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Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in [[Hodgenville, Kentucky]], [[United States]]. His parents were Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. His family was very poor.<ref name="lincolnbook">{{cite book |last=Thornton |first=Brian |author2= Richard W. Donley |title=101 things you didn't know about Lincoln: loves and losses, political power |url=https://archive.org/details/101thingsyoudidn0000thor |publisher=Adams Media |date=October 31, 2005 |isbn=978-1-59337-399-3 |language=English}}</ref> Abraham had one brother and one sister. His brother died in childhood.  They grew up in a small [[log cabin]], with just one room inside. Although slavery was legal in Kentucky at that time, Lincoln's father, who was a religious [[Baptist]], [[:wikt:refuse|refused]] to own any [[slave]]s.

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in [[Hodgenville, Kentucky]], [[United States]]. His parents were Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. His family was very poor.<ref name="lincolnbook">{{cite book |last=Thornton |first=Brian |author2= Richard W. Donley |title=101 things you didn't know about Lincoln: loves and losses, political power |url=https://archive.org/details/101thingsyoudidn0000thor |publisher=Adams Media |date=October 31, 2005 |isbn=978-1-59337-399-3 |language=English}}</ref> Abraham had one brother and one sister. His brother died in childhood.  They grew up in a small [[log cabin]], with just one room inside. Although slavery was legal in Kentucky at that time, Lincoln's father, who was a religious [[Baptist]], [[:wikt:refuse|refused]] to own any [[slave]]s.

When Lincoln was seven years old, his family moved to [[Indiana]]. Later they moved to [[Illinois]].<ref>

When Lincoln was seven years old, his family moved to [[Indiana]]. Later they moved to [[Illinois]].<ref>{{cite web

{{cite web

|accessdate=May 21, 2008

|accessdate=May 21, 2008

|url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/sites/decaturock.htm

|url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/sites/decaturock.htm

|title=Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park

|title=Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park

|publisher=Abraham Lincoln Online}}

|publisher=Abraham Lincoln Online

</ref> In his childhood he helped his father on the farm, but when he was 22 years old he left home and moved to [[New Salem, Illinois|New Salem]], [[Illinois]], where he worked in a [[general store]].<ref>

}}</ref> In his childhood he helped his father on the farm, but when he was 22 years old he left home and moved to [[New Salem, Illinois|New Salem]], [[Illinois]], where he worked in a [[general store]].<ref>

{{cite book

{{cite book

|last=Fehrenbacher

|last=Fehrenbacher

</ref>

</ref>

In 1841, he won a court case (Bailey v. Cromwell). He represented a black woman who claimed she had already been freed and could not be sold as a slave. In 1847, he lost a case (Matson v. Rutherford) representing a slave owner (Robert Matson) claiming return of fugitive slaves. After he moved to Illinois, he worked as a shopkeeper and  postmaster. He rode the circuit of courts for many years. When he was 21, he worked on a [[flatboat]] that carried freight. He joined the Independent Spy Corp. At first, he was a member of the Whig Party. He later became a Republican. Lincoln ran for senate against [[Stephen A. Douglas]]. Douglas won.

In 1841, he won a court case (Bailey v. Cromwell). He represented a black woman who claimed she had already been freed and could not be sold as a slave. In 1847, he lost a case (Matson v. Rutherford) representing a slave owner (Robert Matson) claiming the return of fugitive slaves. After he moved to Illinois, he worked as a shopkeeper and postmaster. He rode the circuit of courts for many years. When he was 21, he worked on a [[flatboat]] that carried freight. He joined the Independent Spy Corp. At first, he was a member of the Whig Party. He later became a Republican. Lincoln ran for senate against [[Stephen A. Douglas]]. Douglas won.

In 1846, Lincoln joined the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] and was elected to one term in the [[House of Representatives]].  After that, he ignored his political career and instead worked as a lawyer. In 1854, in reaction to the passage of the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]], Lincoln became involved in politics again. He joined the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], which had recently been formed in opposition to the expansion of slavery. In 1858, he wanted to become [[United States Senate|senator]]; although this was unsuccessful, the [[wikt:debate|debate]]s drew national attention to him.<ref>

In 1846, Lincoln joined the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] and was elected to one term in the [[House of Representatives]].  After that, he ignored his political career and instead worked as a lawyer. In 1854, in reaction to the passage of the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]], Lincoln became involved in politics again. He joined the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], which had recently been formed in opposition to the expansion of slavery. In 1858, he wanted to become [[United States Senate|senator]]; although this was unsuccessful, the [[wikt:debate|debate]]s drew national attention to him.<ref>

{{main|Presidency of Abraham Lincoln}}

{{main|Presidency of Abraham Lincoln}}

[[File:Thomas Hicks - Leopold Grozelier - Presidential Candidate Abraham Lincoln 1860.jpg |thumb |left |upright |alt=Thin man looking to the right wearing a bow tie. |A sketch of candidate Abraham Lincoln]]

