AbrahamLincoln

1. Abraham Lincoln Maddy (Wisuru)

2. Ancestors • Samuel Lincoln • Loved adventure • So, moved from England to the USA in the 1600s, looking for better wages • Started farming in the USA • Then tried different business ventures and became rich • Subsequent generations • Had Samuel’s love for adventure • So, moved to unexplored areas in the USA and established themselves there • Thomas Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln’s father) • In 1816, purchased 40 acres of land in Indiana and moved there

3. Parents & Siblings • Born on 12th February 1809 in a one-room-cabin in Kentucky • Father - Thomas Lincoln • Mother - Nancy Hanks Lincoln • Siblings - An elder sister and a younger brother

4. Life in Indiana • Family moved to Indiana when Abraham Lincoln was 7 years old • No children of his age in the neighborhood • So, Lincoln felt lonely • So, he developed an instant liking to his mother's cousin whose family came to visit them.

5. Early Education • When Abraham Lincoln came to Indiana at the age of seven, there were no schools in his neighborhood. • The first school was established only three years later. • So, Lincoln was taught to read and write by his mother's cousin. • As he grew up, he took intermittent lessons from teachers in blab schools. • The total amount of time he spent at school in his entire life was less than a year.

6. Losing his Brother, Mother and Sister • When Abraham Lincoln was 3 or 4 years old, his younger brother passed away • When Abraham Lincoln was 9 years old, his mother died due to milk sickness, caused by drinking the milk of a cow that had eaten a dangerous plant. • One year later, his father married a widow. • Abraham Lincoln formed a special bond with his stepmother. • When he was 19 years old, his elder sister, with whom he was very much attached, also passed away.

7. Depression • Abraham Lincoln suffered from clinical depression, almost all his life. • The deaths of his family members might have worsened it. • At times, he suffered from major depressive episodes, feeling worthless and even wanting to commit suicide.

8. Overcoming Depression • Abraham Lincoln often used humor to momentarily forget his problems. • To overcome the overwhelming sense of sorrow engulfing him, he started reading. He read everything he could get his hands on. He read storybooks, newspapers, spelling books, songbooks, etc. Sometimes, he would walk for several miles to borrow a single book. • Since Lincoln often felt worthless due to his depression, he was always searching for a purpose for his existence. In his later years, he found this purpose, which was to hold his country together and abolish slavery. This gave him a reason to live, even when he wanted to die.

9. Early Professional Life • In 1831, Abraham Lincoln started working in a general store owned by his friend. • In 1832, the general store closed down and he lost his job. • So, he volunteered to fight in the Black Hawk War. During that war, he was selected as the captain of his unit. • After the war ended, he returned and served as a postmaster of New Salem. • Then, he also served as a county surveyor in New Salem.

10. State Assembly Elections • In 1832, Abraham Lincoln contested in Illinois state assembly elections and lost. • Two years later, he contested in it once again and won. • He won the next three elections as well. • In total, he served four terms in Illinois House of Representatives (1834 - 1842).

11. Becoming a Lawyer • Lincoln had always been impressed by lawyers and their speaking skills. • After his family moved to Indiana, Lincoln often went to courtrooms to observe lawyers with good oratory skills argue with each other. • So, after his successful election into the Illinois state assembly in 1834, Lincoln decided to pursue law and become a lawyer. • In 1835, Abraham Lincoln started to studying law on his own, by using books borrowed from a law firm and a judge. • In September of the following year, after passing an oral examination, he got the license to practice law. He began his practice soon after.

12. Family • Abraham Lincoln met his first love interest in the following years, but she passed away due to typhoid fever. • He then met another woman, but the relationship died after they both agreed that it was not working. • In 1839, Lincoln met Mary Todd. They got married in 1842. • They had four sons, two of whom died aged 4 and 12 due to tuberculosis and typhoid fever, respectively.

13. The US House of Representatives • In 1843, Lincoln decided to contest the election for the United States House of Representatives. However, his party, The Whig party, did not give him a nomination. • In 1846, his party nominated him. He won the election and became an active member of the House of Representatives. • In 1848, he extended his support to nominate General Zachary Taylor in the presidential elections. Taylor won and became the president of the USA. • But Taylor did not give Lincoln a post he anticipated. So, Lincoln decided to quit politics temporarily and continue his law practice. • Lincoln won many cases as a lawyer. Due to his clean reputation, he came to be known as 'Honest Abe.'

14. Practising Law • After becoming the president of the USA, Taylor did not give Lincoln a post he anticipated. So, Lincoln decided to take a break from politics temporarily and continue his law practice. • So, he started practising law. Lincoln won many cases as a lawyer. • Due to his clean reputation, he came to be known as 'Honest Abe.'

15. Entering Politics Once Again • In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska act was introduced. • This act upset the delicate balance between the northern states and the southern states, making a civil war inevitable. • So, Lincoln entered politics once again. He opposed this act strongly and joined the republicans in the year 1856 and became a leader of the republicans in Illinois soon after. • In 1856, he contested in the US senate elections and lost. However, people started considering him the next presidential candidate.

16. The 16th President of the USA • Becoming the president • For the 1860 presidential elections, Abraham Lincoln was chosen as the presidential candidate by his party. • He won the elections without even giving any speeches and was sworn in as the 16th President of the USA on 6th November 1860. • The Confederate States of America • Abraham Lincoln wanted to end slavery. So, he had gathered votes primarily from the northern States of the USA, which wanted the same too. None of the southern slave-holding states voted for him. • So, after Abraham Lincoln became the president of the USA, the southern states split from the USA and formed their own nation called the Confederate States of America. • The Civil war • Abraham Lincoln wanted the nation to stand together, not to be split up as the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. But the Confederate States of America did not want to be part of the USA where Abraham Lincoln was the president. • So, a civil war started.

17. The 16th President of the USA (continued) • The Emancipation Proclamation • In 1862, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, giving freedom to slaves of ten states that didn't fall under the Union. • This proclamation freed 3.9 million slaves. • 1864 Presidential election • Lincoln successfully managed his second presidential campaign and was re-elected in November, 1864. • In his second term, he diverted all his efforts to re-establish the southern states that had withstood the worst of the war. • The 13th amendment to the U.S. constitution • Lincoln rallied to pass a constitutional amendment that aimed to abolish slavery. • In his 2nd attempt, he gathered the majority and passed the amendment. This came to be known as the 13th amendment to the U.S. constitution.

18. The Assassination • On 11th April 1865, Lincoln had given a public speech about bringing voting rights for black people. • John Wilkes Booth, a confederate spy and actor, had attended this speech. Booth detested Lincoln’s idea. He also wanted to exact revenge on Lincoln for the defeat of the Confederate States of America in the civil war. • So, on 14th April 1865, when Lincoln was enjoying a play with his wife, Booth entered his theatre box and shot Lincoln in the head. • Abraham Lincoln died nine hours later. • Booth was surrounded by the police two weeks later in a farm, where he was shot and killed.

19. What to read next? • Do you want to read other interesting biographies? Click here.