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			{{Short description|President of the United States from 1861 to 1865}}
	{{otheruses}}
			{{Other uses}}
	{{Infobox President
			{{redirect|President Lincoln|the troopship|USS President Lincoln{{!}}USS ''President Lincoln''}}
	|name = Abraham Lincoln
			{{Pp|small=yes}}
	|nationality = American
			{{Pp-move}}
	|image = Abraham Lincoln head on shoulders photo portrait.jpg
			{{Good article}}
	|order = ] ]
			{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
	|term_start = March 4, 1861
			{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
	|term_end = April 15, 1865
			{{Infobox officeholder
	|predecessor = ]
			| image = Abraham Lincoln O-77 matte collodion print.jpg
	|successor = ]
			| caption = Lincoln in 1863
	|state2 = ]
			| alt = A bearded Abraham Lincoln showing his head and shoulders
	|district2 = ]
			| order = 16th
	|term_start2 = March 4, 1847
			| office = President of the United States
	|term_end2 = March 3, 1849
			| vicepresident = {{plainlist|
	|predecessor2 = ]
			* {{longitem|]<br />(1861–1865)}}
	|successor2 = ]
			* {{longitem|Andrew Johnson<br />(Mar–Apr. 1865)}}
	|birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1809|2|12|mf=y}}
	|birth_place =]
	|death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1865|4|15|1809|2|12}}
	|death_place =]
	|restingplace=]<br/>], ]
	|spouse = ]
	|children = ], ], ], ]
	|occupation=]
	|religion = See: ]
	|party = ] (1832-1854), ] (1854-1864), ] (1864-1865)
	|vicepresident = ] <small>(1861 – 1865)</small><br />] <small>(1865)</small>
	|signature = Abraham Lincoln Signature.svg
	|branch=Illinois Militia
	|serviceyears=1832
	|battles=]
	}}		}}
			| term_start = March 4, 1861
	'''Abraham Lincoln''' (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the ] ], serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the ], preserving the Union and ending slavery. Before his election in 1860 as the first ] president, Lincoln had been a ], an ] ], a member of the ], and twice an unsuccessful candidate for election to the ]. As an outspoken opponent of the expansion of ],
			| term_end = April 15, 1865
	<ref>
			| predecessor = ]
	{{harvnb|Goodwin|2005|p= 91}}
			| successor = ]
	</ref>
			| state1 = ]
	<ref>{{harvnb|Holzer|2004|p=232}}
			| district1 = {{ushr|IL|7|7th}}
	</ref>
			| term_start1 = March 4, 1847
	Lincoln won the ] nomination in 1860 and was ] later that year. His tenure in office was occupied primarily with the defeat of the ] ] in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of ], issuing his ] in 1863 and promoting the passage of the ] to the Constitution. As the civil war was drawing to a close, Lincoln became the first American president to be ].
			| term_end1 = March 3, 1849
			| predecessor1 = ]
			| successor1 = ]
			| state_house2 = Illinois
			| constituency2 = <br />from ]
			| term_start2 = December 1, 1834
			| term_end2 = December 4, 1842
			| predecessor2 = ]
			| birth_date = {{birth date|1809|2|12}}
			| birth_place = ] (now ]), ], U.S.
			| death_date = {{death date and age|1865|4|15|1809|2|12}}
			| death_place = <nowiki>Washington, D.C.</nowiki><!--Links not needed per MOS:OVERLINK-->, U.S.
			| death_cause = ]
			| occupation = {{hlist|Politician|lawyer}}
			| resting_place = ]
			| party = {{plainlist|
			* ] (before 1856)
			* ] (after 1856)
			}}
			| otherparty = ] (1864–1865)
			| height = 6 ft 4 in<ref>{{cite book|last=Carpenter|first=Francis B.|title=Six Months in the White House: The Story of a Picture|url=https://archive.org/details/sixmonthsatwhit02carpgoog|year=1866|publisher=Hurd and Houghton.|page=}}</ref>
			| spouse = {{marriage|]|November 4, 1842}}
			| children = {{hlist|]|]|]|]}}
			| parents = {{ubl|]|]}}
			| relatives = ]
			| signature = Abraham Lincoln 1862 signature.svg
			| signature_alt = Cursive signature in ink
			| allegiance = <!-- United States, Illinois -->
			| branch = ]
			| serviceyears = April–July 1832
			| rank = {{plainlist|
			* ]{{Efn|name="Ranks"|Discharged from command-rank of Captain and re-enlisted at rank of Private.}}
			* ]{{Efn|name="Ranks"}}
			}}
			| unit = ]<br />]<br />]
			| battles = {{tree list}}
			* ]
			** ]
			*** ] (non-combatant)
			*** ] (non-combatant)
			{{tree list/end}}
			}}
			'''Abraham Lincoln''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɪ|ŋ|k|ən}} {{Respell|LINK|ən}}; February 12, 1809&nbsp;– April 15, 1865) was the 16th ], serving from 1861 until ] in 1865. He led the United States through the ], defending the nation as a constitutional ], defeating the ], playing a major role in the ] ], expanding the power of the ], and modernizing the ].
			Lincoln was born into ] in a ] in ] and was raised on the ], mainly in ]. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, ] leader, ] state ], and ] ]. In 1849, he returned to his successful law practice in ]. In 1854, angered by the ], which opened the territories to slavery, he re-entered politics. He soon became a leader of the new ]. He reached a national audience in the ] against ]. Lincoln ran for ], sweeping the ] to gain victory. Pro-slavery elements in the ] viewed his election as a threat to slavery, and Southern states began ]. They formed the Confederate States of America, which began seizing federal military bases in the South. A little over one month after Lincoln assumed the presidency, Confederate forces ], a U.S. fort in ]. Following the bombardment, Lincoln mobilized forces to suppress the rebellion and restore the union.
	Lincoln closely supervised the victorious war effort, especially the selection of top ], including ]. Historians have concluded that he handled the factions of the Republican Party well, bringing leaders of each faction into his cabinet and forcing them to cooperate. Lincoln successfully defused the ], a war scare with ], in 1861. Under his leadership, the ] took control of the ] at the start of the war. Additionally, he managed his own reelection in the ].
			Lincoln, a ], had to navigate a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from both the ] and Republican parties. His allies, the ]s and the ], demanded harsh treatment of the Southern Confederates. He managed the factions by exploiting their mutual enmity, carefully distributing political patronage, and by appealing to the American people. Anti-war Democrats (called "]") despised Lincoln, and some irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements went so far as to plot his assassination. His ] became one of the most famous speeches in American history. Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the war effort, including the selection of generals, and implemented a ] of the South's trade. He suspended '']'' in ] and ], and he averted war with Britain by defusing the ]. In 1863, he issued the ], which declared the slaves in the states "in rebellion" to be free. It also directed the Army and Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons" and to receive them "into the armed service of the United States." Lincoln pressured ] to outlaw slavery, and he promoted the ], which abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime. Lincoln managed his own successful ]. He sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just five days after the ], he was attending a play at ] in Washington, D.C., with his wife, ], when he was fatally shot by Confederate sympathizer ].
	] and other opponents of the war criticized Lincoln for refusing to compromise on the slavery issue. Conversely, the ], an abolitionist faction of the Republican Party, criticized him for moving too slowly in abolishing slavery. Even with these road blocks, Lincoln successfully rallied public opinion through his rhetoric and speeches; his ] is but one example of this. At the close of the war, Lincoln held a moderate view of ], seeking to speedily reunite the nation through a policy of generous reconciliation. His successor in the White House, Andrew Johnson, also wanted reconciliation among white Americans, but failed to protect the rights of newly freed slaves. Abraham Lincoln has consistently been ranked by scholars as one of the ].<ref name=Scholar_surveys>Note especially Lincoln's ranking in the ] section.</ref>
			Lincoln is remembered as a ] and a national hero for his wartime leadership and for his efforts to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. He is often ] in both popular and scholarly polls as the greatest president in American history.{{TOC limit|5}}
	==Personal life==
			{{Abraham Lincoln series}}
	===Childhood and education===
			==Family and childhood==
	]
			===Early life===
	Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to ] and ], two uneducated farmers, in a one-room ] on the {{convert|348|acre|km2|1|sing=on}} Sinking Spring Farm, in southeast ] (now part of ]), making him the first president born west of the ].
			{{Main|Early life and career of Abraham Lincoln}}
	<!-- except for Fillmore, who was born in Summerhill, NY - on the west side of the Appalachian-Alleghany-Adirondack ridge-->
			Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the second child of ] and ], in a log cabin on ] near ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=20–22}} He was a descendant of ], an Englishman who migrated from ], to its namesake, ], in 1638. The family through subsequent generations migrated west, passing through ], ], and ].{{sfn|Warren|2017|pp=3–4}} Lincoln was also a descendant of the ]; his paternal grandfather and namesake, ] and wife Bathsheba (née Herring) moved the family from Virginia to ].{{efn|The identity of Lincoln's grandmother Bathsheba Herring, though without certainty, is the consensus of multiple Lincoln biographers. She was the daughter of Alexander and Abigail Herring (née Harrison).{{sfn|Harrison|1935|p=276}}}} The captain was killed in an ] in 1786.{{sfn|Warren|2017|p=4}} His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, Abraham's father, witnessed the attack.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=21}}{{efn|Thomas, born January 1778, would have been 8 at the attack, May 1786. Older sources use six.{{sfn|Wilson|Davis|Wilson|Herndon|1998|pp=35–36}}}} Thomas then worked at odd jobs in Kentucky and ] before the family settled in ], in the early 1800s.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=21}}
	Lincoln was not given a middle name. Lincoln's ancestor ]<ref>In 1848 attorney and historian Solomon Lincoln of ], began a correspondence with Abraham Lincoln to determine whether the future President's ancestors originated in Massachusetts. Fortunately, Solomon Lincoln saved his correspondence with distant relation Abraham, which the Hingham lawyer published in 1865 in his book ''Notes on the Lincoln Families of Massachusetts with Some Account of the Family of Abraham Lincoln, Late President of the United States''.
	</ref>
	had arrived in ] from ] in the 17th century, but his descendants had gradually moved west, from Pennsylvania to Virginia and then westward to the frontier.<ref>
	{{cite book
	|title=History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts
	|author=Tracy Bouvé, Thomas
	|year=1893
	|publisher=]}}
	</ref>
	]]]
	For some time, Thomas Lincoln, Abraham's father, had been a respected citizen of the Kentucky backcountry. He had purchased the Sinking Spring Farm in December 1808 for $200 cash (${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|200|1808}}}} today){{inflation-fn|US}} and assumption of a debt. The family belonged to a ] church, although Abraham himself never joined their church, or any other church for that matter.
	In 1816 the Lincoln family became impoverished, losing their land through court action, and was forced to make a new start in ], Indiana.<ref>
	It is now in ]), Indiana. </ref>
	Lincoln later noted that this move was "partly on account of slavery," and partly because of difficulties with land deeds in Kentucky.<ref>
	Unlike land in the ], Kentucky never had a proper U.S. survey, and farmers often had difficulties proving title to their property in lawsuits such as the one Thomas Lincoln lost.
	</ref>
	When Lincoln was nine, his mother, then 34 years old, died of ]. Soon afterwards, his father remarried to ]. Lincoln and his stepmother were close; he called her "Mother" for the rest of his life, but he was increasingly distant from his father.<ref>
	{{harvnb|Donald|1995|pp= 28, 152}}
	</ref>
	In 1830, after more economic and land-title difficulties in Indiana, the family settled on public land<ref>
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/sites/decaturock.htm
	|title=Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park
	|publisher=Abraham Lincoln Online}}
	</ref>
	in ]. The following winter was desolate and especially brutal, and the family considered moving back to Indiana. The following year, when his father relocated the family to a ] in ], 22-year-old Lincoln struck out on his own, canoeing down the ] to the village of ] in ].<ref>
	{{cite book
	|last=Fehrenbacher
	|first=Don
	|title=Speeches and Writings 1859-1865
	|publisher=Library of America
	|year=1989
	|page=163
	|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UWJStTs8-A4C&dq=lincoln+canoe+sangamon+river&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0}}
	</ref>
	Later that year, hired by New Salem businessman ] and accompanied by friends, he took goods from New Salem to ] via flatboat on the Sangamon, ] and ] rivers.
	Lincoln's formal education consisted of about 18 months of schooling, but he was largely self-educated and an avid reader. He was also a talented local wrestler and skilled with an axe.<ref>
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://www.lincolnportrait.com/physical_man.asp
	|title=Abraham Lincoln, The Physical Man
	|publisher=Lincoln Portrait}}
	</ref>
	Lincoln avoided hunting and fishing because he did not like killing animals, even for food.<ref>
	{{harvnb|Sandburg|1974|p=10}}
	</ref>
	At 6&nbsp;foot 4&nbsp;inches (1.93&nbsp;m), he was unusually tall, as well as strong.
	Lincoln's father, Thomas Lincoln, was uneducated and illiterate; however, he was extremely talented in the art of storytelling and entertaining friends. Thomas would regularly host friendly gatherings at his house, which would usually consist of Thomas telling stories all night causing a hilarious uproar from his audience. Stealthily, young Abraham would stay up and listen to his father telling stories, trying to memorize them himself. Occasionally, when Abraham could not understand a certain story or part of one, he would repeat it over and over again in his mind until he finally understood. He then would spend countless hours coming up with a way to put the stories into terms his friends could easily understand. The next day, Abraham would repeat these stories to his friends, mimicking his father. This early practice helped prepare Abraham for the many important speeches he would have to give later in his life.<ref name="teamofrivals">
	{{cite book
	|last=Goodwin
	|first=Doris Kearns
	|title=Team of Rivals
	|location=New York, NY
	|publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.
	|year=2005}}
	</ref>
			]]]
	===Marriage and family===
	{{further
	|]}}
	], wife of Abraham Lincoln]]
	On November 4, 1842 Lincoln married ], daughter of a prominent slave-owning family from Kentucky. The couple had four sons. ] was born in ] on August 1, 1843. Their only child to survive into adulthood, young Robert attended ] and ].
	The other Lincoln children were born in Springfield, Illinois, and died either during childhood or their teenage years. ] was born on March 10, 1846, and died on February 1, 1850, also in Springfield. ] was born on December 21, 1850, and died on February 20, 1862 in ], during President Lincoln's first term. ] was born on April 4, 1853, and died on July 16, 1871 in Chicago. Lincoln's last undisputed lineal descendant, ], died December 24, 1985.
	Lincoln was not lucky when it came to women. Having lost his first love, ], to what could possibly have been typhoid fever, he courted Mary Owens, the sister of his friend Elizabeth Abell, with the promise of marriage. Lincoln finally proposed to Owens in May 1837, but the proposal was less than appealing to her. Eighteen months after that rejection, however, Lincoln became engaged to Mary Todd. Finally in November 1842, after an eighteen month break in their engagement, they were married in the parlor of the Edwards' mansion. Eventually after their marriage, they settled into a quaint house on Eighth and Jackson in Springfield, which was conveniently located within walking distance of his law office. Mary had a hard time adjusting to her new life because she was used to having slaves perform most of the chores all of her life. Also, because Mary was used to having money her entire life, she struggled with the adjustment to relative poverty. Even though Abraham and Mary struggled with the first couple of years of their marriage, the births of two sons within the first forty months of their marriage helped relieve some of that tension. The Lincolns did not believe in rules and boundaries when it came to their children. They were free and able to do anything they pleased.<ref name="teamofrivals" />
			Lincoln's mother ] is widely assumed to be the daughter of Lucy Hanks.{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|p=79}} Thomas and Nancy married on June 12, 1806, in Washington County, and moved to ].{{sfn|Warren|2017|p=9}} They had three children: ], Abraham, and Thomas, who died as an infant.{{sfn|Warren|2017|pp=9–10}}
	==Early political career and military service==
	]
	{{Main|Abraham Lincoln's early life and career|Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk War}}
	Lincoln began his political career in 1832 at age 23 with an unsuccessful campaign for the ] as a member of the ], in which he lost to Democrat ]. The centerpiece of his platform was the undertaking of navigational improvements on the ]. Later that year he served as a captain in a company of the Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War, although he never saw combat.
	In 1834, he won an election to the state legislature and, after coming across the '']'', began to teach himself law. ] in 1837, he moved to Springfield, Illinois that same year and began to practice law with ], Mary Todd's cousin, who lent Lincoln the law books that sparked his interest in that career path. With a reputation as a formidable adversary during cross-examinations and in his closing arguments, Lincoln became an able and successful lawyer. It is reputed that, had Stuart not lent Lincoln his law books, Lincoln would not have gone into a career in politics. <ref>
	{{cite book
	|last=Frank
	|first=John
	|title=Lincoln as a Lawyer
	|publisher=Americana House
	|year=1991
	|isbn=0962529028}}
	</ref>
	In 1841 Lincoln entered the law practice with ], a fellow Whig.
	He served four successive terms in the ] as a representative from Sangamon County, and became a leader of the Illinois Whig party. In 1837 he made ] in the Illinois House, stating that the institution was "founded on both injustice and bad policy."<ref>
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;type=simple;rgn=div1;q1=founded%20on%20both%20injustice%20and%20bad%20policy;view=text;subview=detail;sort=occur;idno=lincoln1;node=lincoln1%3A101
	|title=Protest in Illinois Legislature on Slavery
	|publisher=]
	|date=1937-03-03}}
	</ref>
			Thomas Lincoln bought multiple farms in Kentucky, but could not get clear ] to any, losing hundreds of acres of land in property disputes.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=22–24}} In 1816, the family moved to ], where the land surveys and titles were more reliable.{{sfn|Warren|2017|p=13}} They settled in an "unbroken forest"{{sfn|Warren|2017|p=26}} in Hurricane Township, ].{{sfn|Warren|2017|pp=16, 43}} When the Lincolns moved to Indiana it had just been ] as a ] state,<ref>], </ref> except that, though "no new enslaved people were allowed, ... currently enslaved individuals remained so".<ref></ref>{{efn|Later, this land became part of a separate county in 1818.{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|pp=3, 5, 16}}}} In 1860, Lincoln noted that the family's move to Indiana was "partly on account of slavery", but mainly due to land title difficulties.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=23–24}}<ref>{{Cite book | url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/lincoln4|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 4.|first=Abraham|last=Lincoln|date=March 8, 2001|pages=61–62}}</ref>
	===Illinois politics===
			In Kentucky and Indiana, Thomas worked as a farmer, cabinetmaker, and carpenter.{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|pp=34, 156}} At various times he owned farms, livestock, and town lots, paid taxes, sat on juries, appraised estates, and served on county patrols. Thomas and Nancy were members of a ], which "condemned profanity, intoxication, gossip, horse racing, and dancing." Most of its members opposed slavery.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=24}}
	]
	In 1846 Lincoln was elected to one term in the ]. A staunch Whig, Lincoln often referred to party leader ] as his political idol. As a freshman House member, Lincoln was not a particularly powerful or influential figure in Congress. He used his office as an opportunity to speak out against the ] with ], which he attributed to ]'s desire for "military glory — that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood."
	Lincoln's most famous stand against Polk was in his ]: The war had begun with a violent confrontation on disputed territory (claimed by both Mexico and ]), but Polk had insisted that Mexican soldiers had "invaded ''our territory'' shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our ''own soil''".<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.sewanee.edu/faculty/Willis/Civil_War/documents/LincolnSpot.html
	|author=Abraham Lincoln
	|title="Spot Resolutions"}}
	</ref>
	Lincoln demanded that Polk show Congress the exact spot on which blood had been shed, and proof that that spot was on American soil. Congress never enacted the resolution or even debated it, and its introduction resulted in a loss of political support for Lincoln in his district; one Illinois newspaper derisively nicknamed him "spotty Lincoln."
	<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/lincoln-resolutions/
	|title=National Archives: Lincoln's Spot Resolutions}}
	</ref>
			Overcoming financial challenges, Thomas in 1827 obtained ] to {{convert|80|acre|ha}} in Indiana, an area that became known as ].{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|pp=24, 104}}
	Lincoln was a key early supporter of ]'s candidacy for the ]. When Lincoln's term ended, the incoming Taylor administration offered him the governorship of remote ]. Acceptance would end his career in the fast-growing state of Illinois, so he declined. Returning instead to Springfield, Illinois, he turned most of his energies to making a living at the ], which involved extensive travel on horseback from county to county.
	It was during this stage of his life, however, that Lincoln gave one of the most pivotal speeches<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.lincolnatpeoria.com/
	|title =”Lincoln at Peoria, The Turning Point”
	|author= Lewis E. Lehrman}}
	</ref>
	of his life - speaking not as a politician, but as a private citizen. Opposed to the 1854 ], Lincoln spoke to a crowd in Peoria, Illinois, on October 16, 1854, outlining the moral, political, and economic arguments against slavery<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org/inside.asp?ID=11&subjectID=2
	|author=The Lincoln Institute
	|title=Speech at Peoria}}
	</ref>
	that he would continue to uphold throughout his career. This speech marked his re-entry into public life.
	===Prairie lawyer===		===Mother's death===
			On October 5, 1818, Nancy Lincoln died from ], leaving 11-year-old Sarah in charge of a household including her father, nine-year-old Abraham, and Nancy's 19-year-old orphan cousin, Dennis Hanks.{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|pp=22–23, 77}} Ten years later, on January 20, 1828, Sarah died while giving birth to a stillborn son, devastating Lincoln.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=34, 116}}
	By the mid-1850s, Lincoln faced competing transportation interests — both the river ]s and the ]s. Originally, Lincoln had favored riverboat interests. In 1849, he had received a ] for a "device to buoy vessels over shoals." Lincoln's goal had been to lessen the draft of a river craft by pushing horizontal floats into the water alongside the hull. The floats would have served as temporary ]s.<ref name="NMAH">
	{{cite web
	|url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=19
	|title=Abraham Lincoln's Patent Model: Improvement for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals
	|publisher=National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
	|accessdate=2008-06-17}}
	</ref>
	<ref>
	{{Cite journal
	|last = Emerson
	|first = Jason
	|title = A Man of Considerable Mechanical Genius
	|journal = Invention and Technology
	|volume = 23
	|issue = 4
	|pages = 10–13
	|date = Winter 2009}}
	</ref>
	The concept was never commercialized. Lincoln was the only President of the United States to hold a patent.
	As the 1850s began, Lincoln moved closer towards the railroad industry. In 1851, he represented the ] in a dispute with one of its shareholders, James A. Barret. Barret had refused to pay the balance on his pledge to that corporation on the grounds that it had changed its originally planned route. Lincoln argued that as a matter of law a corporation is not bound by its original charter when that charter can be amended in the public interest, that the newer proposed Alton & Sangamon route was superior and less expensive, and that accordingly the corporation had a right to sue Mr. Barret for his delinquent payment. He won this case, and the decision by the ] was eventually cited by several other courts throughout the United States.
	Lincoln's most notable criminal trial came in 1858 when he defended ], who was on trial for the murder of James Preston Metzker. The case is famous for Lincoln's use of ], a rare tactic at that time, to show an eyewitness had lied on the stand. After the witness testified to having seen the crime in the moonlight, Lincoln produced a ] to show that the moon on that date was at such a low angle it could not have produced enough illumination to see anything clearly. Based upon this evidence, Armstrong was acquitted.
			On December 2, 1819, Thomas married ], a widow from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with three children of her own.{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|pp=23, 83}} Abraham became close to his stepmother and called her "Mother".{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=26–27}} Dennis Hanks said he was lazy, for all his "reading—scribbling—writing—ciphering—writing poetry".<ref>], ''A Self-Made Man: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1849''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016, p. 29.</ref> His stepmother acknowledged he did not enjoy "physical labor" but loved to read.{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|p=66}}{{sfn|White|2009|p=30}}
	==Republican politics 1854–1860==
	Lincoln returned to politics in response to the ] (1854), which expressly repealed the limits on slavery's extent as established by the ] (1820). Illinois Democrat ], the most powerful man in the Senate, proposed ] as the solution to the slavery impasse, and incorporated it into the Kansas–Nebraska Act. Douglas argued that in a democracy the people should have the right to decide whether or not to allow slavery in their territory, rather than have such a decision imposed on them by the national Congress.<ref>
	{{harvnb|Donald|1995|loc=§7}}
	</ref>
			===Education and move to Illinois===
	In the October 16, 1854, "]",<ref>
			Lincoln was largely self-educated.{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|pp=10, 33}} His formal schooling was from ]s. It included two short stints in Kentucky, where he learned to read, but probably not to write. In Indiana at age seven,{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=23}} due to farm chores, he attended school only sporadically, for a total of fewer than 12 months in aggregate by age 15.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p= 29}} Nonetheless, he remained an avid reader and retained a lifelong interest in learning.{{sfn|Madison|2014|p=110}} Family, neighbors, and schoolmates recalled that his readings included the ], ], ]'s '']'', ]'s '']'', and '']''.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=29–31, 38–43}} Despite being self-educated, Lincoln was the recipient of ]s later in life, including an honorary ]s from ] in June 1861.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions {{!}} Jewels in Her Crown: Treasures of Columbia University Libraries Special Collections |url=https://exhibitions.library.columbia.edu/exhibits/show/jewels/themes/new_york/45 |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=exhibitions.library.columbia.edu}}</ref>
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org/inside.asp?ID=11&subjectID=2
	|title=Speech at Peoria, October 16,
	|publisher=Abraham Lincoln and Freedom}}
	</ref>
	Lincoln first stood out among the other ] orators of the day:<ref>
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://www.lincolnatpeoria.com/
	|title=Lincoln at Peoria
	|publisher=Abraham Lincoln at Peoria}}
	</ref>
			When Lincoln was a teen, his "father grew more and more to depend on him for the 'farming, grubbing, hoeing, making fences' necessary to keep the family afloat. He also regularly hired his son out to work ... and by law, he was entitled to everything the boy earned until he came of age".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=32}} Lincoln was tall, strong, and athletic, and became adept at using an ax.{{sfn|Warren|2017|pp=134–135}} He was an active wrestler during his youth and trained in the rough ] style (also known as catch wrestling). He became county wrestling champion at the age of 21.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dellinger |first1=Bob |title=Wrestling in the USA |url=https://nwhof.org/stillwater/resources-library/history/wrestling-in-the-usa/ |website=National Wrestling Hall of Fame |access-date=April 9, 2021}}</ref> He gained a reputation for his strength and audacity after winning a wrestling match with the renowned leader of ruffians known as the Clary's Grove boys.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=40-41}}
	{{quote| ''declared'' indifference, but as I must think, covert ''real'' zeal for the spread of slavery, I cannot but hate it. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world — enables the enemies of free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us as hypocrites — causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity, and especially because it forces so many really good men amongst ourselves into an open war with the very fundamental principles of civil liberty — criticizing the Declaration of Independence, and insisting that there is no right principle of action but ''self-interest''.<ref>
	{{harvnb|Basler|1955|p=255}}
	</ref>
	}}
	Drawing on remnants of the old Whig party, and on disenchanted Free Soil, Liberty, and Democratic party members, he was instrumental in forging the shape of the new Republican Party. In a stirring campaign, the Republicans carried Illinois in 1854 and elected a senator. Lincoln was the obvious choice, but to keep the new party balanced, he allowed the election to go to an ex-Democrat ]. At the Republican convention in 1856, Lincoln placed second in the contest to become the party's candidate for Vice-President.
