Abraham Lincoln—President of the United States (1861–1865), the first Republican president, and the liberator of American slaves.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on February 12, 1809, in Kentucky to a farmer’s family.
In 1816, the family moved to the state of Indiana, which at that time was free of slavery. Because he constantly had to work on the farm and earn a living to support his family, Lincoln attended school only sporadically. He was largely self-taught.
In 1830, the family moved to Illinois.
Career
At various times, Lincoln worked as a surveyor, a storekeeper, a lumberjack, a boatman, and a postal worker.
In 1832, he served in the Illinois State Militia during the Black Hawk War—an armed conflict with Native American tribes. That same year, he ran for the state House of Representatives for the first time, but was unsuccessful.
With the goal of becoming a lawyer, Lincoln began studying legal literature on his own: he pored over the works of renowned jurists, legal texts, and current legislation. In 1836, he was admitted to the bar.
After that, he moved to Springfield and started a law practice.
The Beginning of His Political Career
In 1834, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives from the Sangamon District. He was subsequently re-elected several more times—in 1836, 1838, 1840, and 1844. During his tenure, he served as chairman of the Finance Committee.
From 1847 to 1849, he served as a congressman in the House of Representatives for the Whig Party. At the federal level, he opposed the war with Mexico. He also insisted on banning slavery in the new states and promoted a legislative initiative to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia.
In 1848, he supported Zachary Taylor, the Whig Party’s candidate for president. After Taylor’s victory, he expected to be appointed commissioner of the General Land Office, but instead was offered the position of representative for the Whigs in the Oregon Territory, which later became the state of the same name. Ultimately, he declined the offer and returned to his law practice.
In 1854, he was elected to the Illinois State Legislature, but he did not take his seat because he intended to run for the Senate.
In 1856, Lincoln joined the newly formed “Republican Party,” which advocated for individual freedom and opposed slavery. He became head of the party’s Illinois chapter.
On May 18, 1860, at the Republican Convention in Chicago, Lincoln was nominated as the presidential candidate. During the election campaign, he did not make any speeches to voters, unlike his rivals. The focus was on party campaigning. The Republicans distributed printed materials on a massive scale, with print runs that far exceeded those of their opponents. For example, a brochure containing Lincoln’s biography was published in a print run of 100,000 to 200,000 copies. The campaign materials emphasized his difficult childhood and humble origins. This is how the image of the “American Dream” took shape—that of a person who achieved success on his own through hard work.
He won the presidential election on November 6, 1860. Interestingly, in the southern United States, he won in only 2 out of 996 counties, which highlighted the political divide between the regions and became one of the key precursors to the future civil war.
As president
Following the victory, the southern slaveholding states—which feared the possible abolition of slavery— began the process of secession. Even before the new president’s inauguration, seven states—South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas— declared their secession from the United States. During this period, they united to form the Confederate States of America.
Lincoln officially took office as president on March 4, 1861. Although he was a staunch opponent of slavery, his top priority remained preserving the unity of the country. In his inaugural address, he sought to find a path to reconciliation with the states that had previously declared their secession from the United States.
However, the Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861. To cover military expenses, Lincoln signed a law that imposed an income tax.
A year later, an income tax law was also passed: a progressive tax scale was introduced to replace the flat rate—ranging from 3 to 5 percent, depending on income level.
In particular, the formation of a nationwide banking system and a federal financial model began. Until then, each state had its own banks and separate regulations. Gold and silver coins were in circulation; the issuance of currency was not controlled at the federal level, and state banks issued paper money without real backing, which was often counterfeited.
On February 25, 1863, a law on the national currency was passed. The document paved the way for the creation of national banks, established a single currency backed by government securities, and gave the federal government the authority to issue war bonds and other securities. A year later, an agency was established to exercise currency control over national and commercial banks.
In addition, Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which took effect on January 1, 1863. The law granted every U.S. citizen or immigrant aged 21 or older the right to receive a plot of land measuring approximately 65 hectares. Only a $10 registration fee was required. After five years of use, the land became the recipient’s full property. The plots were allocated from unclaimed lands in the western part of the country.
The Homestead Act promoted free land ownership, curbed the spread of slavery into the western territories, and strengthened the North’s political position in its confrontation with the slave-holding South during the Civil War.
In foreign policy, Lincoln sought to prevent foreign military intervention in the Civil War. He saw the main threat in Great Britain and France, which sympathized with the Confederacy. To counter this, the United States secured the support of the Russian Empire. In 1863, two Russian squadrons arrived in New York and San Francisco, ready to confront the British fleet in the event of an attack. This helped avert a new Anglo-American war.
On November 8, 1864, Lincoln was re-elected to a second term as president.
In his inaugural address on March 4, 1865, he spoke in favor of the peaceful reconstruction of the Southern states and called for restraint in dealing with the defeated.
Death/Fatalities
Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865, at Ford’s Theater.
