in which he was held as a lawyer of scrupulous honesty. Once there, he taught himself law, opened a law practice, and earned the nickname "Honest Abe.". To fill Chief Justice Taney's seat on the Supreme Court, he named the Radicals' choice, Salmon P. Chase, who Lincoln believed would uphold his emancipation and paper money policies. [29] Family, neighbors, and schoolmates recalled that his reading included the King James Bible, Aesop's Fables, John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. [142] Lincoln's followers organized a campaign team led by David Davis, Norman Judd, Leonard Swett, and Jesse DuBois, and Lincoln received his first endorsement. ", Order Leidner's Abraham Lincoln: Quotes, Quips, and Speeches Now, Order Burlingame's The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln Now, Home Discharged from command-rank of Captain and re-enlisted at rank of Private. 6. Abraham Lincoln was a member of the Whig Party and later a Republican. Lincoln warned that Douglas' "Slave Power" was threatening the values of republicanism, and accused Douglas of distorting the Founding Fathers' premise that all men are created equal. Lincoln was correct in supporting the Union, which opposed slavery. By winning the war, he achieved both these objectivesreunion and abolition. [35][e] Abraham then became increasingly distant from Thomas, in part due to his father's lack of education. He reached a national audience in the 1858 Senate campaign debates against Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln is the only president to have obtained a patent. An example of his candor is the following excerpt from a letter to Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker in early 1863: "I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. At an annual reporters dinner that year, Roosevelt was presented with an 8-foot tall papier- mch sphinx in his likeness. On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to send a total of 75,000 volunteer troops to recapture forts, protect Washington, and "preserve the Union", which, in his view, remained intact despite the seceding states. [120], In 1858, Douglas was up for re-election in the U.S. Senate, and Lincoln hoped to defeat him. Republicans linked Lincoln's name to their party. [160], The South was outraged by Lincoln's election, and in response secessionists implemented plans to leave the Union before he took office in March 1861. Americans asked, "What would Lincoln do? [370][371] Bennett won wide attention when he called Lincoln a white supremacist in 1968. He could draw crowds as a raconteur, but lacked the requisite formal education, powerful friends, and money, and lost the election.