	In 1857-58, Douglas broke with President ], leading to a fight for control of the Democratic Party. Some eastern Republicans even favored the reelection of Douglas in 1858, since he had led the opposition to the ], which would have admitted Kansas as a ]. Accepting the Republican nomination for Senate in 1858, Lincoln delivered ]: "'A house divided against itself cannot stand.'(] 3:25) I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."<ref>
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://www.nationalcenter.org/HouseDivided.html
	|title=A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand
	|publisher=]
	|month=June
	|year=1858
	|author=Lincoln, Abraham}}
	</ref>
	The speech created an evocative image of the danger of disunion caused by the slavery debate, and rallied Republicans across the north.
			In March 1830, fearing another milk sickness outbreak, several members of the extended Lincoln family, including Abraham, moved west to Illinois, a free state, and settled in ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=36}}{{efn|Historians disagree on who initiated the move; Thomas Lincoln had no obvious reason to do so. One possibility is that other members of the family, including Dennis Hanks, may not have matched Thomas's stability and steady income.{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|pp=38–40}}}} Abraham then became increasingly distant from Thomas, in part, due to his father's lack of interest in education.{{sfn|Bartelt|2008|p=71}} In 1831, as Thomas and other family members prepared to move to a ] in ], Abraham struck out on his own.{{sfn|Oates|1974|pp=15–17}} He made his home in ], for six years.{{sfn|Thomas|2008|pp=23–53}} Lincoln and some friends took goods, including live hogs, by ] to ], where he first witnessed slavery.{{sfnm|Sandburg|1926|1p=202|Donald|1996|2p=38}}
	===Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858===
	{{main|Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858}}
	The 1858 campaign featured the Lincoln-Douglas debates, a famous contest on slavery. Lincoln warned that "]" was threatening the values of ], while ] emphasized the supremacy of ], as set forth in his ], which said that local settlers should be free to choose whether to allow slavery or not and could overrule judicial rulings. Though the Republican legislative candidates won more popular votes, the Democrats won more seats, and the legislature reelected Douglas to the Senate. Nevertheless, Lincoln's speeches on the issue transformed him into a national political star. New York party leaders invited him to give a ] in February 1860 to an elite audience that was startled by the poorly dressed, ugly man from the West. He stunned the audience with the most brilliant political speech they had ever heard. Lincoln was emerging as the intellectual leader of the Republican party, and its best speaker.<ref>
	Journalist ] reported, "No man ever before made such an impression" on a New York audience; Richard Carwardine, ''Lincoln'' (2003), p. 98; Harold Holzer, ''Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President'' (2006)
	</ref>
			===Marriage and children===
	==1860 Presidential election==
			{{Further|Lincoln family|Health of Abraham Lincoln|Sexuality of Abraham Lincoln}}
	]'' editor ]) on right.]]
			{{Multiple image| direction=horizontal| width=| footer=| width1=192| image1=A&TLincoln.jpg| alt1=A seated Lincoln holding a book as his young son looks at it| caption1=1864 photo of President Lincoln with youngest son, ]| width2=164| image2=Mary Todd Lincoln2crop.jpg| alt2=Black and white photo of Mary Todd Lincoln's shoulders and head| caption2=], wife of Abraham Lincoln, in 1861}}
	{{main|United States presidential election, 1860}}
	Lincoln was chosen as the Republican candidate for the 1860 election for several reasons. His expressed views on slavery were seen as more moderate than those of rivals ] and ]. His "Western" origins also appealed to the newer states: other contenders, especially those with more governmental experience, had acquired enemies within the party and were weak in the critical western states, while Lincoln was perceived as a moderate who could win the West. Most Republicans agreed with Lincoln that the North was the aggrieved party as the Slave Power tightened its grasp on the national government. Throughout the 1850s he denied that there would ever be a civil war, and his supporters repeatedly rejected claims that his election would incite secession.<ref>{{cite book |title=Why the Civil War Came |author=Boritt, Gabor S. |publisher=]|date=1997-05-29 |isbn=0195113764 |pages=3–30}}</ref>
	{{Request quotation|date=June 2008}} On May 9-10, 1860, the Illinois Republican State Convention was held in ]. At this convention, Lincoln received his first endorsement to run for the presidency.
	]
	Lincoln did not campaign on the road. Despite this, he had gained the majority of the popular vote due to the work of the local Republican Party offices throughout the north. They produced tons of campaign posters and leaflets, and thousands of newspaper editorials. There were thousands of Republican speakers who focused first on the party platform, and second on Lincoln's life story, making an emphasis on his childhood poverty. The goal was to emphasize the superior power of "free labor," whereby a common farm boy could work his way to the top by his own efforts. In the South, Lincoln did not appear on a majority of the ballots come the time of the election.
			Speculation persists that Lincoln's first romantic interest was ], whom he met when he moved to New Salem. However, witness testimony, given decades afterward, showed a lack of any specific recollection of a romance between the two.<ref>{{Cite magazine | last=Gannett | first=Lewis | date=Winter 2005 | title='Overwhelming Evidence' of a Lincoln-Ann Rutledge Romance?: Reexamining Rutledge Family Reminiscences | url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0026.104/--overwhelming-evidence-of-a-lincoln-ann-rutledge-romance?rgn=main;view=fulltext | magazine=Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association | location=Springfield, IL | publisher=The Abraham Lincoln Association | pages=28–41 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403014805/https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0026.104/--overwhelming-evidence-of-a-lincoln-ann-rutledge-romance?rgn=main;view=fulltext | archive-date=April 3, 2017}}</ref> Rutledge died on August 25, 1835, most likely of ]; Lincoln took the death very hard, saying that he could not bear the idea of rain falling on Ann's grave. Lincoln sank into a serious episode of depression, and this gave rise to speculation that he had been in love with her.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=55–58}}<ref name="Atlanticoct2005" /><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.npr.org/2005/10/26/4976127/exploring-abraham-lincolns-melancholy | title=Exploring Abraham Lincoln's 'Melancholy' | author=Siegel, Robert | date=October 26, 2005 | access-date=February 17, 2023}}</ref>
	On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States, beating Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, ] of the Southern Democrats, and ] of the new ]. He was the first Republican president, winning entirely on the strength of his support in the North: he was not even on the ballot in nine states in the South, and won only 2 of 996 counties in all of the Southern states. There were ] in some states, but even if his opponents had combined in every state, Lincoln had a majority vote in all but two of the states in which he won the electoral votes and would still have won the electoral college and the election. Lincoln was the first U. S. President elected from Illinois.
			In the early 1830s, he met ] from Kentucky.{{sfn|Thomas|2008|pp=56–57, 69–70}} Late in 1836, Lincoln agreed to a match with Owens if she returned to New Salem. Owens arrived that November and he courted her; however, they both had second thoughts. On August 16, 1837, he wrote Owens a letter saying he would not blame her if she ended the relationship, and she never replied.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=67}}
	==Presidency and the Civil War==
	{{main|Origins of the American Civil War|Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War}}
	With the emergence of the Republicans as the nation's first major sectional party by the mid-1850s, politics became the stage on which sectional tensions were played out. Although much of the West{{ndash}} the focal point of sectional tensions{{ndash}} was unfit for cotton cultivation, Southern secessionists read the political fallout as a sign that their power in national politics was rapidly weakening. Before, the slave system had been buttressed to an extent by the Democratic Party, which was increasingly seen as representing a more pro-Southern position that unfairly permitted Southerners to prevail in the nation's territories and to dominate national policy before the Civil War. Yet they suffered a significant reverse in the electoral realignment of the mid-1850s. 1860 was a critical election that marked a stark change in existing patterns of party loyalties among groups of voters; Abraham Lincoln's election was a watershed in the balance of power of competing national and parochial interests and affiliations.
			In 1839, Lincoln met ] in ], and the following year they became engaged.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=80–86}} She was the daughter of ], a wealthy lawyer and businessman in ].{{sfn|Lamb|Swain|2008|p=3}} Their wedding, which was set for January 1, 1841, was canceled because Lincoln did not appear, but they reconciled and married on November 4, 1842, in the Springfield home of Mary's sister.{{sfn|Sandburg|1926|pp=260,290–291}} While anxiously preparing for the nuptials, he was asked where he was going and replied, "To hell, I suppose".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=93}} In 1844, the couple bought ] in Springfield near his law office. Mary kept house with the help of a hired servant and a relative.{{sfn|Baker|1989|p=142}}
	===Secession winter 1860–1861===
	{{main|Baltimore Plot|Cornerstone Speech}}
	As Lincoln's election became more likely, secessionists made it clear that their states would leave the Union. On December 20, 1860, ] took the lead. By February 1, 1861, South Carolina was followed by six other cotton-growing states in the deep South. The seven states soon declared themselves to be a new nation, the ]. The upper South (], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]) listened to, but initially rejected, the secessionist appeal. President Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy.
	Attempts at compromise, such as the ] which would have extended the ], were discussed. Despite support for the Crittenden Compromise among some Republicans, Lincoln denounced it in private letters, saying "either the Missouri line extended, or... Pop. Sov. would lose us everything we gained in the election; that filibustering for all South of us, and making slave states of it, would follow in spite of us, under either plan",<ref>
	{{cite book
	|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=UWJStTs8-A4C&pg=PA192&lpg=PA192&dq=%22filibustering+for+all+South+of+us%22&source=web&ots=FmbtJEx71W&sig=4mjHc3bUtD0MltNN1Jt4ffCjvlk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result
	|title=Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln, 1859-1865
	|first=Don E.
	|last=Fehrenbacher
	|publisher=Library of America
	|isbn=0940450631
	|year=1989
	|quote=either the Missouri line extended, or Douglas' and Eli Thayer's Pop. Sov. would lose us everything we gained in the election; that filibustering for all South of us, and making slave states of it, would follow in spite of us, under either plan.}} - from private letter to Thurlow Weed, 1860-12-17
	</ref>
	while other Republicans publicly stated it "would amount to a perpetual covenant of war against every people, tribe, and state owning a foot of land between here and ]."<ref>
	{{cite book
	|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=-uuEA7xIUHUC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=%22tierra+del+fuego%22+%22foot+of+land%22&source=web&ots=MPWa-3Cr68&sig=0A-j0liWI_TzRhzxPQ9uksLVMRg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
	|title=Battle cry of freedom: the Civil War era
	|author=James M. McPherson
	|year=1988
	|publisher=Oxford University Press
	|location=US
	|page=115
	|isbn=019516895X}}<!--finally, a source. but WHO said it? Almost certainly NOT Lincoln - need Congressional Record of 36th Congress, 2nd session, p.651-->
	</ref>
			Lincoln was an affectionate husband and father of four sons, though his work regularly kept him away from home. The eldest, ], was born in 1843, and was the only child to live to maturity. ] (Eddie), born in 1846, died February 1, 1850, probably of tuberculosis. Lincoln's third son, ] was born on December 21, 1850, and died of a fever at the ] on February 20, 1862. The youngest, ], was born on April 4, 1853, and survived his father, but died of heart failure at age 18 on July 16, 1871.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=179–181, 476}}{{efn|The Lincolns' last descendant, great-grandson ], died in 1985.<ref>{{cite book|author=Emerson, Jason |title=Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=tPqgC3RS-7sC|page=420}}|year=2012|publisher=SIU Press|page=420|isbn=978-0-8093-3055-3|access-date=June 27, 2015}}</ref>}}
	President-elect Lincoln ], and on February 23, 1861, arrived in disguise in Washington, D.C.
	]]]
	At his inauguration on March 4, 1861, the ] ] formed Lincoln's bodyguard; and a sizable garrison of federal troops was also present, ready to protect the capital from Confederate invasion and local insurrection. In his ], Lincoln declared, "I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments," arguing further that the purpose of the ] was "to form a more perfect union" than the ] which were ''explicitly'' perpetual, thus the Constitution too was perpetual. He asked rhetorically that even were the Constitution a simple contract, would it not require the agreement of all parties to rescind it?
	Also in his inaugural address, in a final attempt to reunite the states and prevent the looming war, Lincoln supported the pending ] to the Constitution, which had already passed Congress. This amendment, which explicitly protected slavery in those states in which it already existed, had more appeal to the critical border states than to the states that had already declared their separation.
	By the time Lincoln took office, the Confederacy was an established fact, and no leaders of the insurrection proposed rejoining the Union on any terms. No compromise was found because a compromise was deemed virtually impossible. Buchanan might have allowed the southern states to secede, and some Republicans recommended that. However, conservative Democratic nationalists, such as ], ], and ] had taken control of Buchanan's cabinet around January 1, 1861, and refused to accept secession. Lincoln and nearly every Republican leader adopted this position by March 1861: the Union could not be dismantled. Believing that a peaceful solution was still possible, Lincoln decided to not take any action against the South unless the Unionists themselves were attacked first. This finally happened in April 1861.
	Historian ] argues that Lincoln made three miscalculations in believing that he could preserve the Union, hold government property, and still avoid war. He "temporarily underrated the gravity of the crisis", overestimated the strength of Unionist sentiment in the South and border states, and misunderstood the conditional support of Unionists in the border states.<ref>
	{{cite book
	|title=The War for the Union Volume I.....The Improvised War 1861-1862
	|author=Nevins, Allan
	|publisher=Konecky & Konecky
	|date=1971-09-01
	|isbn=1568522967
	|page=29
	|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/warfortheunionvo010749mbp/warfortheunionvo010749mbp_djvu.txt
	|format=txt}}
	</ref>
	In connection with Nevins' conclusions, it is interesting to note an incident from this period reported in the memoirs of ]. Then a civilian, Sherman visited Lincoln in the White House during inauguration week, with his brother, Ohio Republican John Sherman. This meeting left the future General Sherman "sadly disappointed" at Lincoln's seeming failure to realize that "the country was sleeping on a volcano" and the South was "preparing for war."<ref>
	WTS Memoirs 185-86 (Lib. of America ed., 1990).
	</ref>
			Lincoln "was remarkably fond of children"{{sfn|White|2009|p=126}} and the Lincolns were not considered to be strict with their own.{{sfn|Baker|1989|p=120}} In fact, Lincoln's law partner ] would grow irritated when Lincoln brought his children to the law office. Their father, it seemed, was often too absorbed in his work to notice his children's behavior. Herndon recounted, "I have felt many and many a time that I wanted to wring their little necks, and yet out of respect for Lincoln I kept my mouth shut. Lincoln did not note what his children were doing or had done."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hertz |first1=Emanuel |title=The Hidden Lincoln |date=1938 |publisher=The Viking Press |page=105}}</ref>
	===Fighting begins: 1861–1862===
	{{main
	|American Civil War}}
	In April 1861, after Union troops at ] were fired upon and forced to surrender, Lincoln called on the governors of every state to send detachments totaling 75,000 troops to recapture forts, protect the capital, and "preserve the Union," which in his view still existed intact despite the actions of the seceding states. ], which had repeatedly warned Lincoln that it would not allow an invasion of its territory or join an attack on another state, responded by seceding, along with ], ], and ].
	The slave states of ], ], ], and ] did not secede. Lincoln urgently negotiated with state leaders there, promising not to interfere with slavery. After the fighting started, he had rebel leaders arrested in all the border areas and held in military prisons without trial. Over 18,000 were arrested, though none were executed. One, ], was exiled; but all of the remainder were released, usually after two or three months (''see'': ]).
	Lincoln had to protect the nation's capital city. In May, angry secessionist mobs in ], a city to the north of Washington, ]. ], the ], and other suspect Maryland politicians were arrested and imprisoned at ].
	===Emancipation Proclamation===
	{{main|Abraham Lincoln on slavery|Emancipation Proclamation}}
	{{Emancipation Proclamation draft}}
	Lincoln maintained that the powers of his administration to end slavery were limited by the Constitution. He expected to bring about the eventual extinction of slavery by stopping its further expansion into any U.S. territory, and by convincing states to accept ] if the state would outlaw slavery (an offer that took effect only in Washington, D.C.). Guelzo says Lincoln believed that shrinking slavery in this way would make it uneconomical, and place it back on the road to eventual extinction that the Founders had envisioned.<ref>
	{{cite web
	| author=Mackubin Thomas Owens
	|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/books/owens200403251139.asp
	|title=The Liberator
	|publisher=''National Review''
	|date=(March 8, 2004)
	|quote=reviewing Allen C. Guelzo, ''Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America,'' (2004) online}}
	</ref>
			The deaths of their sons Eddie and Willie had profound effects on both parents. Lincoln suffered from "]", a condition now thought to be ].<ref name="Atlanticoct2005">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200510/lincolns-clinical-depression |title=Lincoln's Great Depression |first=Joshua Wolf |last=Shenk |date=October 2005 |work=The Atlantic |publisher=The Atlantic Monthly Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009044732/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/10/lincoln-apos-s-great-depression/4247/ |archive-date=October 9, 2011 |url-status=live |access-date=October 8, 2009}}</ref> Later in life, Mary struggled with the stresses of losing her husband and sons, and in 1875 Robert committed her to an asylum.{{sfn|Steers|2010|p=341}}
	In July 1862, Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act, which freed the slaves of anyone convicted of aiding the rebellion.<ref>
	It said that anyone aiding the rebellion would lose his slaves if convicted. "That if any person shall hereafter incite, set on foot, assist, or engage in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States, or the laws thereof, or shall give aid or comfort thereto, or shall engage in, or give aid and comfort to, any such existing rebellion or insurrection, and be convicted thereof, such person shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars, and by the liberation of all his slaves...." {{cite web
	|url=http://www.history.umd.edu/Freedmen/conact2.htm
	|title=text of the Second Confiscation Act
	|accessdate=2008-12-08}}
	</ref>
	The goal was to weaken the rebellion, which was led and controlled by slave owners. While it did not abolish the legal institution of slavery (the ] did that), the Act showed that Lincoln had the support of Congress in liberating slaves owned by rebels. In that same month, Lincoln discussed a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation with his cabinet.
	In a shrewdly penned August reply to an editorial by Horace Greeley in the influential ''New York Tribune'', with a draft of the Proclamation already on Lincoln's desk, the president subordinated the goal of ending slavery to the cause of preserving the Union, while, at the same time, preparing the public for emancipation being incomplete at first. Lincoln had decided at this point that he could not win the war without freeing the slaves, and so it was a necessity "to do more to help the cause":<ref>
	For analysis of the letter see Carwardine, ''Lincoln'' p 209
	</ref>
			== Early career and militia service ==
	{{quote|I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was."&nbsp;... My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.<ref>
			{{Further|Early life and career of Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk War}}
	{{cite web
			During 1831 and 1832, Lincoln worked at a general store in ]. In 1832, he declared his candidacy for the ], but interrupted his campaign to serve as a captain in the ] during the ].{{sfn|Winkle|2001|pp=86–95}} When Lincoln returned home from the ], he planned to become a blacksmith, but instead formed a partnership with 21-year-old William Berry, with whom he purchased a New Salem general store on credit. Because a license was required to sell customers beverages, Berry obtained bartending licenses for $7 each for Lincoln and himself, and in 1833 the ] became a tavern as well.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/greeley.htm
	|title=Letter to Horace Greeley
	|publisher=Abraham Lincoln Online}}
	</ref>
	}}
	The ], announced on September 22, 1862 and put into effect on January 1, 1863, freed slaves in territories not already under Union control. As Union armies advanced south, more slaves were liberated until all of them in Confederate territory (over three million) were freed. Lincoln later said: "I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper." The proclamation made the abolition of slavery in the rebel states an official war goal. Lincoln then threw his energies into passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to permanently abolish slavery throughout the nation.<ref>
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/hodges.htm
	|title=Letter to Albert G. Hodges
	|publisher=Abraham Lincoln Online
	|date=1864-04-04}}
	</ref> He personally lobbied individual Congressmen for the Amendment, which was passed by the Congress in early 1865, shortly before his death.<ref>Donald 555</ref>
	In September 1862, thirteen northern governors met in ], at the Loyal ] to discuss the Proclamation and Union war effort. In the end, the state executives fully supported the president's Proclamation and also suggested the removal of General ] as commander of the Union's ].<ref>
	{{cite book
	|title=Altoona
	|author=Pulling, Anne Frances
	|publisher=]
	|date=2001-06-11
	|isbn=0738505161
	|page=10}}
	</ref>
	For some time, Lincoln continued earlier plans to set up ] for the newly freed slaves. He commented favorably on colonization in the Emancipation Proclamation, but all attempts at such a massive undertaking failed. As ] observed, Lincoln was, "The first great man that I talked with in the United States freely who in no single instance reminded me of the difference between himself and myself, of the difference of color."<ref>
	{{cite book
	|title=The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
	|author=Douglass, Frederick
	|publisher=Digital Scanning
	|month=April
	|year=2001
	|isbn=1582183678}}
	</ref>
			As licensed bartenders, Lincoln and Berry were able to sell spirits, including liquor, for 12 cents a pint. They offered a wide range of alcoholic beverages as well as food, including takeout dinners. But Berry became an alcoholic, was often too drunk to work, and Lincoln ended up running the store by himself.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blazeski |first=Goran |date=October 15, 2016 |title=Abraham Lincoln was the only President who was also a licensed bartender |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/15/abraham-lincoln-was-the-only-president-who-was-also-a-licensed-bartender/?chrome=1&A1c=1 |access-date=March 4, 2022 |website=The Vintage News}}</ref> Although the economy was booming, the business struggled and went into debt, causing Lincoln to sell his share.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
	===Gettysburg Address===
	{{main|Gettysburg Address}}
	Although the ] was a Union victory, it was also the bloodiest battle of the war and dealt a blow to Lincoln's war effort. As the Union Army decreased in numbers due to casualties, more soldiers were needed to replace the ranks. Lincoln's 1863 military drafts were considered "odious" among many in the north, particularly immigrants. The ] of July 1863 were the most notable manifestation of this discontent.
	Writing to Lincoln in September 1863, the ], ], warned that political sentiments were turning against Lincoln and the war effort:
	<blockquote>''If the election were to occur now, the result would be extremely doubtful, and although most of our discreet friends are sanguine of the result, my impression is, the chances would be against us. The draft is very odious in the State... the Democratic leaders have succeeded in exciting prejudice and passion, and have infused their poison into the minds of the people to a very large extent, and the changes are against us.''<ref>{{cite web |accessdate=2008-05-21 |url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mal:@field(DOCID+@lit(d2604300))|title=Andrew G. Curtin to Abraham Lincoln, Friday, September 4, 1863 (Politics in Pennsylvania)|publisher=] |date=1863-09-03 |author=Curtin, Andrew G.}}</ref></blockquote>
	The ''Gettysburg Address'' is one of the most quoted speeches in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/25.htm |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070813234249/http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/25.htm |archivedate=2007-08-13 |title=Introduction to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address |publisher=United States Department of State |work=InfoUSA |accessdate=2007-11-30 |quote=Few documents in the growth of American democracy are as well known or as beloved as the prose poem Abraham Lincoln delivered at the dedication of the military cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/65/ge/GettysbuAd.html |title=Gettysburg Address |accessdate=2007-11-30 |work=Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition |month=May |year=2001 |publisher=Columbia University Press via ] |quote=It is one of the most famous and most quoted of modern speeches.}}</ref><ref>Historian ] has called it "The most eloquent expression of the new birth of freedom brought forth by reform liberalism.", in McPherson, James M. ''Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. p. 185. Google Book Search. Retrieved on November 27, 2007.</ref> It was delivered at the dedication of the ] in ], on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, during the ], four and a half months after the ] armies defeated those of the ] at the decisive ].
	Abraham Lincoln's carefully crafted address, secondary to other presentations that day, came to be regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history. In just over two minutes, Lincoln invoked the principles of human equality espoused by the ] and redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the ], but as "a new birth of ]" that would bring true equality to all of its citizens, and that would also create a unified nation in which ] were no longer dominant.
	Beginning with the now-iconic phrase, ''Four ] and seven years ago...'', Lincoln referred to the events of the ] and described the ceremony at Gettysburg as an opportunity not only to consecrate the grounds of a cemetery, but also to dedicate the living to the struggle to ensure that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".
	Despite the speech's prominent place in the history and popular culture of the United States, the exact wording of the speech is disputed. The five known manuscripts of the Gettysburg Address differ in a number of details and also differ from contemporary newspaper reprints of the speech.<ref></ref>
			In his first campaign speech after returning from his military service, Lincoln observed a supporter in the crowd under attack, grabbed the assailant by his "neck and the seat of his trousers", and tossed him.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=36}} In the campaign, Lincoln advocated for navigational improvements on the ]. He could draw crowds as a ], but lacked the requisite formal education, powerful friends, and money, and lost the election.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=hN7QQgAACAAJ}}|title=Life and Works of Abraham Lincoln Volume 3 |chapter=The Improvement of Sangamon River|last=Lincoln|first=Abraham|editor-first=Marion Mills |editor-last=Miller |year=1832|publisher=Wildside Press|isbn=978-1-4344-2497-6}} ]</ref> Lincoln finished eighth out of 13 candidates (the top four were elected), though he received 277 of the 300 votes cast in the New Salem precinct.{{sfn|Winkle|2001|pp=114–116}}
	===1864 election and second inauguration===
	] print of the ] presidential candidates, 1864. Lithograph and watercolor.]]
