serviceyears branch death_date children nationality signature_alt birth_date alt signature term_end restingplace death_place profession state_house battles order term_start spouse image name caption vicepresident predecessor birth_place party office successor religion article_title
3 10 , 1832 -rrb- months -lrb- april 21 , 1832 -- july illinois militia 15 april 1865 robert `` willie '' -rrb- , thomas -lrb- `` tad '' todd -rrb- iii , edward baker , william wallace -lrb- american cursive signature in ink 12 february 1809 an abraham lincoln showing his head and shoulders . iconic black and white photograph of a bearded abraham lincoln 1862 signature.svg april 15 , 1865 march 4 , 1849 1842 lincoln , u.s. tomb , oak ridge cemetery springfield , illinois petersen house , washington , d.c. , u.s. lawyer politician illinois black hawk war 16th march 4 , 1861 march 4 , 1847 1834 mary todd november 4 , 1842 1865 his death abraham lincoln november 1863.jpg border abraham lincoln lincoln in 1863 at the age of 54 hannibal -lrb- 1865 -rrb- hamlin -lrb- 1861 -- 1865 -rrb- andrew johnson james buchanan john henry hodgenville , kentucky , u.s. whig -- 1865 -rrb- national union -lrb- 1864 -- 1865 -rrb- -lrb- 1834 -- 1854 -rrb- republican -lrb- 1854 president house of representatives from illinois 's 7th district member of of the illinois house of representatives the united states member of the u.s. andrew johnson thomas harris see : abraham lincoln and religion abraham lincoln

abraham lincoln

abraham lincoln -lrb- february 12 , 1809 -- april 15 , 1865 -rrb- was the 16th president of the united states , serving from march 1861 until his assassination in april 1865 .
lincoln led the united states through its civil war -- its bloodiest war and its greatest moral , constitutional , and political crisis .
in doing so , he preserved the union , abolished slavery , strengthened the federal government , and modernized the economy .
born in hodgenville , kentucky , lincoln grew up on the western frontier in kentucky and indiana .
largely self-educated , he became a lawyer in illinois , a whig party leader , and a member of the illinois house of representatives , where he served from 1834 to 1846 .
elected to the united states house of representatives in 1846 , lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks , tariffs , and railroads .
because he had originally agreed not to run for a second term in congress , and because his opposition to the mexican -- american war was unpopular among illinois voters , lincoln returned to springfield and resumed his successful law practice .
reentering politics in 1854 , he became a leader in building the new republican party , which had a statewide majority in illinois .
in 1858 , while taking part in a series of highly publicized debates with his opponent and rival , democrat stephen a. douglas , lincoln spoke out against the expansion of slavery , but lost the u.s. senate race to douglas .
in 1860 , lincoln secured the republican party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state .
with very little support in the slaveholding states of the south , he swept the north and was elected president in 1860 .
his victory prompted seven southern slave states to form the confederate states of america before he moved into the white house - no compromise or reconciliation was found regarding slavery and secession .
subsequently , on april 12 , 1861 , a confederate attack on fort sumter inspired the north to enthusiastically rally behind the union in a declaration of war .
as the leader of the moderate faction of the republican party , lincoln confronted radical republicans , who demanded harsher treatment of the south , war democrats , who called for more compromise , anti-war democrats -lrb- called copperheads -rrb- , who despised him , and irreconcilable secessionists , who plotted his assassination .
politically , lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other , by carefully planned political patronage , and by appealing to the american people with his powers of oratory .
his gettysburg address became an iconic endorsement of the principles of nationalism , republicanism , equal rights , liberty , and democracy .
lincoln initially concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war .
his primary goal was to reunite the nation .
he suspended habeas corpus , leading to the controversial `` ex parte merryman '' decision , and he averted potential british intervention in the war by defusing the trent affair in late 1861 .
lincoln closely supervised the war effort , especially the selection of top generals , including his most successful general , ulysses s. grant .
he also made major decisions on union war strategy , including a naval blockade that shut down the south 's normal trade , moves to take control of kentucky and tennessee , and using gunboats to gain control of the southern river system .
lincoln tried repeatedly to capture the confederate capital at richmond ; each time a general failed , lincoln substituted another , until finally grant succeeded .
as the war progressed , his complex moves toward ending slavery began with the emancipation proclamation of 1863 ; subsequently , lincoln used the u.s. army to protect escaped slaves , encouraged the border states to outlaw slavery , and pushed through congress the thirteenth amendment to the united states constitution , which permanently outlawed slavery .
an exceptionally astute politician deeply involved with power issues in each state , lincoln reached out to the war democrats and managed his own re-election campaign in the 1864 presidential election .
anticipating the war 's conclusion , lincoln pushed a moderate view of reconstruction , seeking to reunite the nation speedily through a policy of generous reconciliation in the face of lingering and bitter divisiveness .
on april 14 , 1865 , five days after the april 9th surrender of confederate commanding general robert e. lee , lincoln was assassinated by john wilkes booth , a confederate sympathizer .
lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as one of the three greatest u.s. presidents .
