Lincoln, Abraham
1809-65, 16th president of the U.S.A. (1861-65); b. Hardin co. (now Larue co.),
Ky. Born in a log cabin in the backwoods, Lincoln
was almost entirely self-educated. In 1831 he settled in New Salem, Ill., and
worked as a storekeeper, surveyor, and postmaster while studying law. The story
of his brief love affair there with Anne RUTLEDGE is now discredited. In 1834
he was elected to the state legislature, and in 1836 he became a lawyer. He
served one term (1847-49) in Congress as a Whig; in 1855 he sought to become a
senator but failed. In 1856 he joined the new REPUBLICAN PARTY. He ran again
(1858) for the Senate against Stephen A. DOUGLAS, and in a spirited campaign he
and Douglas engaged in seven debates. Lincoln
was not an ABOLITIONIST, but he regarded slavery as an evil and opposed its
extension. Although he lost the election, he had by now made a name for
himself, and in 1860 he was nominated by the Republicans for president. He ran
against a divided Democratic party and was elected with a minority of the
popular vote. To the South, Lincoln's
election was a signal for secession. By Inauguration Day seven states had
seceded, and four more seceded after he issued a summons to the militia. It is
generally agreed that Lincoln
handled the vast problems of the CIVIL WAR with skill and vigor. Besides
conducting the war, he faced opposition in the North from radical
abolitionists, who considered him too mild, and from conservatives, who were
gloomy over the prospects of success in the war. His cabinet was rent by
internal hatred, and the progress of the war went against the North at first.
In 1863 he moved to free the slaves by issuing the EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION,
but preserving the Union remained his main war
aim. His thoughts on the war were beautifully expressed in the GETTYSBURG
ADDRESS (1863). In 1864 Lincoln
ran for reelection against George B. MCCLELLAN and won, partly because of the
favorable turn of military affairs after his appointment of Gen. U.S. GRANT as
commander-in-chief. Lincoln
saw the end of the war but did not live to implement his for RECONSTRUCTION.
On Apr. 14, 1865, while attending a play at Ford's Theater, in Washington, D.C.,
he was shot by the actor John Wilkes Booth (see under BOOTH, JUNIUS BRUTUS). He
died the next morning. As time passed a full-blown Lincoln legend grew, and he became the object
of adulation and a symbol of democracy. His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, 1818-82,
b. Lexington, Ky.,
met and married Lincoln
in 1842. The harsh portrayal of her by Lincoln's
biographer William H. HERNDON is certainly exaggerated. Only one of their four
sons, Robert Todd Lincoln, 1843-l926, b. Springfield,
Ill., reached manhood. He served
as secretary of war (1881-85) and minister to Great Britain (1889-93). A
corporation lawyer for railroad interests, he was
president of the Pullman Co. (1897-l911).