			Lincoln served as New Salem's postmaster and later as county surveyor, but continued his voracious reading and decided to become a lawyer.<ref name="Zofia">{{cite book |last=Stone |first=Zofia |date=2016 |title=Abraham Lincoln: A Biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hlw1DgAAQBAJ&pg=PT16 |publisher=Alpha Editions |page=16 |isbn=978-9-3863-6727-3 |via=]}}</ref> Rather than studying in the office of an established attorney, as was the custom, Lincoln borrowed legal texts from attorneys ] and ], purchased books including ]'s '']'' and ]'s ''Pleadings'', and ] on his own.<ref name="Zofia" /> He later said of his legal education that "I studied with nobody."{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=53–55}}
	{{main|United States presidential election, 1864}}
	After Union victories at ], ], and ] in 1863, overall victory seemed at hand, and Lincoln promoted ] General-in-Chief on March 12, 1864. When the spring campaigns turned into bloody stalemates, Lincoln supported Grant's strategy of wearing down ] Confederate army at the cost of heavy Union casualties. With an election looming, he easily defeated efforts to deny his renomination. At the Convention, the Republican Party selected ], a ] from the Southern state of Tennessee, as his running mate in order to form a broader coalition. They ran on the new ] ticket uniting Republicans and War Democrats.
			== Illinois state legislature (1834–1842) ==
	]
			]]]
	Nevertheless, Republicans across the country feared that Lincoln would be defeated. Acknowledging this fear, Lincoln wrote and signed a pledge that, if he should lose the election, he would still defeat the Confederacy before turning over the White House:<ref>
			Lincoln's second state house campaign in 1834, this time as a ], was a success over a powerful Whig opponent.{{sfn|White|2009|p=59}} Then followed his four terms in the ] for ].{{sfn|Simon|1990|p=283}} He championed construction of the ], and later was a Canal Commissioner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/abraham-lincoln-in-depth/abraham-lincoln-and-internal-improvements/#imc|title=Abraham Lincoln and Internal Improvements|last=Weik|first=Jesse William|work=Abraham Lincoln's Classroom|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212045823/http://abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/abraham-lincoln-in-depth/abraham-lincoln-and-internal-improvements/#imc|archive-date=February 12, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=February 12, 2015}}</ref> He voted to expand suffrage beyond white landowners to all white males, but adopted a "free soil" stance opposing both slavery and ].{{sfn|Simon|1990|p=130}} In 1837, he declared, " Institution of slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy, but the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than abate its evils."{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=134}} He echoed ]'s support for the ] which advocated a program of abolition in conjunction with settling freed slaves in ].{{sfn|Foner|2010|p=17–19, 67}}
	{{cite book
	|title=The Collapse of the Confederacy
			He was ] to the Illinois bar on September 9, 1836,{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=64}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iardc.org/Lawyer/PrintableDetails/b838e3e7-a864-eb11-b810-000d3a9f4eeb |title=Abraham Lincoln |website=Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), the Supreme Court of Illinois |access-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702123429/https://www.iardc.org/Lawyer/PrintableDetails/b838e3e7-a864-eb11-b810-000d3a9f4eeb |url-status=dead}}</ref> and moved to Springfield and began to practice law under ], Mary Todd's cousin.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=71, 79, 108}} Lincoln emerged as a formidable trial combatant during cross-examinations and closing arguments. He partnered several years with ], and in 1844, began ] with ], "a studious young man".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=17}}
	|author=Grimsley, Mark
	|publisher=]
			On January 27, 1838, Abraham Lincoln, then 28 years old, delivered his ] in ], after the murder of newspaper editor ] in Alton. Lincoln warned that no trans-Atlantic military giant could ever crush the U.S. as a nation. "It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher", said Lincoln.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/lincoln1|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 1.|first=Abraham|last=Lincoln|date=November 18, 2001|page=109}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pow.earthdecks.com/pow-forum/|title=POW FORUM}}</ref> Prior to that, on April 28, 1836, a black man, ], was burned alive in ], ]. Zann Gill describes how these two murders set off a chain reaction that ultimately prompted Abraham Lincoln to run for President.<ref>{{Cite book|first1=Zann | last1=Gill | title= ALTON – campaign to end free speech: Two murders that provoked Lincoln to run for President|date=2023|publisher=MetaVu Books| isbn=979-8-9852417-0-9|location=Berkeley, CA}}</ref>
	|date=2001-03-01
	|isbn=0803221703
			==U.S. House of Representatives (1847–1849)==
	|page=80}}
			] around 1846]]
	</ref>
			[[File:1846 Illinois US House District 7 results.svg|150px|thumb|1846 Illinois U.S. House District 7 results by county<br>{{collapsible list
	{{quote|This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards.<ref>{{harvnb|Basler|1955|p=514}}</ref>}}
			| title = {{legend|#f0c862|Lincoln}}|{{legend0|#FEF4B4|30%-40%}} {{legend0|#FED463|50%-60%}} {{legend0|#FE9929|60%-70%}} {{legend0|#EC7014|70%-80%}}}}
	Lincoln did not show the pledge to his cabinet, but asked them to sign the sealed envelope.
			{{collapsible list
	While the Democratic platform followed the ] of the party and called the war a "failure," their candidate, General ], supported the war and repudiated the platform.
			| title = {{legend|#698dc5|Cartwright}}| {{legend0|#7996E2|50%-60%}}}}]]
	]
			True to his record, Lincoln professed to friends in 1861 to be "an old line Whig, a disciple of Henry Clay".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=222}} Their party favored economic modernization in banking, tariffs to fund ] including railroads, and urbanization.{{sfn|Boritt|Pinsker|2002|pp=137–153}}
	Lincoln provided Grant with new replacements and mobilized his party to support Grant and win local support for the war effort. ] capture of ] in September ended defeatist jitters; the Democratic Party was deeply split, with some leaders and most soldiers openly for Lincoln; the Union party was united and energized, and Lincoln was easily reelected in a landslide. He won all but three states.<ref>
	There is a good discussion of Lincoln's 1864 election anxieties and the effect of Sherman's victory at Atlanta in James M. McPherson, ''Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief'' (New York: Penguin Press, 2008), 231-50.
			In 1843, Lincoln sought the Whig nomination for ] in the ]; he was defeated by ], though he prevailed with the party in limiting Hardin to one term. Lincoln not only pulled off his strategy of gaining the nomination in 1846, but also won the election. He was the only Whig in the Illinois delegation, but as dutiful as any participated in almost all votes and made speeches that toed the party line.{{sfn|Oates|1974|p=79}} He was assigned to the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite web|title=US Congressman Lincoln – Abraham Lincoln Historical Society|url=http://www.abraham-lincoln-history.org/us-congressman-lincoln/|publisher=Abraham-lincoln-history.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215191236/http://www.abraham-lincoln-history.org/us-congressman-lincoln/|archive-date=December 15, 2018|access-date=February 2, 2019}}</ref> Lincoln teamed with ] on a bill to abolish slavery in the ] with compensation for the owners, enforcement to capture fugitive slaves, and a popular vote on the matter. He dropped the bill when it eluded Whig support.{{sfnm|Harris|2007|1p=54|Foner|2010|2p=57}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=LINCOLN, Abraham {{!}} US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/L/LINCOLN,-Abraham-(L000313)/ |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=history.house.gov |language=en}}</ref>
	</ref>
	On March 4, 1865, Lincoln delivered his ], his favorite of all his speeches. At this time, a victory over the rebels was at hand, slavery was dead, and Lincoln was looking to the future.
			=== Political views ===
	{{quote|Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether." With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.<ref>{{harvnb|Basler|1955|p=333}}</ref>
			On foreign and military policy, Lincoln spoke against the ], which he imputed President ]'s desire for "military glory — that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood".{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2006|pp=181–183}} He supported the ], a failed proposal to ban slavery in any U.S. territory won from Mexico.{{sfn|Holzer|2004|p=63}}
	}}
	===Conducting the war effort===
			Lincoln emphasized his opposition to Polk by drafting and introducing his ]. The war had begun with a killing of American soldiers by Mexican cavalry patrol in disputed territory, and Polk insisted that Mexican soldiers had "invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil".{{sfn|Oates|1974|pp=79–80}} Lincoln demanded that Polk show Congress the exact spot on which blood had been shed and prove that the spot was on American soil.{{sfn|Graebner|1959|pp=199–202}} The resolution was ignored in both Congress and the national papers, and it cost Lincoln political support in his district. One Illinois newspaper derisively nicknamed him "spotty Lincoln".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/lincoln-resolutions/ |title=Lincoln's Spot Resolutions |publisher=National Archives |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920053345/http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/lincoln-resolutions/ |archive-date=September 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 12, 2009}}</ref> Lincoln later regretted some of his statements, especially his attack on presidential war-making powers.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=128}}
	{{Refimprovesect|date=September 2008|lots of assertions (including several about Lincoln's state of mind) & there are only TWO references}}
	], ], ], and ] take a swing at the Lincoln administration]]
			Lincoln had pledged in 1846 to serve only one term in the House. Realizing Clay was unlikely to win the presidency, he supported General ] for the Whig nomination in the ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=124–126}} Taylor won and Lincoln hoped in vain to be appointed Commissioner of the ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=140}} The administration offered to appoint him secretary or governor of the ] as consolation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Arnold |first=Isaac Newton |date=1885 |title=The Life of Abraham Lincoln |volume=2 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=3zgDAAAAYAAJ|page=81}} |location=Chicago, IL |publisher=Janses, McClurg, & Company |page=81}}</ref> This distant territory was a Democratic stronghold, and acceptance of the post would have disrupted his legal and political career in Illinois, so he declined and resumed his law practice.{{sfn|Harris|2007|pp=55–57}}
	The war was a source of constant frustration for the president, and occupied nearly all of his time. He had a contentious relationship with General ], who became general-in-chief of all the Union armies in the wake of the embarrassing Union defeat at the ] and after the retirement of ] in late 1861. Despite his inexperience in military affairs, Lincoln wanted to take an active part in determining war strategy. His priorities were twofold: to ensure that ] was well defended; and to conduct an aggressive war effort in the hope of ending the war quickly and appeasing the Northern public and press. McClellan, a youthful ] graduate and railroad executive called back to active military service, took a more cautious approach. He took several months to plan and execute his ], with the objective of capturing ] by moving the ] by boat to the ] between the ] and ]. McClellan's delay irritated Lincoln, as did his insistence that no troops were needed to defend Washington, D.C. Lincoln insisted on holding some of McClellan's troops to defend the capital, a decision McClellan blamed for the ultimate failure of the Peninsula Campaign.
	McClellan, a lifelong ] who was temperamentally conservative, was relieved as general-in-chief after releasing his ''Harrison's Landing Letter'', where he offered unsolicited political advice to Lincoln urging caution in the war effort. McClellan's letter incensed Radical Republicans, who successfully pressured Lincoln to appoint ], a Republican, as head of the new ]. Pope complied with Lincoln's strategic desire to move toward Richmond from the north, thus protecting the capital from attack. However, Pope was soundly defeated at the ] in the summer of 1862, forcing the Army of the Potomac to defend Washington for a second time. In response to his failure, Pope was sent to Minnesota to fight the ].<ref>
			==Prairie lawyer==
	{{harvnb|Thomas|1952|p=335-8, 346}}
			{{See also|List of cases involving Abraham Lincoln}}
	</ref>
	] photo depicts President Lincoln reading a book with his youngest son, ]]]		]
			In his Springfield practice, Lincoln handled "every kind of business that could come before a prairie lawyer".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=96}} Twice a year he appeared for 10 consecutive weeks in county seats in the Midstate county courts; this continued for 16 years.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=105–106, 158}} Lincoln handled transportation cases in the midst of the nation's western expansion, particularly river barge conflicts under the many new railroad bridges. As a riverboat man, Lincoln initially favored those interests, but ultimately represented whoever hired him.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=142–143}} He later represented a bridge company against a riverboat company in '']'', a landmark case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=o30wBAAAQBAJ}}|title=Lincoln's Greatest Case: The River, the Bridge, and the Making of America|last=McGinty|first=Brian|date=February 9, 2015|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-87140-785-6}}</ref> In 1849 he received ] for the movement of boats in shallow water. The idea was never commercialized, but it made Lincoln the only president to hold a patent.<ref>{{cite web |title= Abraham Lincoln's Patent Model: Improvement for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |url= http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_213141 |access-date= April 28, 2017 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170825232337/http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_213141 |archive-date= August 25, 2017 |df= mdy-all}}</ref>
	Panicked by Lee's invasion of ], Lincoln restored McClellan to command of all forces around Washington in time for the ] (September 1862). The ensuing Union victory enabled Lincoln to release his Emancipation Proclamation, but he relieved McClellan of his command shortly after the 1862 midterm elections and appointed Republican ] to head the Army of the Potomac. Burnside had promised to follow through on Lincoln's strategic vision for a strong offensive against Lee and Richmond. After Burnside was stunningly defeated at ], ] was given the command, despite his idle talk about the necessity for a military dictator to win the war and a past history of criticizing his commanders.<ref>
	{{cite web
			Lincoln appeared before the Illinois Supreme Court in 175 cases; he was sole counsel in 51 cases, of which 31 were decided in his favor.{{sfn|Richards|2015|p=440}} From 1853 to 1860, one of his largest clients was the ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=155–156, 196–197}} His legal reputation gave rise to the nickname "Honest Abe".<ref>{{Cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=5GJ6Un1JA_8C}}|title=The Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln|last=Library|first=Philosophical|date=November 9, 2010|publisher=Open Road Media|isbn=978-1-4532-0281-4}}</ref>
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://www.civilwarhome.com/hookbio.htm
			In an 1858 criminal trial, Lincoln represented William "Duff" Armstrong, who was on trial for the murder of James Preston Metzker.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=150–151}} The case is famous for Lincoln's use of a fact established by ] to challenge the credibility of an eyewitness. After an opposing witness testified to seeing the crime in the moonlight, Lincoln produced a '']'' showing the Moon was at a low angle, drastically reducing visibility. Armstrong was acquitted.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=150–151}}
	|title=Joseph Hooker
	|publisher=Civil War Home}}
			In an 1859 murder case, leading up to his presidential campaign, Lincoln elevated his profile with his defense of Simeon Quinn "Peachy" Harrison, who was a third cousin;{{efn|Lincoln was a descendant of the Harrisons through his grandmother, Bathsheba Herring.{{sfn|Harrison|1935|pp=280–286, 350–351}}}} Harrison was also the grandson of Lincoln's political opponent, ].{{sfn|Harrison|1935}} Harrison was charged with the murder of Greek Crafton who, as he lay dying of his wounds, confessed to Cartwright that he had provoked Harrison.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mitgang |first1=Herbert |date=February 10, 1989 |title=THE LAW; Lincoln as Lawyer: Transcript Tells Murder Story |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/10/nyregion/the-law-lincoln-as-lawyer-transcript-tells-murder-story.html |access-date=November 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Lincoln angrily protested the judge's initial decision to exclude Cartwright's testimony about the confession as inadmissible ]. Lincoln argued that the testimony involved a ] and was not subject to the hearsay rule. Instead of holding Lincoln in ] as expected, the judge, a Democrat, reversed his ruling and admitted the testimony into evidence, resulting in Harrison's acquittal.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=150–151}}
	</ref>
	Hooker was routed by Lee at the ] (May 1863), and relieved of command early in the subsequent ] replaced by ].
			==Republican politics (1854–1860)==
	After the Union victory at Gettysburg, Meade's failure to pursue Lee and months of inactivity for the Army of the Potomac persuaded Lincoln to bring in a western general, ]. Grant already had a solid string of victories in the Western Theater, including the battles of Vicksburg and ]. Responding to criticism of Grant, Lincoln replied, "I can't spare this man. He fights."<ref>
			{{Main|Abraham Lincoln in politics, 1849–1861}}
	{{harvnb|Thomas|1952|p=315}}
	</ref>
			===Emergence as Republican leader===
	Grant waged his bloody ] in 1864 with a strategy of a ], characterized by high Union losses at battles such as the ] and ], but by proportionately higher Confederate losses. The high casualty figures alarmed the nation and after Grant lost a third of his army Lincoln asked what Grant's plans were. "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer," replied Grant. Lincoln and the Republican party mobilized support throughout the North, backed Grant to the hilt, and replaced his losses.<ref>
			{{Further|Slave states and free states|Abraham Lincoln and slavery}}
	{{harvnb|Thomas|1952|p=422-24}}
			] with ] over slavery]]
	</ref>
	The Confederacy was out of replacements so Lee's army shrank with every battle, forcing it back to trenches outside ]. In April 1865 Lee's army finally crumbled under Grant's pounding, and Richmond fell.
			The debate over the status of slavery in the territories failed to alleviate tensions between the slave-holding South and the free North, with the failure of the ], a legislative package designed to address the issue.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=175–176}} In his 1852 eulogy for Clay, Lincoln highlighted the latter's support for gradual emancipation and opposition to "both extremes" on the slavery issue.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=182–185}} As the slavery debate in the ] and ] territories became particularly acrimonious, Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed ] as a compromise; the measure would allow the electorate of each territory to decide the status of slavery. The legislation alarmed many Northerners, who sought to prevent the spread of slavery that could result, but Douglas's ] narrowly passed Congress in May 1854.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=188–190}}
	], with ] and Major General ] at Antietam]]
	Lincoln authorized Grant to target the Confederate infrastructure — such as plantations, railroads, and bridges — hoping to destroy the South's morale and weaken its economic ability to continue fighting. This allowed Generals ] and ] to destroy plantations and towns in the ], ], and South Carolina. The damage caused by ] through Georgia totaled in excess of $100 million by Sherman's own estimate.<ref>
			Lincoln did not comment on the act until months later in his "]" of October 1854. Lincoln then declared his opposition to slavery, which he repeated en route to the presidency.{{sfn|Thomas|2008|pp=148–152}} He said the Kansas Act had a "''declared'' indifference, but as I must think, a covert ''real'' zeal for the spread of slavery. I cannot but hate it. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world...."{{sfn|Graebner|1959|p=255}} Lincoln's attacks on the Kansas–Nebraska Act marked his return to political life.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=203–205}}
	{{cite book
	|title=The United States: A History of the Republic
			Nationally the Whigs were irreparably split by the Kansas–Nebraska Act and other efforts to compromise on the slavery issue. Reflecting on the demise of his party, Lincoln wrote in 1855, "I think I am a Whig, but others say there are no Whigs, and that I am an abolitionist. ... I do no more than oppose the ''extension'' of slavery."{{sfn|White|2009|pp=215–216}} The new ] was formed as a northern party dedicated to antislavery, drawing from the antislavery wing of the Whig Party and combining ], ], and antislavery ] members,{{sfn|McGovern|2009|pp=38–39}} Lincoln resisted early Republican entreaties, fearing that the new party would become a platform for extreme abolitionists.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=203–204}} Lincoln held out hope for rejuvenating the Whigs, though he lamented his party's growing closeness with the nativist ] movement.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=191–194}}
	|author=Davidson, James West
	|publisher=]
			In 1854, Lincoln was elected to the Illinois legislature, but before the term began in January he declined to take his seat so that he would be eligible to be a candidate in the upcoming U.S. Senate election.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notice that Abraham Lincoln declines to serve in the General Assembly (1854) |url=https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/online_exhibits/100_documents/1854-lincoln-declines-ga.html |website=Office of the Illinois Secretary of State}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Oates |first=Stephen |title=With Malice Toward None: A Biography of Abraham Lincoln |year=1977 |pages=118–120}}</ref> The year's elections showed the strong opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act, and in the aftermath Lincoln sought election to the U.S. Senate.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=203–205}} At that time, senators were elected by state legislatures.{{sfn|Oates|1974|p=119}} After leading in the first six rounds of voting, he was unable to obtain a majority. Lincoln instructed his backers to vote for ]. Trumbull was an antislavery Democrat and had received few votes in the earlier ballots; his supporters, also antislavery Democrats, had vowed not to support any Whig. Lincoln's decision to withdraw enabled his Whig supporters and Trumbull's antislavery Democrats to combine and defeat the mainstream Democratic candidate, ].{{sfn|White|2009|pp=205–208}}
	|month=April
	|year=1990
			==== 1856 campaign ====
	|isbn=0139436979
			] continued, and opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act remained strong throughout the North. As the ] approached, Lincoln joined the Republicans and attended the ], which formally established the ]. The convention platform endorsed Congress's right to regulate slavery in the territories and backed the admission of Kansas as a free state. Lincoln gave the ] of the convention supporting the party platform and called for the preservation of the Union.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=216–221}} At the June ], though Lincoln received support to run as vice president, ] and ] were on the ticket, which Lincoln supported throughout Illinois. The Democrats nominated former Secretary of State ] and the Know-Nothings nominated former Whig President ].{{sfn|White|2009|pp=224–228}} Buchanan prevailed, while Republican ] won election as Governor of Illinois, and Lincoln became a leading Republican in Illinois.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=229–230}}{{efn|] contrasts the abolitionists and anti-slavery Radical Republicans of the Northeast, who saw slavery as a sin, with the conservative Republicans, who thought it was bad because it hurt ] and blocked progress. Foner argues that Lincoln was in the middle, opposing slavery primarily because it violated the ] of the ], especially the equality of all men and democratic self-government as expressed in the ].{{sfn|Foner|2010|pp=84–88}}}}
	|page=446}}
	</ref>
			==== ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' ====
	Lincoln possessed a keen understanding of strategic points (such as the Mississippi River and the fortress city of Vicksburg) and understood the importance of defeating the enemy's army, rather than simply capturing cities. He had, however, limited success in motivating his commanders to adopt his strategies until late 1863, when he found a man who shared his vision of the war in Ulysses S. Grant. Only then could he insist on using ] troops and relentlessly pursue a series of coordinated offensives in multiple theaters.