[[File:Thomas Hicks - Leopold Grozelier - Presidential Candidate Abraham Lincoln 1860.jpg |thumb |left |upright |alt=Thin man looking to the right wearing a bow tie. |A sketch of candidate Abraham Lincoln]]

Lincoln was chosen as a [[candidate]] for the elections in 1860 for different reasons. Among these reasons were that his views on slavery were less extreme than those of other people who wanted to be candidates.  Lincoln was from what was then one of the Western states, and had a bigger chance of winning the election there. Other candidates that were older or more [[:wikt:experience|experienced]] than him had [[enemy|enemies]] inside the party.<ref>{{cite book |title=Why the Civil War Came |url=https://archive.org/details/whycivilwarcame00bori |author=Boritt, Gabor S. |publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1997|isbn=0195113764 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/whycivilwarcame00bori/page/n3 3]–30}}</ref><ref name="nationalexperience">

Lincoln was chosen as a [[candidate]] for the elections in 1860 for different reasons. Among these reasons was that his views on slavery were less extreme than those of other people who wanted to be candidates.  Lincoln was from what was then one of the Western states and had a bigger chance of winning the election there. Other candidates that were older or more [[:wikt:experience|experienced]] than him had [[enemy|enemies]] inside the party.<ref>{{cite book |title=Why the Civil War Came |url=https://archive.org/details/whycivilwarcame00bori |author=Boritt, Gabor S. |publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1997|isbn=0195113764 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/whycivilwarcame00bori/page/n3 3]–30}}</ref><ref name="nationalexperience">

{{cite book

{{cite book

|last=Blum

|last=Blum

|year=1981

|year=1981

|pages=340—342}}

|pages=340—342}}

</ref>  Lincoln's family was poor, which added to the Republican position of [[free labor]], the opposite of slave labor. Lincoln won the election in 1860, and was made the 16th President of the United States.  He won with almost no votes in the South. For the first time, a president had won the election because of the large support he got from the states in the North.<ref name="nationalexperience" /> During his presidency Lincoln became well-known because of his large stovepipe hat. He used his tall hat to store papers and documents when he was traveling.<ref>[http://www.epinions.com/review/Abe_Lincoln_s_Hat__Step_into_Reading_Books_Series_A_Step_2_Book_by_Martha_Brenner_Books/content_347421773444?sb=1 Abe Lincoln's Hat Step into Reading Books Series A Step 2 Book by Martha Brenner Books] at epinions.com</ref>

</ref>  Lincoln's family was poor, which added to the Republican position of [[free labor]], the opposite of slave labor. Lincoln won the election in 1860 and was made the 16th President of the United States.  He won with almost no votes in the South. For the first time, a president had won the election because of the large support he got from the states in the North.<ref name="nationalexperience" /> During his presidency Lincoln became well-known because of his large stovepipe hat. He used his tall hat to store papers and documents when he was traveling.<ref>[http://www.epinions.com/review/Abe_Lincoln_s_Hat__Step_into_Reading_Books_Series_A_Step_2_Book_by_Martha_Brenner_Books/content_347421773444?sb=1 Abe Lincoln's Hat Step into Reading Books Series A Step 2 Book by Martha Brenner Books] at epinions.com</ref>

=== The Civil War ===

=== The Civil War ===

{{main|Assassination of Abraham Lincoln}}

{{main|Assassination of Abraham Lincoln}}

<!--Please don't add more detail about the assassination here. Instead, add it to the article about the assassination. -->

<!--Please don't add more detail about the assassination here. Instead, add it to the article about the assassination. -->

Lincoln was re-elected president by a small number of votes in 1864 and re-inaugurated March 4, 1865. Soon afterwards, it appeared likely that the Union would win the Civil War. Lincoln wanted to make it easy for states that had rebelled to restore self-government. On April 9, 1865, the leading Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, surrendered his armies. On April 11, 1865, Lincoln gave a speech in which he promoted voting rights for black American citizens.<ref>{{cite web |title=Last Public Address |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/last.htm |date= April 11, 1865 |accessdate=September 15, 2008 |work=Speeches and Writings |publisher= showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html, Abraham Lincoln Online}}

Lincoln was re-elected president by a small number of votes in 1864 and re-inaugurated on March 4, 1865. Soon afterward, it appeared likely that the Union would win the Civil War. Lincoln wanted to make it easy for states that had rebelled to restore self-government. On April 9, 1865, the leading Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, surrendered his armies. On April 11, 1865, Lincoln gave a speech in which he promoted voting rights for black American citizens.<ref>{{cite web |title=Last Public Address |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/last.htm |date=April 11, 1865 |accessdate=September 15, 2008 |work=Speeches and Writings |publisher=showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html, Abraham Lincoln Online |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606044904/http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/last.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

</ref>

[[File:Lincoln assassination slide c1900.png |thumb|left |alt=Image of Lincoln being shot by Booth while sitting in a theater booth. |Shown in the presidential booth of Ford's Theatre, from left to right, are assassin [[John Wilkes Booth]], Abraham Lincoln, [[Mary Todd Lincoln]], [[Clara Harris]], and [[Henry Rathbone]].]]

