This article is about the 16th president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, and his life history.Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th president of the USA and is also known to be one of the most popular presidents in the country’s history. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a small village situated in Hardin County, Kentucky.He was born and raised in poverty and had a very meager formal education. Abraham Lincoln was the one who passed the bill of Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which made slavery illegal in all states of America. The passing of this bill was responsible for the freedom of almost 300 million slaves in the United States. He was also responsible for passing the 13th Constitutional Amendment during his presidency, which abolished slavery completely in the United States in 1865.Abraham Lincoln was known to be a very eloquent speaker, a political thinker, and a staunch supporter of democracy. His eloquence in making speeches was starkly visible when Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication at the Soldier’s National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863, harking back to the founding fathers. He was the president during the time of the American Civil War which the country went through, and was assassinated publicly on April 15, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth, a supporter of the Confederacy, at Ford’s Theatre.After reading facts about President Lincoln and his role in national politics, also read about Abraham Lincoln biography and Abraham Lincoln children.Interesting Facts About Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky and moved to Indiana at the age of eight. There he worked with his father on a farm, fished, and did labor-related work. He was raised in poverty most of his childhood and later lost his mother at the age of 10.He was known for being very kind and having a humane personality throughout his youth. Interestingly enough, Lincoln was not given formal education due to his background and most of what he learned was self-taught. Yet, he was extremely fond of reading, which served as a contributing factor towards the budding young Lincoln’s thoughts. His stepmother later also supported his reading habits and raised him like her own.Abraham Lincoln moved to Illinois in March of 1830 and from there, he started to make his career in the state legislature, although he faced defeat in the beginning. He became a lawyer in 1836 and practiced law for several years after that, which shaped his career towards becoming the future president of the United States.His journey towards becoming president was a long one, but when he reached there he did not lay low or deflect from his political or social views. Abraham Lincoln believed that all men were created equal and it was a democratic government’s duty to do the things which the community of people could not do for themselves. Lincoln opposed slavery throughout his life and career, which directly led to the emergence of civil war in the nation after he took his place as the president.Even though he faced strong opposition from several states, he was able to pass the Emancipation Proclamation, which legally freed the lives of more than 300 million slaves living in destitution across the nation. This bill also enabled the slaves to join army and navy forces along with other citizens of the United States under the protection of the state.President Abraham Lincoln was formerly a member of the Whig Party, but after the downfall of this party, Lincoln joined the New Republican Party in 1856 and became the president, just after six years of establishment of the party. He was responsible for building the Republican Party into a strong national organization which led to his win in the presidential election.He was the pioneering figure through one of the darkest times in American history, the Civil War. He led the union armies as a commander in chief of 25 states to victory. Sadly, the president was not able to see this union victory as he was assassinated just days before. Interestingly, he was also the first president of the USA to get assassinated.It is also known that the bill for the creation of the US Secret Service, which was an agency to protect the national leaders, was on his desk the night he was assassinated. Many people believe that had this bill been passed earlier, the president’s life could have been saved.Fun Facts About Abraham LincolnPresident Abraham Lincoln was known to be a loving family man throughout his life and he was raised in a conservative family. Both of his parents were not educated at all, but they encouraged their young Lincoln to get educated, even though they had a meager livelihood.Lincoln received little education, which compared in terms of formal education was not much more than a year’s worth of education. Even though Lincoln read a few handfuls of books in his childhood, it ingrained in him a hope for learning further to enhance his knowledge.Abraham Lincoln was the son of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. He had two siblings named Sarah and Thomas, but Thomas died at a very young age.Later in life, Lincoln married a woman named Mary Todd and had four children named Edward, Willie, Tad, and Robert Todd Lincoln. Sadly, only Robert Todd Lincoln survived well into adulthood, while the other three boys succumbed to some diseases in their childhood. Due to this, even though the Lincoln family was quite big, there are no remaining direct descendants of Abraham Lincoln.Some of the interesting and fun facts about Abraham Lincoln include that he was a first for many things. He was the first bearded president. He is also the tallest ever US President. Surprisingly, he was also the first president to hold a patent in his name, which was a device used for lifting boats over shoals, although this patent was never commercialized or used. He was also the first president to have an inaugural photograph.Lincoln was also the first president to come from the New Republican Party, which was formed only six years before Lincoln’s inauguration. President Abraham Lincoln was also known for having to wear the largest shoe size of 14 because of his long feet and lanky stature. Lastly, one of the most fun facts about Lincoln is that he was the one who proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863, although this proclamation wasn’t brought into force until sometime after his death.Today, one can visit the Lincoln Memorial situated in Washington, D.C. which was dedicated to one of the most favorite presidents of the USA on May 30, 1922.History About Abraham LincolnThe political career history of Abraham Lincoln began when he moved to Illinois in 1830 at the age of just 21 years old. From there, Lincoln tried and failed several times to join the state legislative party in Illinois.He succeeded in becoming a member of the Illinois House of Representatives on December 1, 1834, and served his term as a member until December 4, 1842. During this time, he also appeared for the bar exam and passed in 1836 after which he established a career in the legal field as well.Later, Lincoln joined the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois state from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1849. He served four consecutive terms in the Illinois state legislature. In 1856, he joined the New Republican Party where he built the party and made it a strong competitive organization. Lincoln was always outspoken about his opposition to slavery since the beginning of his political career.He ran for president in the year 1860 and won. Lincoln’s inauguration to the office took place on March 4, 1861. He got re-elected in 1864 and served the office until the day he was assassinated. President Lincoln was preceded to the office of the president by James Buchanan and later succeeded by Andrew Johnson.Lincoln’s nomination to the president’s position brought about a disparity between several states, because of the knowledge that Lincoln supported the anti-slavery movement. This led to seven southern states leaving the Union and consequently, four more joined later on. These states formed the Confederate States of America, or more commonly known as the Confederacy who were openly supporting slavery.During this time, Lincoln vowed to preserve the Union but due to the opposition of the Confederacy, the Civil War started to take place in the USA. In this situation, Lincoln gave the order of passing the Emancipation Proclamation which led to strong opposition from the Confederacy. He served as the commander in chief of the Union Army during the Civil War, which killed more than 600,000 soldiers on both sides.President Abraham Lincoln, on the night of April 15, 1865, was attending a play at the Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C., and was killed by John Wilkes Booth, who was a supporter of the Confederacy. Although Booth thought that his actions might serve in favor of the Confederacy, it led to their defeat in the end. The Civil War ended on April 26, 1865, only a few days after the death of the leader who led the war for the freedom of millions of slaves. It is interesting to note that Abraham Lincoln served most of his presidential term while leading the country in a war.Books About Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was known for being a very eloquent speaker and wrote many of his own speeches, including the Gettysburg address, which influenced millions. There are several books of collected versions of his essays and speeches by various authors and publishers.These works help us get an insight into the mind of a genius political thinker and President Abraham Lincoln.Although there is no autobiography by President Lincoln, there are several books which one can refer to in order to understand in detail the life of this charismatic president, how he led the country through the Civil War and how he left an impression on the history of the United States. Some of these books include ‘Lincoln’ by David Herbert Donald, ‘The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery’ by Eric Foner, ‘Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln’ by Doris Kearns Goodwin, ‘Civil War: Battle of Cry for Freedom’ by James McPherson, ‘Land of Lincoln’ by Andy Ferguson, and ‘In the Footsteps of Lincolns’ by Ida Tarbell.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for about Abraham Lincoln then why not take a look at Abraham Lincoln civil war, or Abraham Lincoln descendants.
This article is about the 16th president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, and his life history.