			] was a slave whose master took him from a slave state to a territory that was free as a result of the ]. After Scott was returned to the slave state, he petitioned a federal court for his freedom. His petition was denied in '']'' (1857).{{Efn|Although the name of the Supreme Court case is ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'', the respondent's ] was actually "Sanford". A ] misspelled the name, and the court never corrected the error.<ref>{{Cite journal| last=Vishneski|first=John| year=1988| title=What the Court Decided in Dred Scott v. Sandford|journal= The American Journal of Legal History|volume=32|issue=4|pages=373–390|jstor= 845743|publisher=Temple University|doi=10.2307/845743 | issn = 0002-9319 }}</ref>}} In his opinion, Supreme Court Chief Justice ] wrote that black people were not citizens and derived no rights from the Constitution, and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional for infringing upon slave owners' "property" rights. While many Democrats hoped that ''Dred Scott'' would end the dispute over slavery in the territories, the decision sparked further outrage in the North.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=236–238}} Lincoln denounced it as the product of a conspiracy of Democrats to support the ].{{sfn|Zarefsky|1993|pp=69–110}} He argued the decision was at variance with the Declaration of Independence; he said that while the founding fathers did not believe all men equal in every respect, they believed all men were equal "in certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".{{sfn|Jaffa|2000|pp=299–300}}
	Throughout the war, Lincoln showed a keen curiosity with the military campaigns. He spent hours at the War Department telegraph office, reading dispatches from his generals. He visited battle sites frequently, and seemed fascinated by scenes of war. During ]'s ] in 1864, Lincoln was watching the combat from an exposed position; a captain shouted at him, "Get down, you damn fool, before you get shot!"<ref>
	The Captain was ];
			===Lincoln–Douglas debates and Cooper Union speech===
	{{harvnb|Thomas|1952|p=434}}
			{{Further|Lincoln–Douglas debates|Cooper Union speech}}
	</ref>
			In 1858, Douglas was up for re-election in the U.S. Senate, and Lincoln hoped to defeat him. Many in the party felt that a former Whig should be nominated in 1858, and Lincoln's 1856 campaigning and support of Trumbull had earned him a favor.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=247–248}} Some eastern Republicans supported Douglas for his opposition to the ] and admission of Kansas as a ].{{sfn|Oates|1974|pp=138–139}} Many Illinois Republicans resented this eastern interference. For the first time, Illinois Republicans held a convention to agree upon a Senate candidate, and Lincoln won the nomination with little opposition.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=247–250}}
			] taken February 27, 1860, the day of Lincoln's ] in New York City]]
			Lincoln accepted the nomination with great enthusiasm and zeal. After his nomination he delivered his ], with the biblical reference ], "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."{{sfn|White|2009|p=251}} The speech created a stark image of the danger of disunion.{{sfn|Harris|2007|p=98}} The stage was then set for the election of the Illinois legislature which would, in turn, select Lincoln or Douglas.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=209}} When informed of Lincoln's nomination, Douglas stated, " is the strong man of the party&nbsp;... and if I beat him, my victory will be hardly won."{{sfn|White|2009|pp=257–258}}
			The Senate campaign featured seven ] between Lincoln and Douglas. These were the most famous political debates in American history; they had an atmosphere akin to a prizefight and drew crowds in the thousands.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=214–218}} The principals stood in stark contrast both physically and politically. Lincoln warned that the ] was threatening the values of republicanism, and he accused Douglas of distorting the Founding Fathers' premise that ]. In his ], Douglas argued that, despite the ] decision, which he claimed to support,{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=202, 219, 232}} local settlers, under the doctrine of ], should be free to choose whether to allow slavery within their territory, and he accused Lincoln of having joined the abolitionists.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=214–224}} Lincoln's argument assumed a moral tone, as he claimed that Douglas represented a conspiracy to promote slavery. Douglas's argument was more legal in nature, claiming that Lincoln was defying the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court as exercised in the ''Dred Scott'' decision.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=223}}
			Though the Republican legislative candidates won more popular votes, the Democrats won more seats, and the legislature re-elected Douglas. However, Lincoln's articulation of the issues had given him a national political presence.{{sfn|Carwardine|2003|pp=89–90}} In May 1859, Lincoln purchased the ''Illinois Staats-Anzeiger'', a German-language newspaper that was consistently supportive; most of the state's 130,000 German Americans voted for Democrats, but the German-language paper mobilized Republican support.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=242, 412}} In the aftermath of the 1858 election, newspapers frequently mentioned Lincoln as a potential Republican presidential candidate, rivaled by ], ], ], and ]. While Lincoln was popular in the Midwest, he lacked support in the Northeast and was unsure whether to seek the office.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=291–293}} In January 1860, Lincoln told a group of political allies that he would accept the presidential nomination if offered and, in the following months, several local papers endorsed his candidacy.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=307–308}}
			Over the coming months Lincoln was tireless, making nearly fifty speeches along the campaign trail. By the quality and simplicity of his rhetoric, he quickly became the champion of the Republican party. However, despite his overwhelming support in the ], he was less appreciated in the east. ], editor of the New York Tribune, at that time wrote up an unflattering account of Lincoln's compromising position on slavery and his reluctance to challenge the court's ''Dred Scott'' ruling, which was promptly used against him by his political rivals.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=200}}{{sfn|Morse|1893|p=112}}
			On February 27, 1860, powerful New York Republicans invited Lincoln to give a ], in which he argued that the ] had little use for popular sovereignty and had repeatedly sought to restrict slavery. He insisted that morality required opposition to slavery and rejected any "groping for some middle ground between the right and the wrong".{{sfn|Jaffa|2000|p=473}} Many in the audience thought he appeared awkward and even ugly.{{sfn|Holzer|2004|pp=108–111}} But Lincoln demonstrated intellectual leadership, which brought him into contention. Journalist ] reported, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience".{{sfnm|Carwardine|2003|1p=97|Holzer|2004|2p=157}}
			Historian ] described the speech as "a superb political move for an unannounced presidential aspirant. Appearing in Seward's home state, sponsored by a group largely loyal to Chase, Lincoln shrewdly made no reference to either of these Republican rivals for the nomination."{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=240}} In response to an inquiry about his ambitions, Lincoln said, "The taste ''is'' in my mouth a little".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=241}}
			===1860 presidential election===
			{{Main|1860 United States presidential election}}
			{{multiple image| align = right | direction = vertical | width = 220| image1 = The Rail Candidate.jpg |alt1= Lincoln being carried by two men on a long board. | caption1 = ''The Rail Candidate''—Lincoln's 1860 platform, portrayed as being held up by a slave and his party| image2 = ElectoralCollege1860.svg |alt2= Map of the U.S. showing Lincoln winning the North-east and West, Breckinridge winning the South, Douglas winning Missouri, and Bell winning Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky.| caption2 = In the ], northern and western ] votes (shown in red) put Lincoln into the ].}}
			On May 9–10, 1860, the Illinois Republican State Convention was held in ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=244}} Lincoln's followers organized a campaign team led by ], ], ], and Jesse DuBois, and Lincoln received his first endorsement.{{sfn|Oates|1974|pp=175–176}} Exploiting his embellished frontier legend (clearing land and splitting fence rails), Lincoln's supporters adopted the label of "The Rail Candidate".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=245}} In 1860, Lincoln described himself: "I am in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and gray eyes."<ref>{{cite letter |first=Abraham |last=Lincoln |recipient=Jesse W. Fell |subject=Herewith is a little sketch, as you requested |date=December 20, 1859 |url=https://www.nps.gov/libo/learn/historyculture/abraham_lincoln.htm |access-date=November 6, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107024658/https://www.nps.gov/libo/learn/historyculture/abraham_lincoln.htm |archive-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref> Michael Martinez wrote about the effective imaging of Lincoln by his campaign. At times he was presented as the plain-talking "Rail Splitter" and at other times he was "Honest Abe", unpolished but trustworthy.<ref>{{cite book|author=Martinez, J. Michael |title=Coming for to Carry Me Home: Race in America from Abolitionism to Jim Crow|url={{google books|plainurl=y| id=PoJ2uyDrg5MC |page=59}}|year=2011 |page=59|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-1-4422-1500-9}}</ref>
			On May 18 at the ] in Chicago, Lincoln won the nomination on the third ballot, beating candidates such as Seward and Chase. A former Democrat, ] of Maine, was nominated for vice president to ]. Lincoln's success depended on his campaign team, his reputation as a moderate on the slavery issue, and his strong support for internal improvements and the tariff.{{sfn|Luthin|1944|pp=609–629}} Pennsylvania put him over the top, led by the state's iron interests who were reassured by his tariff support.{{sfn|Hofstadter|1938|pp=50–55}} Lincoln's managers had focused on this delegation while honoring Lincoln's dictate to "Make no contracts that will bind me".{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=247–250}}
			As the Slave Power tightened its grip on the national government, most Republicans agreed with Lincoln that the North was the aggrieved party. Throughout the 1850s, Lincoln had doubted the prospects of civil war, and his supporters rejected claims that his election would incite secession.{{sfn|Boritt|Pinsker|2002|pp=10, 13, 18}} When Douglas was selected as the candidate of the Northern Democrats, delegates from eleven slave states walked out of the ]; they opposed Douglas's position on popular sovereignty, and selected incumbent Vice President ] as their candidate.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=253}} A group of former Whigs and Know Nothings formed the ] and nominated ] of Tennessee. Lincoln and Douglas competed for votes in the North, while Bell and Breckinridge primarily found support in the South.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=247–248}}
			Before the Republican convention, the Lincoln campaign began cultivating a nationwide youth organization, the ], which it used to generate popular support throughout the country to spearhead voter registration drives, thinking that new voters and young voters tended to embrace new parties.<ref>{{cite book|title=Lincoln for President: An Unlikely Candidate, An Audacious Strategy, and the Victory No One Saw Coming|last=Chadwick|first=Bruce|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=2PQqZzyw4uAC|page=l49}}|pages=147–149|publisher=Sourcebooks|location=Naperville, Illinois|date=2009|access-date=April 1, 2017|isbn=978-1-4022-4756-9}}</ref> People of the Northern states knew the Southern states would vote against Lincoln and rallied supporters for Lincoln.<ref>Murrin, John (2006). ''Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People''. Belmont: Clark Baxter. p. 464. {{ISBN|978-0-495-91588-1}}</ref>
			As Douglas and the other candidates campaigned, Lincoln gave no speeches, relying on the enthusiasm of the Republican Party. The party did the leg work that produced majorities across the North and produced an abundance of campaign posters, leaflets, and newspaper editorials. Republican speakers focused first on the party platform, and second on Lincoln's life story, emphasizing his childhood poverty. The goal was to demonstrate the power of "free labor", which allowed a common farm boy to work his way to the top by his own efforts.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=254–256}} The Republican Party's production of campaign literature dwarfed the combined opposition; a ''Chicago Tribune'' writer produced a pamphlet that detailed Lincoln's life and sold 100,000–200,000 copies.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=254}} Though he did not give public appearances, many sought to visit him and write him. In the runup to the election, he took an office in the Illinois state capitol to deal with the influx of attention. He also hired ] as his personal secretary, who would remain in that role during the presidency.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=251–252|p=}}
			On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president. He was the first Republican president and his victory was entirely due to his support in the North and West. No ballots were cast for him in 10 of the 15 Southern slave states, and he won only two of 996 counties in all the Southern states, an omen of the impending Civil War.{{sfn|Mansch|2005|p=61}}{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=256}} Lincoln received 1,866,452 votes, or 39.8% of the total in a four-way race, carrying the free Northern states, as well as California and Oregon.{{sfn|White|2009|p=350}} His victory in the ] was decisive: Lincoln had 180 votes to 123 for his opponents.{{sfn|Nevins|1947|p=4:312}}
			==Presidency (1861–1865)==
			{{Main|Presidency of Abraham Lincoln}}
			===Secession and inauguration===
			{{Main|Presidential transition of Abraham Lincoln}}
			{{Further|Secession winter|Baltimore Plot}}
			{{Multiple image|total_width=500px|image1=Abraham lincoln inauguration 1861.jpg|alt1=A large crowd in front of a large building with many pillars.|caption1=] at the ], March 4, 1861. ] above the rotunda was still under construction.|image2=18610304 Affairs of the Nation - Abraham Lincoln inauguration - The New York Times.jpg|caption2=Headines in '']'' following Lincoln's first inauguration portended imminent hostilities; less than six weeks later, the ] attacked ], launching the ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Affairs of the Nation / The Change of Administration To-Day |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-times-mar-04-1861-p-1/ |work=The New York Times |date=March 4, 1861 |page=1}}</ref>}}
			The South was outraged by Lincoln's election, and in response secessionists implemented plans to leave the Union before he took office in March 1861.{{sfn|Edgar|1998|p=350}} On December 20, 1860, South Carolina took the lead by adopting an ordinance of secession; by February 1, 1861, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed.{{sfnm|Donald|1996|1p=267|Potter|1977|p2=498}} Six of these states declared themselves to be a sovereign nation, the ], and adopted a constitution.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=267}} The upper South and border states (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas) initially rejected the secessionist appeal.{{sfn|White|2009|p=362}} President Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy, declaring secession illegal.{{sfn|Potter|1977|pp=520, 569–570}} The Confederacy selected ] as its provisional president on February 9, 1861.{{sfn|White|2009|p=369}}
			Attempts at compromise followed but Lincoln and the Republicans rejected the proposed ] as contrary to the Party's platform of free-soil in the ].{{sfn|White|2009|pp=360–361}} Lincoln said, "I will suffer death before I consent&nbsp;... to any concession or compromise which looks like buying the privilege to take possession of this government to which we have a constitutional right".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=268}}
			Lincoln supported the ] to the Constitution, which passed Congress and was awaiting ratification by the states when Lincoln took office. That doomed amendment would have protected slavery in states where it already existed.{{sfnm|Vorenberg|2001|1p=22|Vile|2003|2pp=280–281}} On March 4, 1861, in his ], Lincoln said that, because he holds "such a provision to now be implied constitutional law, I have no objection to its being made express and irrevocable".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln1.asp|title=Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States : from George Washington 1789 to George Bush 1989|website=avalon.law.yale.edu}}</ref> A few weeks before the war, Lincoln sent a letter to every governor informing them Congress had passed a joint resolution to amend the Constitution.{{sfn|Lupton|2006|p=34}}
			On February 11, 1861, Lincoln gave a particularly emotional ] upon leaving Springfield; he would never again return to Springfield alive.<ref>{{cite web|title=Broadside, "President Lincoln's Farewell Address to His Old Neighbors, Springfield, February 12, 1861" – The Henry Ford|url=https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/236607/|access-date=December 5, 2020|website=www.thehenryford.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Lincoln's Farewell Address – Illinois History & Lincoln Collections|date=January 27, 2018 |url=https://publish.illinois.edu/ihlc-blog/2018/01/27/lincolns-farewell-address/|access-date=December 5, 2020|language=en-US}}</ref> Lincoln traveled east in a special train. Due to secessionist plots, a then-unprecedented attention to security was given to him and his train. En route to his inauguration, Lincoln addressed crowds and legislatures across the North.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=273–277}} The president-elect evaded suspected ]. He traveled in disguise, wearing a soft felt hat instead of his customary stovepipe hat and draping an overcoat over his shoulders while hunching slightly to conceal his height. His friend Congressman ] recognized him on the platform upon arrival and loudly called out to him.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lincoln-arrives-in-washington | title=Abraham Lincoln arrives in Washington, D.C. &#124; February 23, 1861 }}</ref> On February 23, 1861, he arrived in Washington, D.C., which was placed under substantial military guard.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=277–279}} Lincoln directed ] to the South, proclaiming once again that he had no inclination to abolish slavery in the Southern states:
			{{Blockquote|Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States, that by the accession of a Republican Administration, their property, and their peace, and personal security, are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed, and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."|], 4 March 1861<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/lincoln4|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 4.|first=Abraham|last=Lincoln|date=March 8, 2001|page=333}}</ref>{{sfn|Sandburg|2002|p=212}}|source=}} Lincoln cited his plans for banning the expansion of slavery as the key source of conflict between North and South, stating "One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute." The president ended his address with an appeal to the people of the South: "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.... The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=283–284}} The failure of the ] signaled that legislative compromise was impossible. By March 1861, no leaders of the insurrection had proposed rejoining the Union on any terms. Meanwhile, Lincoln and the Republican leadership agreed that the dismantling of the Union could not be tolerated.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=268, 279}} In his ], Lincoln looked back on the situation at the time and said: "Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the Nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came."
			===Civil War===
			{{Main|American Civil War|Battle of Fort Sumter}}
			]
			], commander of the Union's ] in Charleston, South Carolina, sent a request for provisions to Washington, and Lincoln's order to meet that request was seen by the secessionists as an act of war. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Union troops ] and began the fight. Historian ] argued that the newly inaugurated Lincoln made three miscalculations: underestimating the gravity of the crisis, exaggerating the strength of Unionist sentiment in the South, and overlooking ] opposition to an invasion.{{sfn|Nevins|1959|p=5:29}}
			] talked to Lincoln during inauguration week and was "sadly disappointed" at his failure to realize that "the country was sleeping on a volcano" and that the South was preparing for war.{{sfn|Sherman|1990|pp=185–186}} Donald concludes, "His repeated efforts to avoid collision in the months between inauguration and the firing on Fort Sumter showed he adhered to his vow not to be the first to shed fraternal blood. But he had also vowed not to surrender the forts.... The only resolution of these contradictory positions was for the Confederates to fire the first shot". They did just that.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=293}}
			On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to send a total of ] to recapture forts, protect Washington, and "preserve the Union", which, in his view, remained intact despite the seceding states. This call forced states to choose sides. Virginia seceded and was rewarded with the designation of ] as the Confederate capital, despite its exposure to Union lines. North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed over the following two months. Secession sentiment was strong in Missouri and Maryland, but did not prevail; Kentucky remained neutral.{{sfn|Oates|1974|p=226}} The Fort Sumter attack rallied Americans north of the ] to defend the nation.
			As states sent Union regiments south, on April 19 Baltimore mobs in control of the rail links ] who were changing trains. Local leaders' groups later burned critical rail bridges to the capital and the Army responded by arresting ] officials. Lincoln suspended the writ of '']'' in an effort to protect the troops trying to reach Washington.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|Coles|2002|p=174}} ], one Maryland official hindering the U.S. troop movements, petitioned Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney to issue a writ of ''habeas corpus.'' In June, in ], Taney, not ruling on behalf of the Supreme Court,<ref>"One significant point of disagreement among historians and political scientists is whether Roger Taney heard ''Ex parte Merryman'' as a U.S. circuit judge or as a Supreme Court justice in chambers." White, Jonathan W., ''Abraham Lincoln and Treason in the Civil War: The Trials of John Merryman'', Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2011, pp. 38–39.</ref> issued the writ, believing that Article I, section 9 of the Constitution authorized only Congress and not the president to suspend it. But Lincoln invoked ] and persisted with the policy of suspension in select areas.{{sfn|Harris|2011|pp=59–71}}{{sfn|Neely|1992|pp=3–31}}
			====Union military strategy====
			Lincoln took executive control of the war and shaped the ] military strategy. He responded to the unprecedented political and military crisis as ] by exercising unprecedented authority. He expanded his war powers, imposed a blockade on Confederate ports, disbursed funds before appropriation by Congress, suspended ''habeas corpus'', and arrested and imprisoned thousands of suspected Confederate sympathizers. Lincoln gained the support of Congress and the northern public for these actions. Lincoln also had to reinforce Union sympathies in the border slave states and keep the war from becoming an international conflict.{{sfnm|Donald|1996|1pp=303–304|Carwardine|2003|2pp=163–164}}
			], ], ], ], Lincoln, and others]]
			It was clear from the outset that bipartisan support was essential to success, and that any compromise alienated factions on both sides of the aisle, such as the appointment of Republicans and Democrats to command positions. Copperheads criticized Lincoln for refusing to compromise on slavery. The Radical Republicans criticized him for moving too slowly in abolishing slavery.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=315–339, 417}} On August 6, 1861, Lincoln signed the ], which authorized judicial proceedings to confiscate and free slaves who were used to support the Confederates. The law had little practical effect, but it signaled political support for abolishing slavery.{{sfnm|Donald|1996|1p=314|Carwardine|2003|2p=178}}
			In August 1861, General John C. Frémont, the 1856 Republican presidential nominee, without consulting Washington, issued a martial edict freeing slaves of the rebels. Lincoln canceled the proclamation as violating the ] and beyond Frémont's authority to issue.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=314–317}} As a result, Union enlistments from Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri increased by over 40,000.{{sfn|Carwardine|2003|p=181}}
			Internationally, Lincoln wanted to forestall foreign military aid to the Confederacy.{{sfn|Boritt|Pinsker|2002|pp=213–214}} He relied on his combative Secretary of State ] while working closely with ] chairman ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=322}} In the 1861 ], which threatened war with Great Britain, the U.S. Navy illegally intercepted a British mail ship, the ''Trent'', on the high seas and seized two Confederate envoys; Britain protested vehemently while the U.S. cheered. Lincoln ended the crisis by releasing the two diplomats. Biographer ] dissected Lincoln's successful techniques:<ref>{{cite book|first=James Garfield|last= Randall|title=Lincoln the President: Springfield to Gettysburg|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Vi8aAQAAIAAJ|page=50}}|year=1946|page=50|isbn=978-0-306-80754-1}} quoted in Peraino, Kevin (2013) ''Lincoln in the World: The Making of a Statesman and the Dawn of American Power''. pp. 160–61. {{ISBN|978-0-307-88720-7}}</ref>
			{{Blockquote|his restraint, his avoidance of any outward expression of truculence, his early softening of State Department's attitude toward Britain, his deference toward Seward and Sumner, his withholding of his paper prepared for the occasion, his readiness to arbitrate, his golden silence in addressing Congress, his shrewdness in recognizing that war must be averted, and his clear perception that a point could be clinched for America's true position at the same time that full satisfaction was given to a friendly country.}}
			Lincoln painstakingly monitored the telegraph reports coming into the War Department. He tracked all phases of the effort, consulting with governors and selecting generals based on their success, their state, and their party. In January 1862, after complaints of inefficiency and profiteering in the War Department, Lincoln replaced ] Simon Cameron with ]. Stanton centralized the War Department's activities, auditing and canceling contracts, saving the federal government $17,000,000.{{sfn|Oates|1974|p=115}} Stanton was a staunch Unionist, pro-business, conservative Democrat who gravitated toward the Radical Republican faction. He worked more often and more closely with Lincoln than did any other senior official. "Stanton and Lincoln virtually conducted the war together", say Thomas and Hyman.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=WTGTAAAAIAAJ|page=385}}|title=Stanton: The Life and Times of Lincoln's Secretary of War|last1=Thomas|first1=Benjamin Platt|last2=Hyman|first2=Harold Melvin|date=1962|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|pages= 71, 87, 229–30, 385 (quote)}}</ref>
			Lincoln's war strategy had two priorities: ensuring that Washington was well-defended and conducting an aggressive war effort for a prompt, decisive victory.{{efn|Major Northern newspapers, however, demanded more—they expected victory within 90 days.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=295–296}}}} Twice a week, Lincoln met with his cabinet in the afternoon. Occasionally Mary prevailed on him to take a carriage ride, concerned that he was working too hard.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=391–392}} For his edification Lincoln relied upon a book by his chief of staff General ] entitled ''Elements of Military Art and Science''; Halleck was a disciple of the European strategist ]. Lincoln began to appreciate the critical need to control strategic points, such as the ].{{sfn|Ambrose|1996|pp=7, 66, 159}} Lincoln saw the importance of ] and understood the necessity of defeating the enemy's army, rather than merely capturing territory.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=432–436}}
			In directing the Union's war strategy, Lincoln valued the advice of ], even after his retirement as ]. On June 23–24, 1862, Lincoln made an unannounced visit to ], where he spent five hours consulting with Scott regarding the handling of the Civil War and the staffing of the ].<ref>{{cite news |date=June 26, 1862 |title=The President at West Point |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-president-lincoln-at/102390793/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008054113/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-president-lincoln-at/102390793/ |archive-date=October 8, 2024 |access-date=October 8, 2024 |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York |page=8 |via=] |quote=the President and Gen. Scott spent several hours in discussing the state of military affairs, the doings and misdoings of certain Generals, the desirability of continuing the existing Departmental divisions, the necessity of further enlistments, the prospect of the armies of the Potomac and of the Virginia valleys . . . .}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=June 25, 1862 |title=The President at West Point |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-evening-star-president-lincoln/102386846/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008054305/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-evening-star-president-lincoln/102386846/ |archive-date=October 8, 2024 |access-date=October 8, 2024 |newspaper=Brooklyn Evening Star |location=New York |page=3 |via=] |quote=they were in earnest conversation for five hours. |agency=Copy from N.Y. Express}}</ref>
			====General McClellan====
			After the Union rout at ] and ]'s retirement, Lincoln appointed Major General ] general-in-chief.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=318–319}} McClellan then took months to plan his Virginia ]. McClellan's slow progress frustrated Lincoln, as did his position that no troops were needed to defend Washington. McClellan, in turn, blamed the failure of the campaign on Lincoln's reservation of troops for the capital.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=349–352}}
			{{Multiple image|total_width=450|image1=Maryland, Antietam, President Lincoln on the Battlefield - NARA - 533297.jpg|image2=Lincoln and McClellan 1862-10-03.jpg|alt1=Lincoln among a group of soldiers in a military camp|alt2=Photograph of Lincoln and McClellan sitting at a table in a field tent|footer=The image on the left shows Lincoln with officers after the ]. Notable figures (from left) are 1. Col. ]; 4. Gen. ]; 5. ], Chief of Staff, V Corps; 6. McClellan;. 8. ]; 10. Lincoln; 11. ]; 12. ]; 15. ]; 16. Capt. ]. The image on the right shows Lincoln and ] on October 3, 1862.}}
			In 1862, Lincoln removed McClellan for the general's continued inaction. He elevated Henry Halleck in July and appointed ] as head of the new ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/henry-w-halleck|title=Henry W. Halleck|date=June 15, 2011|website=American Battlefield Trust|access-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008062810/https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/henry-w-halleck|archive-date=October 8, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Pope satisfied Lincoln's desire to advance on Richmond from the north, thereby protecting Washington from counterattack.{{sfn|Nevins|1947|pp=159–162}} But in the summer of 1862 Pope was soundly defeated at the ], forcing the Army of the Potomac back to defend Washington.{{sfn|Nevins|1959|pp=159–162}}
			Despite his dissatisfaction with McClellan's failure to reinforce Pope, Lincoln restored him to command of all forces around Washington.{{sfn|Goodwin|2005|pp=478–479}} Two days after McClellan's return to command, General ]'s forces crossed the ] into Maryland, leading to the ].{{sfn|Goodwin|2005|pp=478–480}} That battle, a Union victory, was among the bloodiest in American history; it facilitated Lincoln's ] in January.{{sfn|Goodwin|2005|p=481}}
			McClellan then resisted the president's demand that he pursue Lee's withdrawing army, while General ] likewise refused orders to move the ] against rebel forces in eastern Tennessee. Lincoln replaced Buell with ]; and after the ] he replaced McClellan with ]. The appointments were both politically neutral and adroit on Lincoln's part.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=389–390}}
			Against presidential advice Burnside launched an offensive across the ] and was ] in December. Desertions during 1863 came in the thousands and only increased after Fredericksburg, so Lincoln replaced Burnside with ].{{sfnm|Nevins|1947|1pp=433–444|Donald|1996|2pp=429–431}}
			In the 1862 midterm elections, the Republicans suffered severe losses due to rising inflation, high taxes, rumors of corruption, suspension of ''habeas corpus'', ], and fears that freed slaves would come North and undermine the labor market. The Emancipation Proclamation gained votes for Republicans in rural New England and the upper Midwest, but cost votes in the Irish and German strongholds and in the lower Midwest, where many Southerners had lived for generations.{{sfn|Nevins|1947|p=322}}
			In the spring of 1863, Lincoln was sufficiently optimistic about upcoming military campaigns to think the end of the war could be near; the plans included attacks by Hooker on Lee north of Richmond, Rosecrans on Chattanooga, ] on Vicksburg, and a naval assault on Charleston.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=422–423}}
			Hooker was routed by Lee at the ] in May, then resigned and was replaced by ].{{sfn|Nevins|1947|pp=432–450}} Meade followed Lee north into Pennsylvania and beat him in the ], but then failed to follow up despite Lincoln's demands. At the same time, Grant captured Vicksburg and gained control of the Mississippi River, splitting the far western rebel states.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=444–447}}
			====Emancipation Proclamation====
			{{Main|Abraham Lincoln and slavery|Emancipation Proclamation}}
			<imagemap>
			File:Emancipation proclamation.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|'']'' by ] (1864) <small>''(clickable image—use cursor to identify)''</small>|alt=A dark-haired, bearded, middle-aged man holding documents is seated among seven other men.