[[File:Lincoln assassination slide c1900.png |thumb|left |alt=Image of Lincoln being shot by Booth while sitting in a theater booth. |Shown in the presidential booth of Ford's Theatre, from left to right, are assassin [[John Wilkes Booth]], Abraham Lincoln, [[Mary Todd Lincoln]], [[Clara Harris]], and [[Henry Rathbone]].]]

During the day on April 14, 1865, Lincoln signed the law that created the secret service, the US President's security force. On the evening of April 14, Lincoln went to attend a play with his wife, Mary Todd at Ford's Theater in [[Washington, D.C.]]. He had invited Ulysses S. Grant to attend the play with him and his wife Mary Todd, and Grant planned to attend. As a general, Grant would have brought his own extra military security force, but he did not attend the play because his wife Julia and Mary Todd did not get along well.

During the day on April 14, 1865, Lincoln signed the law that created the secret service, the US President's security force. On the evening of April 14, Lincoln went to attend a play with his wife, Mary Todd at Ford's Theater in [[Washington, D.C.]]. He had invited Ulysses S. Grant to attend the play with him and his wife Mary Todd, and Grant planned to attend. As a general, Grant would have brought his own extra military security force, but he did not attend the play because his wife Julia and Mary Todd did not get along well.

During the third act of the play, [[John Wilkes Booth]], a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland, entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln at [[point-blank range]],<ref>Swanson, James. ''Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer''. Harper Collins, 2006. pp. 42–3. {{ISBN|978-0-06-051849-3}}</ref> mortally wounding him, and shouted "''Sic semper tyrannis''" ("Thus always to tyrants"). An unconscious Lincoln was carried across the street to [[Petersen House]]. He was placed diagonally on the bed because his tall frame would not fit normally on the smaller bed.<ref>Steers, Edward. ''Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln''. University Press of Kentucky, 2001. p.&nbsp;123–24. {{ISBN|978-0-8131-9151-5}}</ref> He remained in a [[coma]] for nine hours before dying the next morning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/abraham-lincoln|title=Abraham Lincoln|work=History|publisher=AETN UK|accessdate=February 16, 2014}}</ref> According to some accounts, at his last drawn breath, on the morning after the assassination, he smiled broadly and then expired.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fox|first1=Richard|title=Lincoln's Body: A Cultural History|url=https://archive.org/details/lincolnsbodycult0000foxr|date=2015|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=0393247244}}</ref> Lincoln was the first American president to be [[wikt:assassinate|assassinated]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer|last=Swanson|first=James|year=2006|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=9780060518493}}</ref>

During the third act of the play, [[John Wilkes Booth]], a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland, entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln at [[point-blank range]],<ref>Swanson, James. ''Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer''. Harper Collins, 2006. pp. 42–3. {{ISBN|978-0-06-051849-3}}</ref> mortally wounding him and shouted "''Sic semper tyrannis''" ("Thus always to tyrants"). An unconscious Lincoln was carried across the street to [[Petersen House]]. He was placed diagonally on the bed because his tall frame would not fit normally on the smaller bed.<ref>Steers, Edward. ''Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln''. University Press of Kentucky, 2001. p.&nbsp;123–24. {{ISBN|978-0-8131-9151-5}}</ref> He remained in a [[coma]] for nine hours before dying the next morning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/abraham-lincoln|title=Abraham Lincoln|work=History|publisher=AETN UK|accessdate=February 16, 2014}}</ref> According to some accounts, at his last drawn breath, on the morning after the assassination, he smiled broadly and then expired.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fox|first1=Richard|title=Lincoln's Body: A Cultural History|url=https://archive.org/details/lincolnsbodycult0000foxr|date=2015|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=0393247244}}</ref> Lincoln was the first American president to be [[wikt:assassinate|assassinated]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer|last=Swanson|first=James|year=2006|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=9780060518493}}</ref>

Booth escaped, but died from shots fired during his capture on April 26.

Booth escaped but died from shots fired during his capture on April 26.

== Legacy ==

== Legacy ==

[[Category:Abraham Lincoln| ]]

[[Category:Abraham Lincoln| ]]

[[Category:American abolitionists]]

[[Category:American abolitionists]]

[[Category:American lawyers]]

[[Category:Lawyers from Illinois]]

[[Category:American murder victims]]

[[Category:American murder victims]]

[[Category:Assassinated United States Presidents]]

[[Category:Assassinated United States Presidents]]

[[Category:American Civil War]]

[[Category:American Civil War]]

[[Category:19th-century American politicians]]

[[Category:19th-century American politicians]]