Abraham Lincoln (/ˈlɪŋkən/; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American statesman and lawyer who served as the 16th president of the United States (1861–1865). Lincoln led the nation through its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis in the American Civil War. He preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the U.S. economy. Thomas Lincoln bought or leased farms in Kentucky before losing all but 200 acres (81 ha) of his land in court disputes over property titles. In 1816, the family moved to Indiana where the land surveys and titles were more reliable. Indiana was a 'free' (non-slaveholding) territory, and they settled in an 'unbroken forest' in Hurricane Township, Perry County, Indiana. In 1860, Lincoln noted that the family's move to Indiana was 'partly on account of slavery', but mainly due to land title difficulties.