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			The federal government's power to end slavery was limited by the Constitution, which before 1865, was understood to reserve the issue to the individual states. Lincoln believed that slavery would be rendered obsolete if its expansion into new territories were prevented, because these territories would be admitted to the Union as free states, and free states would come to outnumber slave states. He sought to persuade the states to agree to ] for emancipating their slaves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/books/owens200403251139.asp |title=The Liberator |first=Thomas Owens |last=Mackubin |author-link=Mackubin Thomas Owens |date=March 25, 2004 |work=National Review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216125903/http://old.nationalreview.com/books/owens200403251139.asp |archive-date=February 16, 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=December 12, 2008}}</ref> Lincoln rejected Major General ]'s August 1861 ] attempt, as well as one by Major General ] in May 1862, on the grounds that it was not within their power and might upset loyal border states enough for them to secede.{{sfn|Guelzo|1999|pp=290–291}}
			In June 1862, Congress passed an act banning slavery on all federal territory, which Lincoln signed. In July, the ] was enacted, providing court procedures to free the slaves of those convicted of aiding the rebellion; Lincoln approved the bill despite his belief that it was unconstitutional. He felt such action could be taken only within the war powers of the commander-in-chief, which he planned to exercise. On July 22, 1862, Lincoln reviewed a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation with his cabinet.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=364–365}}
			Peace Democrats (Copperheads) argued that emancipation was a stumbling block to peace and reunification, but Republican editor ] of the '']'', in his public letter, "The Prayer of Twenty Millions", implored Lincoln to embrace emancipation.{{sfn|McPherson|1992|p=124}}<ref>Lundberg, James M. (2019). ''Horace Greeley: Print, Politics, and the Failure of American Nationhood'', Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 116.</ref> In a public letter of August 22, 1862, Lincoln replied to Greeley, writing that while he personally wished all men could be free, his first obligation as president was to preserve the Union:{{sfn|Guelzo|2004|pp=147–153}}
			{{Blockquote|My paramount object in this struggle ''is'' to save the Union, and is ''not'' either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing ''any'' slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing ''all'' the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do ''not'' believe it would help to save the Union&nbsp;... I have here stated my purpose according to my view of ''official'' duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed ''personal'' wish that all men everywhere could be free.{{sfn|Graebner|1959|p=388}}}}
			When Lincoln published his reply to Greeley, he had already decided to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and therefore had already chosen the third option he mentioned in his letter to Greeley: to free some of the slaves, namely those in the states in rebellion. Some scholars, therefore, believe that his reply to Greeley was disingenuous and was intended to reassure white people who would have opposed a war for emancipation that emancipation was merely a means to preserve the Union.<ref>Cohen, Henry. , ''The Lincoln Forum Bulletin'', Issue 54, Fall 2023.</ref> On September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/transcript_preliminary_emancipation.html|title=The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, 1862|website=www.archives.gov}}</ref> which announced that, in states still in rebellion on January 1, 1863, the slaves would be freed. He spent the next 100 days, between September 22 and January 1, preparing the army and the nation for emancipation, while Democrats rallied their voters by warning of the threat that freed slaves posed to northern whites.<ref>Louis P. Masur (2012). ''Lincoln's Hundred Days: The Emancipation Proclamation and the War for the Union.'' Harvard University Press. </ref> At the same time, during those 100 days, Lincoln made efforts to end the war with slavery intact, suggesting that he still took seriously the first option he mentioned in his letter to Greeley: saving the Union without freeing any slave.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Freehling |first1=William W. |title=The South vs. the South : How Anti-Confederate Southerners Shaped the Course of the Civil War |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-802990-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/southvssouthhowa0000free_v5g9 |access-date=June 5, 2024|page=111}}</ref> But, on January 1, 1863, keeping his word, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation/transcript.html|title=Transcript of the Proclamation|date=October 6, 2015|website=National Archives}}</ref> freeing the slaves in 10 states not then under Union control,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/anjo/learn/historyculture/johnson-and-tn-emancipation.htm|title=Andrew Johnson and Emancipation in Tennessee – Andrew Johnson National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov}}</ref> with exemptions specified for areas under such control.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=379}} Lincoln's comment on signing the Proclamation was: "I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper."{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=407}}
			With the abolition of slavery in the rebel states now a military objective, Union armies advancing south "enable thousands of slaves to escape to freedom".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McPherson |first1=James M. |title=Who Freed the Slaves? |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |date=March 1995 |volume=139 |issue=1 |page=9|jstor=986716 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/986716 |access-date=June 5, 2024 |issn=0003-049X}}</ref> The Emancipation Proclamation having stated that freedmen would be "received into the armed service of the United States," enlisting these freedmen became official policy. By the spring of 1863, Lincoln was ready to recruit black troops in more than token numbers. In a letter to Tennessee military governor ] encouraging him to lead the way in raising black troops, Lincoln wrote, "The bare sight of fifty thousand armed, and drilled black soldiers on the banks of the Mississippi would end the rebellion at once".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=431}} By the end of 1863, at Lincoln's direction, General ] "had enrolled twenty regiments of African Americans" from the Mississippi Valley.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=431}}
			====Gettysburg Address (1863)====
			{{Main|Gettysburg Address}}
			] and highlighted in red) at ] on November 19, 1863. Roughly three hours later, he delivered the ], one of the best-known speeches in ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Conant |first=Sean |date=2015 |title=The Gettysburg Address: Perspectives on Lincoln's Greatest Speech |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_bmyBwAAQBAJ&pg=PR9 |location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press |page=ix |isbn=978-0-19-022745-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Holsinger |first=M. Paul |date=1999 |title=War and American Popular Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oe4AOVHkJ9oC&pg=PA102 |location=Westport, CT |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=102 |isbn=978-0-313-29908-7}}</ref>|alt=Large group of people]]
			Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield cemetery on November 19, 1863.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=453–460}} In 272 words, and three minutes, Lincoln asserted that the nation was born not in 1789, but in 1776, "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". He defined the war as dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality for all. He declared that the deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain, that the future of democracy would be assured, and that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".{{sfnm|Donald|1996|1pp=460–466|Wills|2012|2pp=20, 27, 105, 146}}
			Defying his prediction that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here", the Address became the most quoted speech in American history.{{sfn|Bulla|Borchard|2010|p=222}}
			====Promoting General Grant====
			<imagemap>
			Image:The Peacemakers 1868.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|'']'', an 1868 painting by ] of events aboard the '']'' in March 1865 <small>''(clickable image—use cursor to identify)''</small>|alt=Painting of four men conferring in a ship's cabin, entitled "The Peacemakers".
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			] victories at the ] and in the ] impressed Lincoln. Responding to criticism of Grant after Shiloh, Lincoln had said, "I can't spare this man. He fights."{{sfn|Thomas|2008|p=315}} With Grant in command, Lincoln felt the Union Army could advance in multiple theaters, while also including black troops. Meade's failure to capture Lee's army after Gettysburg and the continued passivity of the Army of the Potomac persuaded Lincoln to promote Grant to supreme commander. Grant then assumed command of Meade's army.{{sfn|Nevins|1947|pp=4:6–17}}
			Lincoln was concerned that Grant might be considering a presidential candidacy in 1864. He arranged for an intermediary to inquire into Grant's political intentions, and once assured that he had none, Lincoln promoted Grant to the newly revived rank of Lieutenant General, a rank which had been unoccupied since ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=490–492}} Authorization for such a promotion "with the advice and consent of the Senate" was provided by a new bill which Lincoln signed the same day he submitted Grant's name to the Senate. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 2, 1864.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/grant|title=Message of President Abraham Lincoln Nominating Ulysses S. Grant to Be Lieutenant General of the Army|date=August 15, 2016|website=National Archives}}</ref>
			Grant in 1864 waged the bloody ], which exacted heavy losses on both sides.{{sfn|McPherson|2009|p=113}} When Lincoln asked what Grant's plans were, the persistent general replied, "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer."{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=501}} Grant's army moved steadily south. Lincoln traveled to Grant's headquarters at ], to confer with Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_about/whitehouse_collection/whitehouse_collection-art-06.html |title=The Peacemakers |publisher=The White House Historical Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927000627/http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_about/whitehouse_collection/whitehouse_collection-art-06.html |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=May 3, 2009}}</ref> Lincoln reacted to Union losses by mobilizing support throughout the North.{{sfn|Thomas|2008|pp=422–424}} Lincoln authorized Grant to target infrastructure—plantations, railroads, and bridges—hoping to weaken the South's morale and fighting ability. He emphasized defeat of the Confederate armies over destruction (which was considerable) for its own sake.{{sfn|Neely|2004|pp=434–458}} Lincoln's engagement became distinctly personal on one occasion in 1864 when Confederate general ] ] Legend has it that while Lincoln watched from an exposed position, Union Captain (and future ]) ] shouted at him, "Get down, you damn fool, before you get shot!" But this story is commonly regarded as apocryphal.<ref>], '']''. (New York, 1988) 757.</ref><ref>] and ], ''Lincoln the President: Last Full Measure'' (New York, 1955), 200.</ref>{{sfn|Thomas|2008|p=434}}<ref>], ''Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes: Law and the Inner Self''. New York, 1993, 64–65.</ref>
			As Grant continued to weaken Lee's forces, efforts to discuss peace began. Confederate Vice President ] led a group meeting with Lincoln, Seward, and others at ]. Lincoln refused to negotiate with the Confederacy as a coequal; his objective to end the fighting was not realized.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=565}} On April 1, 1865, Grant nearly encircled Petersburg in a siege. The Confederate government evacuated Richmond and Lincoln visited the conquered capital. On April 9, Lee surrendered to Grant at ], officially ending the war.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=589}}
			===Reelection===
			{{Main|1864 United States presidential election}}
			] landslide for Lincoln (in red) in the 1864 election; southern states (brown) and territories (gray) not in play]]
			] as the candidate for vice president]]
			Lincoln ran for reelection in 1864, while uniting the main Republican factions along with ] ] and Andrew Johnson. Lincoln used conversation and his patronage powers—greatly expanded from peacetime—to build support and fend off the Radicals' efforts to replace him.{{sfnm|Fish|1902|1pp=53–69|Tegeder|1948|2pp=77–90}} At its convention, the Republican Party selected Johnson as his running mate. To broaden his coalition to include War Democrats as well as Republicans, Lincoln ran under the label of the new ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=494–507}}
			Grant's bloody stalemates damaged Lincoln's re-election prospects, and many Republicans feared defeat. Lincoln confidentially pledged in writing that if he should lose the election, he would still defeat the Confederacy before turning over the White House;{{sfn|Grimsley|Simpson|2001|p=80}} Lincoln did not show the pledge to his cabinet, but asked them to sign the sealed envelope. The pledge read as follows:{{blockquote|text=This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterward.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lincoln|first=Abraham|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln7/1:1124?rgn=div1;view=fulltext|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 7|orig-date=1953|page=514|chapter=Memorandum Concerning His Probable Failure of Re-election|year=2001}}</ref>}}
			The Democratic platform followed the "Peace wing" of the party and called the war a "failure"; but their candidate, McClellan, supported the war and repudiated the platform. Meanwhile, Lincoln emboldened Grant with more troops and Republican party support. Sherman's capture of Atlanta in September and ]'s capture of Mobile ended defeatism.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=531}} The Democratic Party was deeply split, with some leaders and most soldiers openly for Lincoln. The National Union Party was united by Lincoln's support for emancipation. State Republican parties stressed the ] of the Copperheads.{{sfn|Randall|Current|1955|p=307}} On November 8, Lincoln carried all but three states, including 78 percent of Union soldiers.{{sfnm|1a1=Grimsley|1a2=Simpson|1y=2001|1p=80|2a1=Paludan|2y=1994|2pp=274–293}}
			] at the almost completed Capitol building, March 4, 1865]]
			On March 4, 1865, Lincoln delivered his ]. In it, he deemed the war casualties to be God's will. Historian ] places the speech "among the small handful of semi-sacred texts by which Americans conceive their place in the world;" it is inscribed in the ].{{sfn|Noll|2002|p=426}} Lincoln said:
			{{Blockquote|Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the ] two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether". With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln8/1:711.1?hi=0;rgn=div2;singlegenre=All;size=25;sort=occur;start=1;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;q1=fondly|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 8.|first=Abraham|last=Lincoln|date=February 13, 1953}}</ref>}}
			Among those present for this speech was actor ], who, on April 14, 1865, just over a month after ], ].
	===Reconstruction===		===Reconstruction===
	{{main|Reconstruction era of the United States}}		{{Main|Reconstruction era}}
	Reconstruction began during the war as Lincoln and his associates pondered questions of how to reintegrate the Southern states and what to do with Confederate leaders and the freed slaves. Lincoln led the "moderates" regarding Reconstruction policy, and was usually opposed by the Radical Republicans, under ] in the House and ] and ] in the Senate (though he cooperated with these men on most other issues). Determined to find a course that would reunite the nation and not alienate the South, Lincoln urged that speedy elections under generous terms be held throughout the war in areas behind Union lines. His ] of December 8, 1863, offered pardons to those who had not held a Confederate civil office, had not mistreated Union prisoners, and would sign an oath of allegiance.<ref>		Reconstruction preceded the war's end, as Lincoln and his associates considered the reintegration of the nation, and the fates of Confederate leaders and freed slaves. When a general asked Lincoln how the defeated Confederates were to be treated, Lincoln replied, "Let 'em up easy."{{sfn|Thomas|2008|pp=509–512}} Lincoln was determined to find meaning in the war in its aftermath, and did not want to continue to outcast the southern states. His main goal was to keep the union together, so he proceeded by focusing not on whom to blame, but on how to rebuild the nation as one.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Forged in Crisis: The Making of Five Legendary Leaders|last=Koehn|first=Nancy|publisher=Scribner|year=2017|isbn=978-1-5011-7444-5|location=NY|page=191}}</ref> Lincoln led the moderates in Reconstruction policy and was opposed by the Radicals, under Rep. ], Sen. Charles Sumner and Sen. ], who otherwise remained Lincoln's allies. Determined to reunite the nation and not alienate the South, Lincoln urged that speedy elections under generous terms be held. His ] of December 8, 1863, offered pardons to those who had not held a Confederate civil office and had not mistreated Union prisoners, if they were willing to sign an oath of allegiance.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=471–472}}
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://www.bartleby.com/43/37.html
	|title=Proclamation of Amnesty
	|publisher=]
	|year=1863}}
	</ref>
	Critical decisions had to be made as state after state was reconquered. Of special importance were ], where Lincoln appointed ] as governor, and ], where Lincoln attempted a plan that would restore statehood when 10% of the voters agreed to it. The Radicals thought this policy too lenient, and passed their own plan, the ], in 1864. When Lincoln ] the bill, the Radicals retaliated by refusing to seat representatives elected from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.<ref>
	{{harvnb|Donald|1995|loc=§20}}
	</ref>
			]
	Near the end of the war, Lincoln made an extended visit to Grant's headquarters at City Point, Virginia. This allowed the president to confer in person with Grant and Sherman about ending hostilities (as Sherman managed a hasty visit to Grant from his forces in North Carolina at the same time);<ref>
	This meeting was memorialized in G.P.A. Healy's famous painting
	</ref>
	Lincoln also was able to visit Richmond after it was taken by the Union forces and to make a public gesture of sitting at ] own desk, symbolically saying to the nation that the President of the United States held authority over the entire land. He was greeted at the city as a conquering hero by freed slaves, whose sentiments were epitomized by one admirer's quote, "I know I am free for I have seen the face of Father Abraham and have felt him." When a general asked Lincoln how the defeated Confederates should be treated, Lincoln replied, "Let 'em up easy."<ref>
	{{harvnb|Donald|1995|pp=576, 580}};
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/richmond.htm
	|title=President Lincoln Enters Richmond, 1865
	|publisher=Eyewitness to History}}
	</ref>
	Lincoln arrived back in Washington on the evening of April 9, 1865, the day Lee surrendered at ] in Virginia. The war was effectively over. The other rebel armies surrendered soon after, and there was no subsequent guerrilla warfare.<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.thelincolnlog.org/view/show_date?day=09&month=04&year=1865
	|title=The Lincoln Log, April 9, 1865.}}
	</ref>
			As Southern states fell, they needed leaders while their administrations were restored. In Tennessee and Arkansas, Lincoln respectively appointed Johnson and ] as military governors. In Louisiana, Lincoln ordered General ] to promote a plan that would reestablish statehood when 10 percent of the voters agreed, and only if the reconstructed states abolished slavery. Democratic opponents accused Lincoln of using the military to ensure his and the Republicans' political aspirations. The Radicals denounced his policy as too lenient, and passed their own plan, the 1864 ], which Lincoln vetoed. The Radicals retaliated by refusing to seat elected representatives from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=485–486}}
	==Home front==
	]
	===Redefining Republicanism===
	Lincoln's ] defined the issues of the war for the nation, the world, and posterity. The ] defied Lincoln's own prediction that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." His second inaugural address is also greatly admired and often quoted.
	In recent years, historians have stressed Lincoln's use of and redefinition of ]. As early as the 1850s, a time when most political rhetoric focused on the sanctity of the ], Lincoln shifted emphasis to the ] as the foundation of American political values — what he called the "sheet anchor" of republicanism.<ref>
	{{harvnb|Jaffa|2000|p= 399}}
	</ref>
	The Declaration's emphasis on freedom and equality for all, rather than the Constitution's tolerance of slavers, shifted the debate. As Diggins concludes regarding the highly influential ], "Lincoln presented Americans a theory of history that offers a profound contribution to the theory and destiny of republicanism itself."<ref>
	{{cite book
	|title=The Lost Soul of American Politics: Virtue, Self-Interest, and the Foundations of Liberalism
	|author=Diggins, John P.
	|publisher=]
	|date=1986-08-15
	|isbn=0226148777
	|page=307}}
	</ref>
	His position gained strength because he highlighted the moral basis of republicanism, rather than its legalisms.<ref>
	{{harvnb|Foner|1970|p= 215}}
	</ref>
	<ref>
	{{harvnb|McPherson|1992|pp=61–64}}
	</ref>
	Nevertheless, in 1861 Lincoln justified the war in terms of legalisms (the Constitution was a contract, and for one party to get out of a contract all the other parties had to agree), and then in terms of the national duty to guarantee a "republican form of government" in every state.<ref>
	{{harvnb|Jaffa|2000|p= 263}}
	</ref>
	That duty was also the principle underlying federal intervention in ].
	In his ] Lincoln redefined the American nation, arguing that it was born not in 1789 but in 1776, "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." He declared that the sacrifices of battle had rededicated the nation to the propositions of democracy and equality, "that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." By emphasizing the centrality of the nation, he rebuffed the claims of ]. While some critics say Lincoln moved too far and too fast, they agree that he dedicated the nation to values that marked "a new founding of the nation."
	<ref>
	{{harvnb|Wills|1993|p= 39}}
	</ref>
	===Civil liberties suspended===
	During the Civil War, Lincoln appropriated powers no previous President had wielded: he used his war powers to proclaim a ], suspended the writ of ], spent money before Congress appropriated it, and imprisoned 18,000 suspected Confederate sympathizers without trial.
	<ref>
	Neely (1992)
	</ref>
	===Domestic measures===
	Lincoln believed in the Whig theory of the presidency, which left Congress to write the laws while he signed them, ]ing only those bills that threatened his war powers. Thus, he signed the ] in 1862, making millions of acres of government-held land in the West available for purchase at very low cost. The ], also signed in 1862, provided government grants for ] ] in each state. The ] of 1862 and 1864 granted federal support for the construction of the United States' ], which was completed in 1869.
	Other important legislation involved two measures to raise revenues for the Federal government: tariffs (a policy with long precedent), and a Federal income tax (which was new). In 1861, Lincoln signed the second and third ] (the first had become law under ]). In 1862, Lincoln signed legislation creating the first U.S. ]. Marginal rates were 3% on incomes between $600 and $10,000 and 5% on income above $10,000. (Adjusted for inflation, $600 was the equivalent of $12,325 in 2007 US dollars). In 1864, income-tax rates were raised to 5% on incomes between $600 and $5,000, 7.5% on income between $5,000 and $10,000, and 10% tax on income above that.
	Lincoln also presided over the creation of the system of national banks by the ]s of 1863, 1864, and 1865, which allowed the creation of a strong national financial system. Congress created and Lincoln approved the ] in 1862, although that institution would not become a Cabinet-level department until 1889.
	The Legal Tender Act of 1862 established the ], the first ] in United States history since the ] that were issued during the ]. This was done to increase the money supply to pay for fighting the war.
	During the war, Lincoln's ] effectively controlled all ] trade in the occupied South — the most dramatic incursion of federal controls on the economy.
	In 1862, Lincoln sent a senior general, ], to put down the "]" in ]. Presented with 303 ]s for convicted ] who were accused of killing innocent farmers; Lincoln affirmed 39 of these for ] (one was later ]d).
	Abraham Lincoln is largely responsible for the institution of the ] in the United States. Prior to Lincoln's presidency, Thanksgiving, while a regional holiday in New England since the 17th century, had only been proclaimed by the federal government sporadically, and on irregular dates. The last such proclamation was during ] presidency fifty years before. In 1863, Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November to be a day of Thanksgiving, and the holiday has been celebrated annually at that time ever since.
	<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/source/sb2/sb2w.htm
	|title=1863 Thanksgiving proclamation
	|author=National Park Service}}
	</ref>
			Lincoln's appointments were designed to harness both moderates and Radicals. To fill Chief Justice Taney's seat on the Supreme Court, he named the Radicals' choice, Salmon P. Chase, whom Lincoln believed would uphold his emancipation and paper money policies.{{sfn|Nevins|1947|p=4:206}}
	==Assassination==
	{{main|Abraham Lincoln assassination}}
	{{further|]}}
	], ], Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln and ]]]
	Originally, ], a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland, had formulated a plan to ] Lincoln in exchange for the release of Confederate prisoners. After attending an April 11 speech in which Lincoln promoted voting rights for blacks, an incensed Booth changed his plans and determined to assassinate the president.
	<ref>
	{{cite book
	|author=Harrison, Lowell Hayes
	|title=Lincoln of Kentucky
	|publisher=]
	|year=2000
	|pages=3–4
	|isbn=0813121566}}
	</ref>
	Learning that the President and ] would be attending ], he laid his plans, assigning his co-conspirators to assassinate ] ] and ] ].
	Without his main bodyguard ], to whom he related his famous dream regarding his own assassination, Lincoln left to attend the play '']'' on April 14, 1865. As a lone bodyguard wandered, and Lincoln sat in his state box (Box 7) in the balcony, Booth crept up behind the President and waited for what he thought would be the funniest line of the play ("You sock-dologizing old man-trap"), hoping the laughter would muffle the noise of the gunshot. When the laughter began, Booth jumped into the box and aimed a single-shot, round-slug 0.44 caliber Deringer at his head, firing at point-blank range. Major ] momentarily grappled with Booth but was cut by Booth's knife. Booth then leaped to the stage and shouted "'']!''" ({{lang-la|Thus always to tyrants}}) and escaped, despite a broken leg suffered in the leap.
	<ref name=Townsend>
	{{cite book
	|author=Townsend, George Alfred
	|title=The Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth
	|location=New York
	|publisher=]
	|year=1865}}
	</ref>
	A twelve-day manhunt ensued, in which Booth was chased by Federal agents (under the direction of ] ]). He was eventually cornered in a Virginia barn house and shot, dying of his wounds soon after.
	] carried his remains, as well as 300 mourners and the casket of his son, William, {{convert|1654|mi|km|abbr=off}} to Illinois]]
	An army surgeon, Doctor ], initially assessed Lincoln's wound as ]. The President was taken across the street from the theater to the ], where he lay in a coma for nine hours before dying. Several physicians attended Lincoln, including ] ] of the ]. Using a probe, Barnes located some fragments of Lincoln's skull and the ball lodged {{convert|6|in|cm|abbr=off}} inside his brain. Lincoln never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 7:22:10 a.m. April 15, 1865. He was the first president to be assassinated or to ].
	Lincoln's body was carried by train in a grand funeral procession through several states on its way back to Illinois.<ref name=Townsend /> While much of the nation mourned him as the savior of the United States, ] celebrated the death of a man they considered a tyrant. The ] in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, is {{convert|177|ft|m|abbr=off}} tall and, by 1874, was surmounted with several bronze statues of Lincoln. To prevent repeated attempts to steal Lincoln's body and hold it for ransom, ] had it ] and reinterred in concrete several feet thick in 1901.
	{{clr}}
			After implementing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln increased pressure on Congress to outlaw slavery throughout the nation with a constitutional amendment. He declared that such an amendment would "clinch the whole subject" and by December 1863 an amendment was brought to Congress.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=554}} The Senate passed it on April 8, 1864, but the first vote in the House of Representatives fell short of the required two-thirds majority. Passage became part of Lincoln's reelection platform, and after his successful reelection, the second attempt in the House passed on January 31, 1865.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=562–563}} With ratification, it became the ] on December 6, 1865.<ref>{{cite web |title=Primary Documents in American History: 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/13thamendment.html |publisher=Library of Congress |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010110013/http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/13thamendment.html |archive-date=October 10, 2011 |url-status=live |access-date=October 20, 2011}}</ref>
	==Administration, Cabinet and Supreme Court appointments 1861-1865==
	{{Col-begin}}
			Lincoln believed the federal government had limited responsibility to the millions of freedmen. He signed Senator Charles Sumner's ] bill that set up a temporary federal agency designed to meet the immediate needs of former slaves. The law opened land for a lease of three years with the ability to purchase title for the freedmen. Lincoln announced a Reconstruction plan that involved short-term military control, pending readmission under the control of southern Unionists.{{sfn|Carwardine|2003|pp=242–243}}
	{{Col-1-of-2}}
	{| cellpadding="1" cellspacing="4" style="margin:3px; border:3px solid Black; float:left;"
			Historians agree that it is impossible to predict how Reconstruction would have proceeded had Lincoln lived. Biographers James G. Randall and ], according to David Lincove, argue that:<ref>{{cite book|last=Lincove|first=David A.|title=Reconstruction in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=3EQcT7-Dpi0C|page=80}}|year= 2000|publisher=Greenwood|page=80|isbn=978-0-313-29199-9}}</ref>
	|-
			{{Blockquote|It is likely that had he lived, Lincoln would have followed a policy similar to Johnson's, that he would have clashed with congressional Radicals, that he would have produced a better result for the freedmen than occurred, and that his political skills would have helped him avoid Johnson's mistakes.}}
	!bgcolor="#dcdcdc" colspan="3"|The Lincoln Cabinet
	|-
			] argues that:{{sfn|Foner|2010|p=335}}
	|align="left"|'''OFFICE'''||align="left"|'''NAME'''||align="left"|'''TERM'''
			{{Blockquote|Unlike Sumner and other Radicals, Lincoln did not see Reconstruction as an opportunity for a sweeping political and social revolution beyond emancipation. He had long made clear his opposition to the confiscation and redistribution of land. He believed, as most Republicans did in April 1865, that voting requirements should be determined by the states. He assumed that political control in the South would pass to white Unionists, reluctant secessionists, and forward-looking former Confederates. But time and again during the war, Lincoln, after initial opposition, had come to embrace positions first advanced by abolitionists and Radical Republicans.&nbsp;... Lincoln undoubtedly would have listened carefully to the outcry for further protection for the former slaves.&nbsp;... It is entirely plausible to imagine Lincoln and Congress agreeing on a Reconstruction policy that encompassed federal protection for basic civil rights plus limited black suffrage, along the lines Lincoln proposed just before his death.}}
	|-
	!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
			===Native Americans===
	|-
			Lincoln's relationship with Native Americans started before he was born, with their killing of his grandfather in front of his sons, including Lincoln's father Thomas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/LegislativeMoments/moments08RS/01_web_leg_moments.htm#:~:text=In+referring+to+his+grandfather,upon+my+mind+and+memory.%E2%80%9D|title=Lincoln Lore – Abraham Lincoln's Grandfather|website=apps.legislature.ky.gov}}</ref> Lincoln himself served as a captain in the ] during the ] but saw no combat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Article-View/Article/573923/captain-abraham-lincoln-of-the-illinois-militia|title=Captain Abraham Lincoln of the Illinois militia|website=National Guard}}</ref> Lincoln used appointments to the ] as a reward to supporters from ] and ]. While in office his administration faced difficulties guarding Western settlers, railroads, and telegraphs, from Indian attacks.{{sfn|Nichols|1974|pp=3–4}}
	|] || '''Abraham Lincoln''' || 1861–1865
	|-
			On August 17, 1862, the ] broke out in Minnesota. Hundreds of settlers were killed, 30,000 were displaced from their homes, and Washington was deeply alarmed.{{sfn|Bulla|Borchard|2010|p=480}} Some feared incorrectly that it might represent a Confederate conspiracy to start a war on the Northwestern frontier.{{sfn|Nichols|1974|pp=4–5,7}} Lincoln ordered thousands of Confederate prisoners of war sent by railroad to put down the uprising.{{sfnm|Burlingame|2008|1p=481|Nichols|1974|2p=7}} When the Confederates protested forcing Confederate prisoners to fight Indians, Lincoln revoked the policy and none arrived in Minnesota. Lincoln sent General ] as commander of the new ] two weeks into the hostilities.{{sfn|Nichols|1974|p=7}}{{sfn|Bulla|Borchard|2010|p=481}} Before he arrived, the ] sent Lincoln a letter asking to go to war for the United States against the Sioux, so Lincoln could send Minnesota's troops to fight the South.<ref>Mille Lacs Band letter, The Weekly Pioneer and Democrat September 19, 1862, in St Paul, p. 3 </ref>{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|p=702}} Shortly after, a ] Chief offered the same at ].<ref>Mille Lacs Band offer to fight Sioux, Goodhue Republican Vol. 6 No. 3, September 12, 1863, </ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Carley|first=Kenneth|title=The Dakota War of 1862|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press|year=2001|page=209}}</ref> In it the Chippewa specified they wanted to use the indigenous ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Carley|first=Kenneth|title=The Sioux Uprising of 1862|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press|year=1976|page=175}}</ref> That meant there would be no ], no ], no ].<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Perman|editor-first=Michael|editor2-last=Taylor|editor2-first=Amy Murrell|title=The Civil War and Reconstruction: A Documentary Reader|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2013|page=105}}</ref> Lincoln did not accept the Chippewa offer, as he could not control the Chippewa, and women and children were considered legitimate casualties in native American warfare.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nichols|first=David A.|title=Lincoln and the Indians: Civil War Policy and Politics|publisher=University of Missouri Press|year=1978|page=121}}</ref>
	|] || ''']''' || 1861–1865
	|-
			Serving under Gen. Pope was Minnesota Congressman ]. Minnesota's Governor had made Sibley a Colonel ] to command the U.S. force tasked with fighting the war and that eventually defeated ]'s forces at the ].{{sfn|Bulla|Borchard|2010|p=481}}
	| || ''']''' || 1865
			The day the Mdewakanton force ], a Chippewa war council met at ] with another Chippewa offer to Lincoln, to fight the Sioux.<ref>Chippewa Chiefs held a war council with Gov. Ramsey to fight the Sioux on September 26, 1862 </ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=February 2023|reason= Need secondary source }} Sibley ordered a ] to review the actions of the captured, to try those that had committed ]. The legitimacy of military commissions trying opposing combatants had been established during the ].<ref>Difference Between Court-Martial and Military Tribunal, Ernesto Gapasin, Military Trial Lawyers, Gapasin Law Group, LLC Blog, 1736 E Sunshine St Suite 713, Springfield, MO., October 26, 2015, </ref> Sibley thought he had 16-20 of the men he wanted for trial, while Gen. Pope ordered all detained be tried. 303 were given death sentences that were subject to Presidential review. Lincoln ordered Pope send all trial transcripts to Washington, where Lincoln and two of his staff examined them. Lincoln realized the trials could be divided into two groups: combat between combatants and combat against civilians.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} The groups could be identified by their transcripts, the first group all had three pages in length while the second group had more, some up to twelve pages.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} He placed 263 cases into the first group and commuted their sentences. In the second group were forty cases. One he commuted for becoming a ]. Sibley dismissed another when proof surfaced exonerating the defendant. The remaining 38 were executed in the largest mass execution in U.S. history.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=394}} Questions arose concerning three executions that have not been answered.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carley|first=Kenneth|title=The Dakota War of 1862|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press|year=2001}}</ref> Less than 4 months afterwards, Lincoln issued the ], which governed wartime conduct of the Union Army, by defining command responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Congressman ] told Lincoln in 1864, he would have gotten more re-election support in Minnesota had he executed all 303 of the Mdewakanton. Lincoln responded, "I could not afford to hang men for votes."<ref>], ''Abraham Lincoln: A Life'', Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, vol. 2, p. 483.</ref> The men whose sentences he commuted were sent to a military prison at ]. Some he released due to the efforts of Bishop ].
			===Whig theory of a presidency===
			Lincoln adhered to the Whig theory of a presidency focused on executing laws while deferring to Congress' responsibility for legislating. Under this philosophy, Lincoln vetoed only four bills during his presidency, including the ] with its harsh Reconstruction program.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=137}} The ] made millions of acres of Western government-held land available for purchase at low cost. The 1862 ] provided government grants for ] in each state. The ] of 1862 and 1864 granted federal support for the construction of the United States' ], which was completed in 1869.{{sfn|Paludan|1994|p=116}} The passage of the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Acts was enabled by the absence of Southern congressmen and senators who had opposed the measures in the 1850s.{{sfn|McPherson|2009|pp=450–452}}
			{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
			| Name = Lincoln
			| President = Abraham Lincoln
			| President date = 1861–1865
			| Vice President = ]
			| Vice President date = 1861–1865
			| Vice President 2 = ]
			| Vice President date 2 = 1865
			| State = ]
			| State date = 1861–1865
			| Treasury = ]
			| Treasury date = 1861–1864
			| Treasury 2 = ]
			| Treasury date 2 = 1864–1865
			| Treasury 3 = ]
			| Treasury date 3 = 1865
			| War = ]
			| War date = 1861–1862
			| War 2 = ]
			| War date 2 = 1862–1865
			| Justice = ]
			| Justice date = 1861–1864
			| Justice 2 = ]
			| Justice date 2 = 1864–1865
			| Post = ]
			| Post date = 1861–1864
			| Post 2 = ]
			| Post date 2 = 1864–1865
			| Navy = ]
			| Navy date = 1861–1865
			| Interior = ]
			| Interior date = 1861–1862
			| Interior 2 = ]
			| Interior date 2 = 1863–1865
			| source =<ref>{{cite web |author=Summers, Robert |title=Abraham Lincoln |url=http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/alincoln.html |work=Internet Public Library 2 (IPL2) |publisher=U. Michigan and Drexel U. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002203536/http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/alincoln.html |archive-date=October 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=December 9, 2012}}</ref>
			}}
			In the selection and use of his cabinet Lincoln employed the strengths of his opponents in a manner that emboldened his presidency. Lincoln commented on his thought process, "We need the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services."{{sfn|Goodwin|2005|p=319}} Goodwin described the group in her biography as a '']''.{{sfn|Goodwin|2005}}
			There were two measures passed to raise revenues for the federal government: tariffs (a policy with long precedent), and a ]. In 1861, Lincoln signed the second and third ]s, following the first enacted by Buchanan. He also signed the ], creating the first U.S. income tax—a flat tax of 3 percent on incomes above $800 ({{Inflation|US|800|1861|r=0|fmt=eq}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}).{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=424}} The ] adopted rates that increased with income.{{sfn|Paludan|1994|p=111}}
			The Lincoln Administration presided over the expansion of the federal government's economic influence in other areas. The ] created the system of national banks. The U.S. issued paper currency for the first time, known as ]—printed in green on the reverse side.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brands |first=H. W. |year=2011 |title=Greenback Planet: How the Dollar Conquered the World and Threatened Civilization as We Know It |publisher=University of Texas Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3IweU12jH0C |page=1|isbn=978-0-292-73933-8}}</ref> In 1862, Congress created the ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=424}}
			In response to rumors of a renewed draft, the editors of the '']'' and the '']'' published a false draft proclamation that created an opportunity for the editors and others to corner the gold market. Lincoln attacked the media for such behavior, and ordered a military seizure of the two papers which lasted for two days.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=501–502}}
			{{Wikisource|Thanksgiving Proclamation (1863)}}
			Lincoln is largely responsible for the ].{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=471}} Thanksgiving had become a regional holiday in New England in the 17th century. It had been sporadically proclaimed by the federal government on irregular dates. The prior proclamation had been during ]'s presidency 50 years earlier. In 1863, Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November of that year to be a day of Thanksgiving.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=471}}
			In June 1864 Lincoln approved the Yosemite Grant enacted by Congress, which provided unprecedented federal protection for the area now known as ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Schaffer|first=Jeffrey P.|title=Yosemite National Park: A Natural History Guide to Yosemite and Its Trails|publisher=Wilderness Press|page=48|location=Berkeley|year=1999|isbn=978-0-89997-244-2}}</ref>
			===Supreme Court appointments===
			{| class="wikitable"
			|+Supreme Court Justices
			!Justice
			!Nominated
			!Appointed
	|-		|-
			|]
	!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
			|January 21, 1862
			|January 24, 1862
	|-		|-
			|]
	|] || ''']''' || 1861–1865
			|July 16, 1862
			|July 16, 1862
	|-		|-
			|]
	|] || ''']''' || 1861–1862
			|December 1, 1862
			|December 8, 1862
	|-		|-
			|]
	| || ''']''' || 1862–1865
			|March 6, 1863
			|March 10, 1863
	|-		|-
	|] || ''']''' || 1861–1864		|] (Chief Justice)
			|December 6, 1864
	|-
			|December 6, 1864
	| || ''']''' || 1864–1865
	|-
	| || ''']''' || 1865
	|-
	|] || ''']''' || 1861–1864
	|-
	| || ''']''' || 1864–1865
	|-
	|] || ''']''' || 1861–1864
	|-
	| || ''']''' || 1864–1865
	|-
	|] || ''']''' || 1861–1865
	|-
	|] || ''']''' || 1861–1862
	|-
	| || ''']''' || 1863–1865
	|}
	{{Col-2-of-2}}
	]]]
	Lincoln appointed the following Justices to the ]:
	{| class="sortable wikitable"
	|- bgcolor="#ececec"
	|'''Judge'''||'''Seat'''||'''State'''||'''Began active<br/>service'''||'''Ended active<br/>service'''
	|-
	| ] || Seat 7 || ] || <span style="display:none">18620127</span>January 27, 1862 || <span style="display:none">18810124</span>January 24, 1881
	|-
	| ] || Seat 8 || ] || <span style="display:none">18620721</span>July 21, 1862 || <span style="display:none">18901013</span>October 13, 1890
	|-
	| ] || Seat 9 || ] || <span style="display:none">18621210</span>December 10, 1862 || <span style="display:none">18770304</span>March 4, 1877
	|-
	| ] || Seat 10 || ] || <span style="display:none">18630520</span>May 20, 1863 || <span style="display:none">18971201</span>December 1, 1897
	|-
	| ] || Seat 1 || ] || <span style="display:none">18641215</span>December 15, 1864 || <span style="display:none">18730507</span>May 7, 1873
	|}		|}
			Lincoln's philosophy on court nominations was that "we cannot ask a man what he will do, and if we should, and he should answer us, we should despise him for it. Therefore we must take a man whose opinions are known."{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=471}} Lincoln made five appointments to the Supreme Court. ] was an anti-slavery lawyer who was committed to the Union. ] supported Lincoln in the 1860 election and was an avowed abolitionist. David Davis was Lincoln's campaign manager in 1860 and had served as a judge in the Illinois court circuit where Lincoln practiced. Democrat ], a previous California Supreme Court justice, provided geographic and political balance. Finally, Lincoln's Treasury Secretary, Salmon P. Chase, became Chief Justice. Lincoln believed Chase was an able jurist, would support Reconstruction legislation, and that his appointment united the Republican Party.{{sfn|Blue|1987|p=245}}
			===Foreign policy===
			{{Main|Presidency of Abraham Lincoln#Foreign policy|Diplomacy of the American Civil War}}
			Lincoln named his main political rival, William H. Seward, as Secretary of State and left most diplomatic issues in Seward's portfolio. However, Lincoln did select some top diplomats as part of his patronage policy.<ref>Neill F. Sanders, "'When A House Is on Fire': The English Consulates and Lincoln's Patronage Policy." ''Lincoln Herald'' (1981), 83#4, pp. 579–59.</ref> He also closely watched the handling of the ] in late 1861 to make sure the situation did not escalate into war with Britain.<ref>Kevin Peraino, ''Lincoln in the World: The Making of a Statesman and the Dawn of American Power'' (2014), pp. 138–169.</ref> Seward's main role was to keep Britain and France from supporting the Confederacy. He was successful after indicating to Britain and France that the Union would declare war on them if they supported the South.<ref>Peraino, ''Lincoln in the World'', pp. 3–16.</ref>
			==Assassination==
			{{Main|Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|}}
			], Abraham Lincoln, ], ], and ].]]
			] was a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate army, he had contacts with the Confederate secret service.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=586–587}} After attending Lincoln's last public address, on April 11, 1865, in which Lincoln stated his preference that the franchise be conferred on some black men, specifically "on the very intelligent, and on those who serve our cause as soldiers",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/last.htm|title=Abraham Lincoln's Last Public Address|website=www.abrahamlincolnonline.org}}</ref> Booth hatched a plot to assassinate the President.{{sfn|Harrison|2010|pp=3–4}} When Booth learned of the Lincolns' intent to attend a play with General Grant, he planned to assassinate Lincoln and Grant at ]. "Booth had attended a dress rehearsal the day before to better rehearse his scheme for shooting Lincoln ... and then escaping."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodwin |first=Doris Kearns |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gK8u_h8aAOkC&q=dress+rehearsal |title=Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln |date=September 26, 2006 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-7075-5 |language=en}}</ref> Lincoln and his wife attended the play '']'' on the evening of April 14, just five days after the Union victory at the ]. At the last minute, Grant decided to go to New Jersey to visit his children instead of attending the play.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=594–597}}
			At 10:15 in the evening Booth entered the back of Lincoln's theater box, crept up from behind, and fired at the back of Lincoln's head, mortally wounding him. Lincoln's guest, Major ], momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped.{{sfnm|Donald|1996|1p=597|Martin|2010}} After being attended by ] and two other doctors, Lincoln was taken across the street to ]. After remaining in a ] for nine hours, Lincoln died at 7:22 in the morning on April 15.{{sfn|Steers|2010|p=153}}{{efn|At the moment of death some observers said his face seemed to relax into a smile.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fox|first1=Richard|title=Lincoln's Body: A Cultural History|date=2015|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-24724-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Abel|first1=E. Lawrence|isbn=978-1-4408-3118-8|title=A Finger in Lincoln's Brain: What Modern Science Reveals about Lincoln, His Assassination, and Its Aftermath|date=2015|publisher=ABC-CLIO|at= Chapter 14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1865/04/17/news/our-great-loss-assassination-president-lincolndetails-fearful-crimeclosing.html|title=OUR GREAT LOSS; The Assassination of President Lincoln.|date=April 17, 1865|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=April 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113072328/http://www.nytimes.com/1865/04/17/news/our-great-loss-assassination-president-lincolndetails-fearful-crimeclosing.html|archive-date=January 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hay|first=John|title=The Life and Letters of John Hay Volume 1|date=1915|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company.|url=https://archive.org/stream/lifeandlettersof007751mbp/lifeandlettersof007751mbp_djvu.txt|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809132012/https://archive.org/stream/lifeandlettersof007751mbp/lifeandlettersof007751mbp_djvu.txt|archive-date=August 9, 2016|url-status=live}} Quote's original source is Hay's diary which is quoted in "Abraham Lincoln: A History", Volume 10, Page 292 by John G. Nicolay and John Hay</ref>}} Stanton saluted and said, "Now he belongs to the ages."{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=598–599, 686}}{{efn|Other versions of the quotation have been offered, including "He now belongs to the ages," "He is a man for the ages," and "Now he belongs to the angels." Gopnik, Adam, "Angels and Ages: Lincoln's language and its legacy," }} Lincoln's body was placed in a flag-wrapped coffin, which was loaded into a hearse and escorted to the White House by Union soldiers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoch|first=Bradley R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8VKaCgAAQBAJ&q=lincoln+body+escorted+%22white+house%22&pg=PA123|title=The Lincoln Trail in Pennsylvania: A History and Guide|date=September 4, 2001|publisher=Penn State Press|isbn=978-0-271-07222-7|pages=121–123|language=en}}</ref> President Johnson was sworn in later that same day.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Trefousse|first1=Hans L.|title=Andrew Johnson: A Biography|date=1989|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|page=194}}</ref>
			Two weeks later, Booth, refusing to surrender, was tracked to a farm in Virginia. He was mortally shot by Sergeant ] and died on April 26. Secretary of War Stanton had issued orders that Booth be taken alive, so Corbett was initially arrested to be court martialed. After a brief interview, Stanton declared him a patriot and dismissed the charge.{{sfnm|Steers|2010|1p=153|Donald|1996|2p=599}}
			=== Funeral and burial ===
	{{Col-end}}
			{{Main|State funeral of Abraham Lincoln}}
			The late President lay in state, first in the East Room of the White House, and then in the Capitol Rotunda from April 19 to 21. The caskets containing Lincoln's body and the body of his son Willie traveled for three weeks on the ''Lincoln Special'' ].{{sfn|Trostel|2002|pp=31–58}} The train followed a circuitous route from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois, stopping at many cities for memorials attended by hundreds of thousands. Many others gathered along the tracks as the train passed with bands, bonfires, and hymn singing{{sfnm|Trostel|2002|1pp=31–58|Goodrich|2005|2pp=231–238}} or in silent grief. Poet ] composed "]" to eulogize him, one of ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Peck |first=Garrett |title=Walt Whitman in Washington, D.C.: The Civil War and America's Great Poet |year=2015 |publisher=The History Press |location=Charleston, SC |isbn=978-1-62619-973-6 |pages=118–23}}</ref> African Americans were especially moved; they had lost their "]".{{sfn|Hodes|2015|p=164}} In a larger sense, the reaction was in response to the deaths of so many men in the war.{{sfn|Hodes|2015|pp=197–199}} Historians emphasized the widespread shock and sorrow, but noted that some Lincoln haters celebrated his death.{{sfn|Hodes|2015|pp=84, 86, 96–97}} Lincoln's body was buried at ] in Springfield and now lies within the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings – Lincoln Tomb, Illinois |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/Presidents/site19.htm |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830182658/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/Presidents/site19.htm |archive-date=August 30, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
	==Religious and philosophical beliefs==		==Religious and philosophical beliefs==
			{{Further|Religious views of Abraham Lincoln}}
	{{see|Abraham Lincoln and religion}}
			{{republicanism sidebar}}
	In March 1860 in a speech in ], ], Lincoln said, with respect to slavery, “Whenever this question shall be settled, it must be settled on some philosophical basis. No policy that does not rest upon some philosophical public opinion can be permanently maintained." The philosophical basis for Lincoln’s beliefs regarding slavery and other issues of the day require that Lincoln be examined "seriously as a man of ideas." Lincoln was a strong supporter of the American ] version of ] ] who, more than most politicians of the time, was able to express his ideas within the context of Nineteenth Century religious beliefs.
			]'', painting by ] in 1869]]
	<ref>
			]
	{{harvnb|Guelzo|1999|pp=18–19}}
			As a young man Lincoln was a ].{{sfnm|Carwardine|2003|1p=4|Wilson|1999|2p=84}} He was deeply familiar with the ], quoting and praising it.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=48–49, 514–515}} He was private about his position on organized religion and respected the beliefs of others.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lincoln|first=Abraham|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln1/1:403?rgn=div1;view=fulltext|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 1.|orig-date=1953|page=383|chapter=Handbill Replying to Charges of Infidelity|year=2001}}</ref> He never made a clear profession of Christian beliefs.{{sfn|Noll|1992}} Throughout his public career, Lincoln often quoted Scripture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/faithquotes.htm|title=Religious Quotations by Abraham Lincoln|website=www.abrahamlincolnonline.org|access-date=March 14, 2020}}</ref> His three most famous speeches—], ], and ]—all contain direct allusions to Providence and quote from Scripture.
	</ref>
			In the 1840s Lincoln subscribed to the ], a belief that the human mind was controlled by a higher power.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=48–49}} With the death of his son Edward in 1850 he more frequently expressed a dependence on God.{{sfn|Parrillo|2000|pp=227–253}} He never joined a church, although he frequently attended ] with his wife beginning in 1852.{{sfn|White|2009|p=180}}{{efn|On claims that Lincoln was baptized by an associate of ], see {{cite journal|url=http://www.acu.edu/sponsored/restoration_quarterly/archives/1990s/vol_38_no_2_contents/martin.html |last=Martin |first=Jim |title=The secret baptism of Abraham Lincoln |journal=Restoration Quarterly |volume=38 |issue=2 |year=1996 |access-date=May 27, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019204330/http://www.acu.edu/sponsored/restoration_quarterly/archives/1990s/vol_38_no_2_contents/martin.html |archive-date=October 19, 2012 }}}}
	There were few people who strongly or directly influenced Lincoln’s moral and intellectual development and perspectives. There was no teacher, mentor, church leader, community leader, or peer that Lincoln would credit in later years as a strong influence on his intellectual development. Lacking a formal education, Lincoln’s personal philosophy was shaped by "an amazingly retentive memory and a passion for reading and learning." It was Lincoln’s reading, rather than his relationships, that were most influential in shaping his personal beliefs.
	<ref name = "zsafth">
	{{harvnb|Guelzo|1999|p=20}}
	</ref>
	<ref>
	{{harvnb|Miller|2002|pp=57–59}}
	</ref>
			In the 1850s Lincoln asserted his belief in "providence" in a general way and rarely used the language or imagery of the evangelicals; instead, he regarded the republicanism of the Founding Fathers with an almost religious reverence.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=g9EynQEACAAJ}}|title="Our Country": Northern Evangelicals and the Union During the Civil War and Reconstruction|last=Brodrecht|first=Grant R.|date=2008|publisher=University of Notre Dame}}</ref> The death of his son Willie in February 1862 may have caused him to look toward religion for solace.{{sfn|Wilson|1999|pp=251–254}} After Willie's death, he questioned the divine necessity of the war's severity. He wrote at this time that God "could have either ''saved'' or ''destroyed'' the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds."{{sfn|Wilson|1999|p=254, quoting Lincoln, Abraham, }}
	Even as a child, Lincoln largely rejected ], but the ] "doctrine of necessity" would remain a factor throughout his life. In 1846 Lincoln described the effect of this doctrine as "that the human mind is impelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control."
	<ref>
	{{harvnb|Donald|1995|p=15}}
	</ref>
	In April 1864, in justifying his actions in regard to Emancipation, Lincoln wrote, "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it."
	<ref>
	{{harvnb|Donald|1995|p=514}}
	</ref>
			Lincoln did believe in an all-powerful God that shaped events and by 1865 was expressing that belief in major speeches.{{sfn|Noll|1992}} By the end of the war, he increasingly appealed to the Almighty for solace and to explain events, writing on April 4, 1864, to a newspaper editor in Kentucky: {{blockquote|I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/hodges.htm|title=Letter by Abraham Lincoln to Albert Hodges|website=www.abrahamlincolnonline.org|access-date=2020-03-14}}</ref>}}This spirituality can best be seen in his second inaugural address, considered by some scholars<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/09/lincolns-greatest-speech/306551/|title=Lincoln's Greatest Speech|last=Wills|first=Garry|date=September 1, 1999|website=The Atlantic|access-date=March 14, 2020}}; White Jr., Ronald C., ''Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural'', New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.</ref> as the greatest such address in American history, and by Lincoln himself as his own greatest speech, or one of them at the very least.{{efn|Lincoln wrote to Thurlow Weed on March 4, 1865, "on the recent Inaugeral Address. I expect the latter to wear as well as—perhaps better than—any thing I have produced...."}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lincoln|first=Abraham|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln8/1:764?rgn=div1;view=fulltext|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 8.|year=2001|orig-date=1953|page=}}</ref> Lincoln explains therein that the cause, purpose, and result of the war was God's will.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln2.asp|title=Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States: from George Washington 1789 to George Bush 1989|website=avalon.law.yale.edu|access-date=March 14, 2020}}</ref> Lincoln's frequent use of religious imagery and language toward the end of his life may have reflected his own personal beliefs or might have been a device to reach his audiences, who were mostly ] ].{{sfn|Carwardine|2003|pp=27–55}} On the day Lincoln was assassinated, he reportedly told his wife he desired to visit the ].{{sfn|Guelzo|1999|p=434}}
	As Lincoln matured, and especially during his term as president, the idea of a divine will somehow interacting with human affairs more and more influenced his public expressions. On a personal level, the death of his son Willie in February 1862 may have caused Lincoln to look towards religion for answers and solace.
	<ref>
	{{harvnb|Wilson|1999|pp=251–254}}
	</ref>
	After Willie’s death, in the summer or early fall of 1862, Lincoln attempted to put on paper his private musings on why, from a divine standpoint, the severity of the war was necessary:
	{{quote|The ] of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party—and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect his purpose. I am almost ready to say this is probably true—that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere quiet power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.<ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|1999|p=254}}</ref>}}
	Lincoln’s religious ] was fueled by his exposure to the ideas of the ] ] and classical liberalism, especially ].<ref name = "zsafth"/> Consistent with the common practice of the Whig party, Lincoln would often use the ] as the philosophical and moral expression of these two philosophies.
	<ref>
	{{harvnb|Guelzo|1999|p=194}}
	</ref>
	In a February 22, 1861 speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia Lincoln said,
	{{quote|I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.&nbsp;... It was not the mere matter of the separation of the Colonies from the motherland; but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but, I hope, to the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men. This is a sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence.<ref>{{harvnb|Jaffa|2000|p=258}}</ref>}}
	He found in the Declaration justification for Whig economic policy and opposition to territorial expansion and the ] platform of the ]s. In claiming that all men were created free, Lincoln and the Whigs argued that this freedom required economic advancement, expanded education, territory to grow, and the ability of the nation to absorb the growing immigrant population.
	<ref>
	{{harvnb|Guelzo|1999|pp=194–195}}
	</ref>
			==Health==
	It was the Declaration of Independence, rather than the ], that Lincoln most relied on in order to oppose any further territorial expansion of slavery. He saw the Declaration as more than a political document. To him, as well as to many abolitionists and other antislavery leaders, it was, foremost, a moral document that had forever determined valuable criteria in shaping the future of the nation.
			{{Main|Health of Abraham Lincoln}}Lincoln is believed to have had depression, ], and ].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/what-can-lincolns-dna-tell-us-82789 |title=What Can Lincoln's DNA Tell Us? |date=February 13, 2009 |access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref> He took ] pills, which contained ],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hirschhorn |first1=Norbert |last2=Feldman |first2=Robert G. |last3=Greaves |first3=Ian |date=Summer 2001 |title=Abraham Lincoln's Blue Pills: Did Our 16th President Suffer from Mercury Poisoning? |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/26064 |journal=Perspectives in Biology and Medicine |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=315–322 |doi=10.1353/pbm.2001.0048 |pmid=11482002 |s2cid=37918186 |access-date=September 10, 2021}}</ref> to treat ].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Physical Lincoln Sourcebook |last=Sotos |first=John G. |publisher= Mt. Vernon Book Systems |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-9818193-3-4|ref=Sotos2}}</ref> It is unknown to what extent this may have resulted in ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/07/0717_lincoln.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010720031526/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/07/0717_lincoln.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 20, 2001 |title=Did Mercury in 'Little Blue Pills' Make Abraham Lincoln Erratic? |last=Mayell |first=Hillary |work=National Geographic News |date=July 17, 2001 |access-date=October 12, 2009}}</ref>
	<ref>
	{{harvnb|Miller|2002|p=297}}
	</ref>
			Several claims have been made that Lincoln's health was declining before the assassination. These are often based on ] appearing to show weight loss and muscle wasting.<ref name="theatlantic.com" /> It is also suspected that he might have had a rare genetic disease such as ] or ].<ref name="theatlantic.com">{{cite web|first=Abraham|last=Verghese|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2009/05/was-lincoln-dying-before-he-was-shot/17955/ |title=Was Lincoln Dying Before He Was Shot? |magazine=] |location=Palo Alto, California|date=May 20, 2009|access-date=October 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413145051/http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2009/05/was-lincoln-dying-before-he-was-shot/17955/ |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
	==Medical history and "melancholy"==
	Lincoln suffered from many illnesses throughout his life, including ] feet, ], ] and ].
	<ref>
	{{cite web
	|accessdate=2008-05-21
	|url=http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g16.htm
	|title=Maladies and Conditions
	|publisher=Doctor Zebra}}
	</ref>
	Claims that Lincoln had ] about 1835 have been controversial, but a recent analysis finds them credible.
	<ref>
	{{cite journal
	|author=Vidal, Gore
	|title=Communications
	|journal=]
	|month=February
	|year=1991
	|pages=324–326}} See also: {{cite journal
	|author=Fehrenbacher, Don E.
	|title=Communications
	|journal=]
	|month=February
	|year=1991
	|pages=326–328}} and {{cite book
	|author=Sotos, JG
	|title=The Physical Lincoln Sourcebook
	|location=], ]
	|publisher=Mt. Vernon Book Systems
	|year=2008
	|pages=318–326
	|url=http://www.physical-lincoln.com/contents-pls.html}}
	</ref>
	Despite having multiple illnesses in his life, his health up until middle age was not particularly poor for his day.
	<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g16.htm
	|title= The Health and Medical History of President Abraham Lincoln
	|author=Dr Zebra}}
	</ref>
			== Legacy ==
	As a child, Lincoln was tall for his age. He reached his adult height of {{convert|6|ft|4|in|m|2}} no later than age 21. Although well muscled as a young adult, he was always thin. Fragmentary evidence says he weighed over 200 pounds in his mid-20s, but his official weight upon his taking office as president was 180 pounds, and he is believed to have weighed even less further along in his presidency.
			{{See also|Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln}}
	<ref>
	{{cite book
	|author=White Jr.
	|title=A. Lincoln.
	|publisher=Random House
	|year=2009
	|isbn=978-1400064991}}
	</ref>
	<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/10/06/opinion/06opchart.html
	|title=The Measure of a President
	|publisher=New York Times
	|date=October 6, 2008
	|author= OPEN N.Y. is a design studio}}
	</ref>
	Based on Lincoln's unusual physical appearance, Dr. Abraham Gordon proposed in 1962 that Lincoln had ].
	<ref>
	{{cite journal
	|title=Gordon AM. Abraham Lincoln
	|journal=Kentucky Medical Association
	|month=March
	|year=1962
	|issue=60
	|pages=249–53
	|pmid= 13900423}}
	</ref>
	Lincoln's unremarkable ] history and his normal visual acuity have been the chief objections to the theory, and today the diagnosis is considered unlikely.
	<ref>
	{{cite book
	|title=Was George Washington Really the Father of Our Country?: A Clinical Geneticist Looks at World History
	|author=Marion, Robert
	|publisher=Perseus Books
	|month=February
	|year=1994
	|isbn=0201622556
	|pages=88–124}} See also: {{cite journal
	|author=Ready, Tinker
	|title=Access to presidential DNA denied
	|journal=]
	|year=1999
	|volume=5
	|issue=859}}
	</ref>
	Testing Lincoln's ] for Marfan syndrome was contemplated in the 1990s, but such a test was not performed.
	In 2007, Dr. John Sotos proposed that Lincoln had ], type 2B (MEN2B).
	<ref>
	{{cite book
	|author=Sotos, JG
	|title=The Physical Lincoln: Finding the Genetic Cause of Abraham Lincoln's Height, Homeliness, Pseudo-Depression, and Imminent Cancer Death
	|location=], ]
	|publisher=Mt. Vernon Book Systems
	|year=2008
	|url=http://www.physical-lincoln.com/}}
	</ref>
	This theory suggests Lincoln had all the major features of the disease: a marfan-like body shape, large, bumpy lips, ], ], a history compatible with ] and a family history of the disorder - his sons ], ], and ], and probably his mother. The "mole" on Lincoln's right cheek, the asymmetry of his face, his large jaw, his drooping eyelid, and "pseudo-depression" are also suggested as manifestations of MEN2B. Lincoln's longevity is the principal challenge to the MEN2B theory, which could be proven by DNA testing. Sotos and medical historian ] have recently campaigned to have such testing conducted on a pillowcase stained with Lincoln's blood that is owned by the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum and Library in Philadelphia, an effort that has generated considerable debate among privacy advocates.
	<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edpedp-appel-lincoln-dna-050409050409may04,0,5179467.story
	|title=Abe's DNA: Public or Private?
	|publisher=Orlando Sentinel
	|date=May 4, 2009}}
	{{cite web
	|url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/04/20/scientist-wants-to-test-abraham-lincolns-bloodstained-pillow-for-cancer/
	|title=Scientist Wants to Test Abraham Lincoln’s Bloodstained Pillow for Cancer
	|publisher=Discover Magazine
	|date=April 20, 2009}}
	{{cite journal
	|title=Lincoln'd Shroud of Turin
	|journal=Philadelphila Inquirer
	|date=April 13, 2009}}
	</ref>
	Another genetic condition ascribed to Lincoln by some researchers is ]. Descendants of his immediate family have been tested and some of them have various forms of it.
	<ref>
	{{cite journal
	|author= Ikeda Y, Dick KA, Weatherspoon MR ''et al.''
	|title= Spectrin mutations cause spinocerebellar ataxia type 5
	|journal= Nat Genet
	|volume=38
	|issue=2
	|pages=184–90
	|year=2006
	|pmid=16429157
	|doi=10.1038/ng1728
	|laysummary=http://mmf.umn.edu/bulletin/spring2006/features/ataxia/ataxia1.cfm
	|laysource= University of Minnesota Medical Bulletin
	|laydate= Spring 2006}}
	</ref>
			=== Republican values ===
	Lincoln was regularly reported to suffer from "melancholy". Some biographers have controversially diagnosed him with ] and ], but these theories have generally been dismissed.
			Lincoln's redefinition of '']'' has been stressed by historians such as ], ], ], Eric Foner, and Herman J. Belz.{{sfn|Thomas|2008|p=61}} Lincoln called the ]—which emphasized freedom and equality for all—the "]" of republicanism beginning in the 1850s. He did this at a time when the ], which "tolerated slavery", was the focus of most political discourse.{{sfnm|Jaffa|2000|1p=399|Thomas|2008|2p=61}} Diggins notes, "Lincoln presented Americans a theory of history that offers a profound contribution to the theory and destiny of republicanism itself" in the 1860 Cooper Union speech.{{sfnm|Diggins|1986|1p=307|Thomas|2008|2p=61}} Instead of focusing on the legality of an argument, he focused on the moral basis of republicanism.{{sfnm|Foner|2010|1p=215|Thomas|2008|2p=61}}
	<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g16.htm#15
	|title=The Health and Medical History of President Abraham Lincoln
	|author=Dr Zebra}}
	</ref>
	Mainly, his reported melancholy affected at times of great political stress or warfare and after losing a loved one, neither of which are unusual. He lost the two women (his mother and his sister) he loved very much when he was extremely young. This melancholy was also reinforced later in his life by the losses of his stepmother and his very first love, Ann Rutledge. Mary Lincoln felt her husband to be too trusting and his melancholy also struck at times he was betrayed or unsupported by those he put faith in.
	<ref>
	{{cite book
	|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Ja16KVw5CqEC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=Lincoln+too+trusting&source=bl&ots=NLODGE8vPr&sig=tLGTwsu0Gt2ZLgx-2u--ZO5nVpk&hl=en&ei=NwawSYyUEuH8tgf_-ZCBBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result
	|title= The Trials of Mrs. Lincoln
	|author= Samuel Agnew Schreiner
	|publisher= U of Nebraska Press
	|year=2005
	|page=154}}
	</ref>
	Other people have suggested that he was simply a private person who took solace in solitude. They argue that this can be seen in some of his actions as both a young boy and adult. Some of these actions included withdrawing himself from a crowd to read when he was a little boy, and even retreating to his privacy to find a solution to a problem. As an adult, Lincoln would often slip into depression, and emerge a short time later full of humor and happiness. Some people suggest that Lincoln's humor was actually a healthy way to cope with his depression.
	<ref name="teamofrivals" />
			His position on war was founded on a legal argument regarding the Constitution as essentially a contract among the states, and all parties must agree to pull out of the contract. Furthermore, it was a national duty to ensure the republic stands in every state.{{sfnm|Jaffa|2000|1p=263|Thomas|2008|2p=61}} Many soldiers and religious leaders from the north, though, felt the fight for liberty and freedom of slaves was ordained by their moral and religious beliefs.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=_zaSs2HzEEwC|page=243}}|title=The Age of Lincoln: A History|last=Burton|first=Orville Vernon|date=2008|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=978-1-4299-3955-3}}</ref>
	Unlike the quiet, deep voice later used by impersonators and actors, Lincoln reportedly had a strikingly high-pitched speaking voice which aided him at times when he needed to be heard by crowds of thousands before the existence of microphones. Despite his legendary talent as orator, he was said to have been shy and awkward in intimate social situations, especially in his youth.
			As a Whig activist Lincoln was a spokesman for business interests, favoring high tariffs, banks, infrastructure improvements, and railroads, in opposition to ].{{sfn|Boritt|Pinsker|2002|pp=196–198, 229–231, 301}} Lincoln shared the sympathies that the Jacksonians professed for the common man, but he disagreed with the Jacksonian view that ].{{sfn|Current|1999}} Nevertheless, Lincoln admired ]'s steeliness as well as his patriotism.{{sfn|Wilentz|2012}} According to historian ]:{{sfn|Wilentz|2012}}
	==Legacy and memorials==
	{{see|Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln}}
	] in heaven (an 1860s work)]]
	Lincoln's death made the President a ] to many. Repeated polls of historians have ranked Lincoln as among the ], often appearing in the first position. Among contemporary admirers, Lincoln is usually seen as personifying classical values of honesty and integrity, as well as respect for individual and minority rights, and human freedom in general.
	Many American organizations of all purposes and agendas continue to cite his name and image, with interests ranging from the ]-supporting ] to the ] corporation ]. The ] is also named after him.
			{{blockquote|Just as the Republican Party of the 1850s absorbed certain elements of Jacksonianism, so Lincoln, whose Whiggery had always been more egalitarian than that of other Whigs, found himself absorbing some of them as well. And some of the Jacksonian spirit resided inside the Lincoln White House.}}
	] named the 2008-09 school year the "Year of Lincoln," and sponsored several projects and events in which Lincoln (and his connections to Centre College) were celebrated. These included naming a residence hall for Centre alum John Todd Stuart, Lincoln's law partner; bringing journalist ] to Danville to celebrate the Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial; hosting a Lincoln symposium; and more.
			] found that Lincoln's "reverence for the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, the laws under it, and the preservation of the Republic and its institutions strengthened his conservatism."{{sfn|Harris|2007|p=2}} James G. Randall emphasizes his tolerance and moderation "in his preference for orderly progress, his distrust of dangerous agitation, and his reluctance toward ill digested schemes of reform." Randall concludes that "he was conservative in his complete avoidance of that type of so-called 'radicalism' which involved abuse of the South, hatred for the slaveholder, thirst for vengeance, partisan plotting, and ungenerous demands that Southern institutions be transformed overnight by outsiders."{{sfn|Randall|1962|p=175}}
	The ] ] ] and the ] ] were named in his honor. Also, the ] SS ''Nancy Hanks'' was named for his mother. During the ], the American faction of the ] named themselves the ].
	Lincoln has been memorialized in many city names, notably the ]. ], is the only city to be named for Abraham Lincoln before he became President. Lincoln's name and image appear in numerous places. These include the ] in Washington, D.C., the U.S. ] and the ], Lincoln's sculpture on ], and the ] in Springfield, Illinois. In addition, ] (a reconstruction of Lincoln's early adult hometown), ], and Petersen House (where he died) are all preserved as museums. The Lincoln Shrine in ], is located behind the A.K. Smiley Public Library. The ] for Illinois is ''Land of Lincoln''; the slogan has appeared continuously on nearly all ] issued since 1954.
	] in 18 ]s (], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]) are named after Lincoln.
	Abraham Lincoln's birthday, February 12, was formerly a national holiday, now commemorated as ]. However, it is still observed in Illinois and many other states as a separate legal holiday, ]. A dozen states have legal holidays celebrating the third Monday in February as Presidents Day as a combination Washington-Lincoln Day. The ] was formed in 1908 to commemorate the centennial of Lincoln's birth. The Association is now the oldest group dedicated to the study of Lincoln.
	To commemorate his upcoming 200th birthday in February 2009, Congress established the ] (ALBC) in 2000. Dedicated to renewing American appreciation of Lincoln's legacy, the 15-member commission is made up of lawmakers and scholars and also features an advisory board of over 130 various Lincoln historians and enthusiasts. Located at ] in ], the ALBC is the organizing force behind numerous tributes, programs and cultural events highlighting a two-year celebration scheduled to begin in February 2008 at Lincoln's birthplace: ], ].
	Lincoln's birthplace and family home are national historic memorials: the ] in Hodgenville, and the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois. The ] opened in Springfield in 2005; it is a major tourist attraction, with state-of-the-art exhibits. The ] is located in ]. The is located in ].
	On Wednesday 11 March 2009 the ] found a message engraved inside Lincoln's watch by a watchmaker named Jonathan Dillon who was repairing it at the outbreak of the ]. The engraving reads (in part): "] was attacked by the rebels" and "thank God we have a government."
	<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE52A0FG20090311
	|title=Museum finds 'secret' message in Lincoln's watch
	|publisher=Reuters
	|accessdate=2009-03-11}}
	</ref>
			===Reunification of the states===
	==Images==
			{{CSS image crop|Image=LINCOLN, Abraham-President (BEP engraved portrait).jpg |bSize= 226|cWidth= 165|cHeight= 195|oTop= 33|oLeft= 31|Location= right|Description= ] portrait of Lincoln as president}}
			In Lincoln's first inaugural address, he explored the nature of democracy. He denounced secession as anarchy, and he explained that majority rule had to be balanced by constitutional restraints. He said, "A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people."{{sfn|Belz|1998|p=86}}
			The successful reunification of the states had consequences for how people viewed the country. The term "the United States" has historically been used sometimes in the plural ("these United States") and other times in the singular. The Civil War was a significant force in the eventual dominance of the singular usage by the end of the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Burt |first=Andrew |date=May 13, 2013 |title='These United States': How Obama's Vocal Tic Reveals a Polarized America |magazine=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/these-united-states-how-obamas-vocal-tic-reveals-a-polarized-america/275739/ |access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref>
	<center><gallery>
	Image:Portrait-Hon-Abraham-Lincoln.jpg|Portrait of Abraham Lincoln
	Image:Lincoln on 5 USD bill.jpg|Lincoln's portrait on the ]
	Image:Lincoln memorial dc 20041011 095847 1.3008x2000.jpg|The ] in ]
	Image:Lincoln Memorial (Lincoln tall thumb).jpg|]'s sculpture inside the ]
	Image:MtRushmore Abe close.jpg|Lincoln's likeness on ]
	Image:2002_Penny_Proof_Obv.png|] Lincoln penny with ] effect, ]
	Image:Lincoln Stamp.jpg|Lincoln stamp, issued November 19, 1965
	Image:Lincoln's Tomb.JPG|The ] in Springfield
	Image:704473 5018c573-by-Evelyn-Simak.jpg|Bust of Abraham Lincoln, St. Andrew's Church, Hingham, England
	Image:2003_IL_Proof.png|Lincoln on the Illinois design of the ], issued in 2003
	File:Lincoln boyhood memoral6.jpg| Stone carving of Lincoln at the ].
	Image:AbeLincolnHingham.jpg|Statue of Abraham Lincoln, Hingham, Massachusetts
			=== Historical reputation ===
	</gallery></center>
			{{Blockquote|text=In his company, I was never reminded of my humble origin, or of my unpopular color.{{sfn|Douglass|2008|pp=259–260}}|sign=]}}
			In ]<!-- Lincoln is first in 9 of 17 on that page. --> conducted since 1948, the top three presidents are generally Lincoln, Washington, and ], although the order varies.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lindgren |first=James |author-link=James Lindgren |date=November 16, 2000 |title=Rating the Presidents of the United States, 1789–2000 |website=The Federalist Society |access-date=February 14, 2020 |url=https://fedsoc.org/commentary/publications/rating-the-presidents-of-the-united-states-1789-2000-a-survey-of-scholars-in-history-political-science-and-law}}</ref>{{efn|While the book ''Rating The Presidents: A Ranking of U.S. Leaders, From the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Incompetent'' acknowledges that polls have rated Lincoln among the top presidents since 1948, the authors find him to be among the two best presidents, along with Franklin Delano Roosevelt.<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=John V.|editor-last=Densen|title=Reassessing The Presidency, The Rise of the Executive State and the Decline of Freedom|publisher=]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hJGpAT7IWhwC&pg=PAix|location=Auburn, Alabama|date=2001|isbn=978-0-945466-29-1|pages=ix, 1–32}}</ref>}} Between 1999 and 2011, Lincoln, ], and ] were the top-ranked presidents in eight ] surveys, according to Gallup.<ref>{{cite web |last=Newport |first=Frank |date=February 28, 2011|title=Americans Say Reagan Is the Greatest U.S. President|website=Gallup.com|access-date=February 13, 2019|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/146183/Americans-Say-Reagan-Greatest-President.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314210856/http://www.gallup.com/poll/146183/Americans-Say-Reagan-Greatest-President.aspx |archive-date=March 14, 2012}}</ref> A 2004 study found that scholars in the fields of history and politics ranked Lincoln number one, while legal scholars placed him second after George Washington.{{sfn|Taranto|Leo|2004|p=264}}
			Lincoln's assassination left him a national martyr. He was viewed by abolitionists as a champion of human liberty. Republicans linked Lincoln's name to their party. Many, though not all, in the South considered Lincoln as a man of outstanding ability.{{sfn|Chesebrough|1994|pp=76, 79, 106, 110}} Historians have said he was "a ]" in the 19th-century sense. ] states that Lincoln was a "classical liberal democrat—an enemy of artificial hierarchy, a friend to trade and business as ennobling and enabling, and an American counterpart to ], ], and ]", whose portrait Lincoln hung in his White House office.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Joseph R.|last1=Fornieri|first2=Sara Vaughn|last2=Gabbard|title=Lincoln's America: 1809–1865|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Xarqzbuf43sC|page=19}}|year=2008|publisher=]|location=Carbondale, Illinois|isbn=978-0-8093-8713-7|page=19}}</ref>{{sfn|Randall|1962|pp=65–87}}
			Sociologist ] argues that Lincoln's American reputation grew slowly from the late 19th century until the ] (1900–1920s), when he emerged as one of America's most venerated heroes, even among white Southerners. The high point came in 1922 with the dedication of the ] on the ] in Washington, D.C.{{sfn|Schwartz|2000|p=109}}
			Union nationalism, as envisioned by Lincoln, "helped lead America to the nationalism of ], ], and ]."{{sfn|Boritt|Pinsker|2002|p=222}} In the ] era, liberals honored Lincoln not so much as the ] or the great war president, but as the advocate of the common man who they claimed would have supported the ].{{sfn|Schwartz|2008|pp=23, 91–98}}
			Schwartz argues that in the 1930s and 1940s the memory of Abraham Lincoln was practically sacred and provided the nation with "a moral symbol inspiring and guiding American life." During the ], he argues, Lincoln served "as a means for seeing the world's disappointments, for making its sufferings not so much explicable as meaningful." Franklin D. Roosevelt, preparing America for war, used the words of the Civil War president to clarify the threat posed by Germany and Japan. Americans asked, "What would Lincoln do?"{{sfn|Schwartz|2008|pp=xi, 9, 24}} However, Schwartz also finds that since World War II Lincoln's symbolic power has lost relevance, and this "fading hero is symptomatic of fading confidence in national greatness." He suggested that ] and ] have diluted greatness as a concept.{{sfn|Schwartz|2008|pp=xi, 9}}
			In the ] years Lincoln's image shifted to a symbol of freedom who brought hope to those oppressed by ]s.{{sfn|Schwartz|2008|pp=23, 91–98}} He had long been known as the Great Emancipator,<ref>The origin of the nickname is unknown. Wheeler, Linda, ''The Washington Post'', May 17, 2001.</ref> but, by the late 1960s, some African American intellectuals, led by ], denied that Lincoln deserved that title.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Arthur|last=Zilversmit|title=Lincoln and the Problem of Race: A Decade of Interpretations|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0002.104/--lincoln-and-the-problem-of-race-a-decade-of-interpretations?rgn=main;view=fulltext|journal=Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association|publisher=Abraham Lincoln Association|location=Springfield, Illinois|volume=2|issue=1|date=1980|pages=22–24|access-date=December 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025185706/http://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0002.104/--lincoln-and-the-problem-of-race-a-decade-of-interpretations?rgn=main;view=fulltext|archive-date=October 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=John M.|last=Barr|title=Holding Up a Flawed Mirror to the American Soul: Abraham Lincoln in the Writings of Lerone Bennett Jr.|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0035.105/--holding-up-a-flawed-mirror-to-the-american-soul-abraham?keywords=rgn...;rgn=main;view=fulltext|journal=Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association|publisher=Abraham Lincoln Association|location=Springfield, Illinois|volume=35|issue=1|date=Winter 2014|pages=43–65}}</ref> Bennett won wide attention when he called Lincoln a ] in 1968.{{sfn|Bennett|1968|pp=35–42}} He noted that Lincoln used ethnic slurs and told jokes that ridiculed blacks. Bennett argued that Lincoln opposed social equality and proposed that freed slaves voluntarily move to another country. The emphasis shifted away from Lincoln the emancipator to an argument that blacks had freed themselves from slavery, or at least were responsible for pressuring the government to emancipate them.{{sfnm|1a1=Cashin|1y=2002|1p=61|2a1=Kelley|2a2=Lewis|2y=2005|2p=228}} Defenders of Lincoln retorted that he was a "moral visionary" who deftly advanced the abolitionist cause, as fast as politically possible.{{sfn|Striner|2006|p=1}} Brian Dirck stated that few Civil War scholars take Bennett (or ])<ref>DiLorenzo, Thomas, '']: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War'', Roseville, California: Prima, 2002.</ref> seriously, pointing to their "narrow political agendas and faulty research".{{sfn|Dirck|2009|p=382}}
			By the 1970s Lincoln had become a hero to ]<ref>{{Cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=p6yMTe4j_YEC|page=96}}|title=Lincoln and the Politics of Christian Love|last=Havers|first=Grant N.|page=96|date=November 13, 2009|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=978-0-8262-1857-5}}</ref>—apart from ] such as ], who denounced his treatment of the white South—for his intense nationalism, his support for business, his insistence on stopping the spread of slavery, his acting on ] and ] principles on behalf of both liberty and tradition, and his devotion to the principles of the Founding Fathers.{{sfnm|Belz|2014|1pp=514–518|Graebner|1959|2pp=67–94|Smith|2010|3pp=43–45}} Lincoln became a favorite of liberal intellectuals across the world.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-first=Richard|editor1-last=Carwardine|editor2-first=Jay|editor2-last=Sexton|title=The Global Lincoln|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Gs_1lpJvF34C|page=54}}|year=2011|publisher=Oxford UP|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-19-537911-2|pages=7, 9–10, 54}}</ref>
			Barry Schwartz wrote in 2009 that Lincoln's image suffered "erosion, fading prestige, benign ridicule" in the late 20th century.{{sfn|Schwartz|2008|p=146}} By contrast, David Herbert Donald opined in his 1996 biography that Lincoln was distinctly endowed with the personality trait of ], defined by the poet ] and attributed to extraordinary leaders who were "capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=15}}
			In the 21st century President ] named Lincoln his favorite president and insisted on using the ] for his inaugural ceremonies.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hirschkorn|first=Phil|title=The Obama-Lincoln Parallel: A Closer Look|website=]|publisher=]|location=New York City|date=January 17, 2009|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-obama-lincoln-parallel-a-closer-look/|access-date=January 26, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822114242/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-obama-lincoln-parallel-a-closer-look/|archive-date=August 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=David|last=Jackson|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/theovall/2013/01/10/obama-inaugural-bible-kennedy-king/1821363/ |title=Obama to be sworn in with Lincoln, King Bibles |newspaper=] |location=McLean, Virginia|date=January 10, 2013 |access-date=March 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324044349/http://www.usatoday.com/story/theovall/2013/01/10/obama-inaugural-bible-kennedy-king/1821363/ |archive-date=March 24, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Ed|last=Hornick|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/17/lincoln.obsession/index.html/|title=For Obama, Lincoln was model president|website=]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|date=January 18, 2009|access-date=August 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718224232/http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/17/lincoln.obsession/index.html|archive-date=July 18, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
			Lincoln has often been portrayed by Hollywood, almost always in a flattering light.<ref>{{cite magazine|first1=Steven|last1=Spielberg|author-link1=Steven Spielberg|first2=Tony|last2=Kushner|author-link2=Tony Kushner|first3=Doris|last3=Kearns Goodwin|author-link3=Doris Kearns Goodwin|title=Mr. Lincoln Goes to Hollywood|magazine=]|publisher=]|location=Washington, D.C.|date=2012|volume=43|issue=7|pages=46–53}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/14664658.2011.594651|title=Abraham Lincoln and the Movies|year=2011|last1=Stokes|first1=Melvyn|s2cid=146375501|journal=American Nineteenth Century History|volume=12|issue=2|pages=203–231}}</ref>
			Lincoln has also been admired by political figures outside the U.S., including ] ],<ref>{{cite book | last=Samuels | first=Shirley | title=The Cambridge Companion to Abraham Lincoln | publisher=] | series=Cambridge Companions to American Studies | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-521-19316-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bFwKQ14iJYsC | page=156}}</ref> Indian ] leader ],<ref>{{cite book|title=Lincoln and the Fight for Peace|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2023|author=John Avlon|isbn=9781982108137 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tSepEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA270}}</ref> former ]n president ],<ref>{{cite book | last=Gaines | first=Kevin | title=The Global Lincoln | chapter=From Colonization to Anti-colonialism | publisher=] | date=September 8, 2011 | doi=10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195379112.003.0015 | pages=259–271| isbn=978-0-19-537911-2}}</ref> leader of the Italian ], ],<ref>On August 6, 1863, after Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Garibaldi wrote to Lincoln, "Posterity will call you the great emancipator, a more enviable title than any crown could be, and greater than any merely mundane treasure". Ron Field, ''Garibaldi: Leadership, Strategy, Conflict'', Osprey Publishing, 2011, p. 51.</ref> and Libyan revolutionary ].<ref>{{cite book | last=Денильханов | first=И. | title=Муаммар Каддафи: Падение Джамахирии | publisher=Litres| year=2022 | isbn=978-5-04-333255-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eaIhEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT93 | language=ru | access-date=March 24, 2023 | page=93}}</ref>
			===Memory and memorials===
			{{Main|Memorials to Abraham Lincoln}}
			Lincoln's portrait appears on two denominations of ], the ] and the ]. He appears on postage stamps across the world.<ref name="c980">{{cite web | title=Chinese Resistance Issue | website=National Postal Museum | date=December 31, 2019 | url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-modern-period-1940-present-commemorative-issues-1940-1949-1942-1943}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=lhB5tAEACAAJ}}|title=Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers 2019 |last1=Houseman |first1=Donna|last2=Kloetzel|first2=James E.|last3=Snee|first3=Chad|date=October 2018|publisher=Amos Media Company|isbn=978-0-89487-559-5}}</ref> While he is usually portrayed bearded, he did not grow a beard until 1860 at the suggestion of 11-year-old ]. He was the first of five presidents to do so.{{sfn|Collea|2018|pp=13–14}}
			He has been memorialized in many town, city, and county names,{{sfn|Dennis|2018|p=194}} including the ] of Nebraska.{{sfn|Dennis|2018|p=197}} The United States Navy {{sclass|Nimitz|aircraft carrier|2}} {{USS|Abraham Lincoln|CVN-72}} is named after Lincoln, the second Navy ship to bear his name.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn72/Pages/CVN72History.aspx |title=History of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) |website=United States Department of the Navy |access-date=February 13, 2020 |archive-date=June 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627065558/https://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn72/Pages/CVN72History.aspx |url-status=dead}}</ref> The ] is one of the most visited monuments in the nation's capital<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pearson |first=Michael |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/lincoln-memorial-refurbishment/index.html |title=$18.5&nbsp;million gift to help refurbish Lincoln Memorial |date=February 16, 2016 |work=CNN|access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref> and is one of the most visited ] sites in the country.<ref name="Atlantic - Nyce">{{Cite magazine |last=Nyce |first=Caroline Mimbs |date=May 21, 2015 |title=15 Most Visited National Landmarks in Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/15-most-visited-national-landmarks-in-washington-dc/451941/ |magazine=The Atlantic |access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref> Ford's Theatre, among the most visited sites in Washington, D.C.,<ref name="Atlantic - Nyce" /> is across the street from ], where Lincoln died.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/foth/the-petersen-house.htm |title=The Petersen House – Ford's Theatre |website=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref> Memorials in Springfield, Illinois, include the ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lincolnlibraryandmuseum.com/lincoln-tour.htm |title=Abraham Lincoln Historical Tours in Springfield, Illinois |website=lincolnlibraryandmuseum.com |access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref> A portrait carving of Lincoln appears with those of three other presidents on ], which receives about 3&nbsp;million visitors a year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=http://www.nps.gov/moru/historyculture/index.htm |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001021548/http://www.nps.gov/moru/historyculture/index.htm |archive-date=October 1, 2011 |url-status=live |access-date=November 13, 2010}}</ref> An ] stands in ], Chicago, with recastings given as diplomatic gifts standing in ], London, and ], Mexico City.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/saga/learn/news/lincoln.htm|title=Abraham Lincoln in Cornish|work=nps.gov|date= April 18, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-mexico-loved-lincoln-180962258/ |title=Why Abraham Lincoln Was Revered in Mexico |last=Katz |first=Jamie |website=Smithsonian |language=en |access-date=December 24, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Thayer |last=Tolles |title=Abraham Lincoln: The Man (Standing Lincoln): a bronze statuette by Augustus Saint-Gaudens |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/675325|journal=Metropolitan Museum Journal |volume=48 |year=2013 |pages=223–37 |doi=10.1086/675325 |s2cid=192203987}}</ref>
			In 2019, Congress officially dedicated room H-226 in the ] to Abraham Lincoln.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 12, 2019 |title=Congress Dedicates Lincoln Room {{!}} U.S. Capitol Historical Society |url=https://uschs.org/news-releases/congress-dedicates-lincoln-room/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=United States Capitol Historical Society}}</ref> The room is located off ] and served as the ] of the House while then-Representative Abraham Lincoln served in Congress from 1847 to 1849.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 21, 2018 |title=Legislation to Name Room in US Capitol "Lincoln Room" Passes House |url=https://lahood.house.gov/2018/12/legislation-name-room-us-capitol-lincoln-room-passes-house |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Congressman Darin LaHood |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=LINCOLN, Abraham {{!}} US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/L/LINCOLN,-Abraham-(L000313)/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=history.house.gov |language=en}}</ref>
			<gallery widths="140" heights="200" class="center">
			File:Head of Abraham Lincoln at Mount Rushmore.jpg|alt=See caption|Lincoln's image carved into the stone of ]
			File:Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway - Adolph Weinman's Abraham Lincoln Statue - NARA - 7720071 (cropped).jpg|alt=See caption|], a 1909 bronze statue by ], sits before a historic church in Hodgenville, Kentucky.
			File:Lincoln 1866 Issue-15c.jpg|The Lincoln memorial postage stamp of 1866 was issued by the U.S. Post Office exactly one year after Lincoln's assassination.
			File:Aerial view of Lincoln Memorial - west side.jpg|alt=An aerial photo a large white building with big pillars.|] in Washington, D.C.
			File:United States penny, obverse, 2002.png|The ], an American coin portraying Lincoln
			</gallery>
	==See also==		==See also==
	{{portal|American Civil War|Acw bs 7a.png}}		{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War|United States}}
			* ], directed by ] (2012)
	{{portalpar|Military of the United States|Naval Jack of the United States.svg|65}}
			* ], proposed colony in Central America named for Lincoln
	*], Lincoln's economic views.
			* ]
	*]
	*]		* ]
			* ]
	*]
			* ]
	*]
			* ], Lincoln Tower
	*]
	*]
			==Notes==
	*]
			{{Notelist}}
	==References==		==References==
	{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}		{{reflist|1=20em}}
			===Bibliography===
	'''Books referenced'''
			{{See also|Bibliography of Abraham Lincoln}}
	{{refbegin}}
			{{Refbegin|30em}}
	*{{Cite journal|first=Roy P.|last=Basler|title=Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings|year=1946}}
			* {{cite book|last=Ambrose|first=Stephen E.|author-link=Stephen E. Ambrose|year=1996|title=Halleck: Lincoln's Chief of Staff|publisher=LSU Press|location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=mNYeG7Qrw7UC}}|isbn=978-0-8071-5539-4}}
	*{{Cite book|first=Roy P.|last=Basler|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (9 vols.)|location=]|publisher=]|year=1953}}
	*{{Cite book|first=David Herbert|last=Donald|title=Lincoln|location=New York|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=1995}}		* {{cite book|last=Baker|first=Jean H.|author-link=Jean H. Baker|year=1989|title=Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-0-393-30586-9}}
			* {{cite book|last=Bartelt|first=William E.|author-link=William Bartelt|year=2008|title=There I Grew Up: Remembering Abraham Lincoln's Indiana Youth|publisher=Indiana Historical Society Press|location=Indianapolis, Indiana|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Ed-NAAAAMAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-87195-263-9}}
	*{{Cite journal|first=Eric|last=Foner|title=Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War|year=1970}}
	*{{Cite book|first=Harry V.|last=Jaffa|title=A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War|year=2000|isbn=0-8476-9952-8|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|location=Lanham, Md.}}		* {{cite book|last=Belz|first=Herman|year=1998|title=Abraham Lincoln, Constitutionalism, and Equal Rights in the Civil War era|publisher=Fordham University Press|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=GbztAAAAMAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-8232-1768-7}}
			* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Belz|first=Herman|editor1-last=Frohnen|editor1-first=Bruce|editor-link1=Bruce Frohnen|editor2-last=Beer|editor2-first=Jeremy|editor3-last=Nelson|editor3-first=Jeffrey O|year=2014|encyclopedia=American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia|title=Lincoln, Abraham|publisher=Open Road Media|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=T1yOAwAAQBAJ}}|isbn=978-1-932236-43-9}}
	*{{Cite book|first=Doris Kearns|last=Goodwin|authorlink=Doris Kearns Goodwin|title=Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln|isbn=0-684-82490-6|year=2005|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York}}
			* {{cite magazine|last=Bennett|first=Lerone Jr.|author-link=Lerone Bennett Jr.|year=1968|title=Was Abe Lincoln a White Supremacist?|magazine=Ebony|volume=23|issue=4|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=H84DAAAAMBAJ|page=35}}|issn=0012-9011}}
	*{{Cite book|first=Allen C.|last=Guelzo|title=Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President|isbn=0-8028-3872-3|year=1999|url=http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99466893|publisher=W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co|location=Grand Rapids, Mich.}}
			* {{cite book|last=Blue|first=Frederick J.|year=1987|title=Salmon P. Chase: A Life in Politics|publisher=Kent State University Press|location=Kent, Ohio|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Wyxj7Y3Fh7AC}}|isbn=978-0-87338-340-0}}
	*{{Cite journal|first=Harold|last=Holzer|title=Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President|year=2004}}
			* {{cite book|last1=Boritt|first1=Gabor S.|author-link1=Gabor Boritt|last2=Pinsker|first2=Matthew|editor-last=Graff|editor-first=Henry|editor-link=Henry Graff|year=2002|title=The Presidents: A Reference History|chapter=Abraham Lincoln|publisher=Macmillan Library Reference USA |edition=7th|isbn=978-0-684-80551-1}}
	*{{Cite journal|first=James M.|last=McPherson|title=Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution|year=1992}}
	*{{Cite book|first=William Lee|last=Miller|title=Lincoln's Virtues: An Ethical Biography|year=2002|isbn=0-375-40158-X|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York}}		* {{cite book|last1=Bulla|first1=David W.|last2=Borchard|first2=Gregory A.|year=2010|title=Journalism in the Civil War Era|publisher=Peter Lang|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=U67N0GsAUosC}}|isbn=978-1-4331-0722-1}}
			* {{cite book |author-link=Michael Burlingame (historian) |last=Burlingame |first=Michael |title=Abraham Lincoln: A Life |date=2008 |url=https://www.knox.edu/academics/research-and-creative-work/lincoln-studies-center/burlingame-abraham-lincoln-a-life}} (2 vols.) One-volume edition edited and abridged by Jonathan W. White (2023).
	*Neely, Mark E. ''The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties'' (1992). Pulitzer Prize winner.
			* ], ''Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln: The Story of a Picture'', New York: Hurd and Houghton (1866); also published as '']'', New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1867, pubdate 1868.
	*{{Cite book|first=Carl|last=Sandburg|authorlink=Carl Sandburg|title=Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years|publisher=Harvest Books|year=1974|isbn=0156026112}}
			* {{cite book|last=Carwardine|first=Richard J.|author-link=Richard Carwardine|year=2003|title=Lincoln|publisher=Pearson Longman|location=London, England|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=UrAOAQAAMAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-582-03279-8}}
	*{{Cite web|first=Benjamin P.|last=Thomas|title=Abraham Lincoln: A Biography|year=1952|url=http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=25051697}}
			* {{cite book|last1=Cashin|first1=Joan E.|year=2002|title=The War was You and Me: Civilians in the American Civil War|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=XDGYzuPW3PoC}}|isbn=978-0-691-09174-7}}
	*{{Cite book|first=Garry|last=Wills|authorlink=Garry Wills|title=]|isbn=0-671-86742-3|year=1993|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York}}
			* {{cite book|last=Chesebrough|first=David B.|year=1994|title=No Sorrow Like Our Sorrow: Northern Protestant Ministers and the Assassination of Lincoln|publisher=Kent State University Press|location=Kent, Ohio|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=OHRNdDC54ooC}}|isbn=978-0-87338-491-9}}
	*{{Cite journal|first=Douglas L.|last=Wilson|title=Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln|year=1999}}
			* {{Cite book |last=Collea |first=Joseph D. Collea Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6XFuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |title=New York and the Lincoln Specials: The President's Pre-Inaugural and Funeral Trains Cross the Empire State |date=September 20, 2018 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3324-4 |pages=13–14 }}
	{{refend}}
			* {{cite book|last=Cox|first=Hank H.|year=2005|title=Lincoln and the Sioux Uprising of 1862|publisher=Cumberland House|location=Nashville, Tennessee|url=|isbn=978-1-58182-457-5|ref=no}}
			* {{Cite web |last=Current |first=Richard N. |author-link=Richard N. Current |date=July 28, 1999 |title=Abraham Lincoln - Early political career |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Early-political-career |access-date= |website=] |language=en }}
			* {{cite book|last=Dennis|first=Matthew|year=2018|title=Red, White, and Blue Letter Days: An American Calendar|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=a6JhDwAAQBAJ}}|isbn=978-1-5017-2370-4}}
			* {{cite book|last=Diggins|first=John P.|author-link=John Patrick Diggins|year=1986|title=The Lost Soul of American Politics: Virtue, Self-Interest, and the Foundations of Liberalism|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=O3vYavMFE2MC}}|isbn=978-0-226-14877-9}}
			* {{cite journal |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/315139 |last=Dirck |first=Brian |title=''Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End Slavery'', and: ''Act of Justice: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of War'', and: ''Lincoln and Freedom: Slavery, Emancipation, and the Thirteenth Amendment'' (review) |journal=Civil War History |date=September 2009 |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=382–385 |doi=10.1353/cwh.0.0090 |s2cid=143986160 }}
			* {{cite book|last=Dirck|first=Brian R.|year=2008|title=Lincoln the Lawyer|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=Champaign, Illinois|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=N1FEs-pDrT8C}}|isbn=978-0-252-07614-5|ref=none}}
			* {{cite book|last=Donald|first=David Herbert|author-link=David Herbert Donald|year=1996|title=Lincoln|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=fuTY3mxs9awC}}|isbn=978-0-684-82535-9}}
			* {{cite book|last=Douglass|first=Frederick|author-link=Frederick Douglass|year=2008|title=The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass|publisher=Cosimo Classics|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-1-60520-399-7}}
			* {{cite book|last=Edgar|first=Walter B.|author-link=Walter Edgar|year=1998|title=South Carolina: A History|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|location=Columbia, South Carolina|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=EFSbwGk2szgC}}|isbn=978-1-57003-255-4}}
			* {{cite news|last=Ellenberg|first=Jordan|author-link=Jordan Ellenberg|date= May 23, 2021|title= What Honest Abe Learned from Geometry|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|volume=278|issue=119|pages=C3|ref=no}} Ellenberg's essay is adapted from his 2021 book, ''Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else'', Penguin Press. ISBN 9781984879059
			* {{cite journal|last=Fish|first=Carl Russell|author-link=Carl Russell Fish|year=1902|title=Lincoln and the Patronage|journal=The American Historical Review|volume=8|issue=1|pages=53–69|jstor=1832574|doi=10.2307/1832574}}
			* {{cite book|last=Foner|first=Eric|author-link=Eric Foner|year=2010|title=The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-0-393-06618-0}}
			* {{cite book|last=Goodrich|first=Thomas|year=2005|title=The Darkest Dawn: Lincoln, Booth, and the Great American Tragedy|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Indianapolis, Indiana|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=8Fv6ngEACAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-253-34567-7}}
			* {{cite book|last=Goodwin|first=Doris Kearns|author-link=Doris Kearns Goodwin|year=2005|title=Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=4MS3BQAAQBAJ}}|isbn=978-0-684-82490-1}}
			* {{cite book|last=Graebner|first=Norman|editor-last=Basler|editor-first=Roy Prentice|editor-link=Roy Basler|year=1959|title=The enduring Lincoln: Lincoln sesquicentennial lectures at the University of Illinois|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=Champaign, Illinois|chapter=Abraham Lincoln: Conservative Statesman|chapter-url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=zlxKAAAAMAAJ}}|oclc=428674}}
			* {{cite book|last1=Grimsley|first1=Mark|author-link1=Mark Grimsley|last2=Simpson|first2=Brooks D.|author-link2=Brooks D. Simpson|year=2001|title=The Collapse of the Confederacy|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=joh3AAAAMAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-8032-2170-3}}
			* {{cite book|last=Guelzo|first=Allen C.|author-link=Allen C. Guelzo|year=1999|title=Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=FmB3AAAAMAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-8028-3872-8}}. Second edition, 2022. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. {{ISBN|978-0-8028-7858-8}}
			* {{cite book|last=Guelzo|first=Allen C.|year=2004|title=Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=DJmTUq9hYUoC}}|isbn=978-0-7432-2182-5}}
			* {{cite book|last=Harrison|first=J. Houston|title=Settlers by the Long Grey Trail|publisher=Joseph K. Ruebush Co.|year=1935}}
			* {{cite book|last=Harrison|first=Lowell|author-link=Lowell H. Harrison|year=2010|title=Lincoln of Kentucky|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|location=Lexington, Kentucky|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=TYNsQ7iky2MC}}|isbn=978-0-8131-2940-2}}
			* {{cite book|last=Harris|first=William C.|author-link=William C. Harris (historian)|year=2007|title=Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency|publisher=University Press of Kansas|location=Lawrence, Kansas|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Bbt2AAAAMAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-7006-1520-9}}
			* {{cite book|last=Harris|first=William C.|author-link=William C. Harris (historian)|year=2011|title=Lincoln and the Border States: Preserving the Union|publisher=University Press of Kansas|location=Lawrence, Kansas}}
			* {{cite book|editor1-last=Heidler|editor1-first=David Stephen|editor2-last=Heidler|editor2-first=Jeanne T.|editor3-last=Coles|editor3-first=David J.|year=2002|title=Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=1IhZngEACAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-393-04758-5}}
			* {{cite book|last1=Heidler|first1=David Stephen|last2=Heidler|first2=Jeanne T.|year=2006|title=The Mexican War|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=Santa Barbara, California|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=I9hD60q4MsQC}}|isbn=978-0-313-32792-6}}
			* {{cite book|last=Hodes|first=Martha|author-link=Martha Hodes|year=2015|title=Mourning Lincoln|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven, Connecticut|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=59ZtBgAAQBAJ}}|isbn=978-0-300-21356-0}}
			* {{cite journal|last=Hofstadter|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Hofstadter|year=1938|title=The Tariff Issue on the Eve of the Civil War|journal=The American Historical Review|volume=44|issue=1|pages=50–55|doi=10.2307/1840850|jstor=1840850}}
			* {{cite book|last=Holzer|first=Harold|author-link=Harold Holzer|year=2004|title=Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=lQmUab8SnhQC}}|isbn=978-0-7432-9964-0}}
			* {{cite book|last=Jaffa|first=Harry V.|author-link=Harry V. Jaffa|year=2000|title=A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|location=Lanham, Maryland|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=SzA4Zdd6mJoC}}|isbn=978-0-8476-9952-0}}
			* {{cite book|last1=Kelley|first1=Robin D. G.|author-link1=Robin Kelley|last2=Lewis|first2=Earl|author-link2=Earl Lewis|year=2005|title=To Make Our World Anew: Volume I: A History of African Americans to 1880|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=ua0dld3camgC}}|isbn=978-0-19-804006-4}}
			* {{cite book|editor1-last=Lamb|editor1-first=Brian P.|editor-link1=Brian Lamb|editor2-last=Swain|editor2-first=Susan|editor-link2=Susan Swain|year=2008|title=Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President|publisher=PublicAffairs|location=New York, New York|url=https://archive.org/details/abrahamlincolngr0000unse|isbn=978-1-58648-676-1}}
			* {{cite journal|last=Lupton|first=John A.|year=2006|title=Abraham Lincoln and the Corwin Amendment|journal=Illinois Heritage|volume=9|issue=5|page=34|url=http://www.lib.niu.edu/2006/ih060934.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824072958/http://www.lib.niu.edu/2006/ih060934.html|archive-date=August 24, 2016}}
			* {{cite journal|last=Luthin|first=Reinhard H.|author-link=Reinhard H. Luthin|year=1944|title=Abraham Lincoln and the Tariff|journal=The American Historical Review|volume=49|issue=4|pages=609–629|jstor=1850218|doi=10.2307/1850218}}
			* {{cite book|last=Madison|first=James H.|year=2014|title=Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Indianapolis, Indiana|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=2DvwnQEACAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-253-01308-8}}
			* {{cite book|last=Mansch|first=Larry D.|year=2005|title=Abraham Lincoln, President-elect: The Four Critical Months from Election to Inauguration|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=NMt-yrjVE50C}}|isbn=978-0-7864-2026-1}}
			* {{cite web |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Lincolns-Missing-Bodyguard.html |title=Lincoln's Missing Bodyguard |first=Paul |last=Martin |date=April 8, 2010 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927221216/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Lincolns-Missing-Bodyguard.html |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 15, 2010 }}
			* {{cite book|last=McGovern|first=George S.|author-link=George McGovern|year=2009|title=Abraham Lincoln: The American Presidents Series: The 16th President, 1861–1865|publisher=Henry Holt and Company|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=oytingEACAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-8050-8345-3}}
			* {{cite book|last=McPherson|first=James M.|author-link=James M. McPherson|year=1992|title=Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=vFNppNaal6AC}}|isbn=978-0-19-507606-6}}
			* {{cite book|last=McPherson|first=James M.|author-link=James M. McPherson|year=2009|title=Abraham Lincoln|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=3BMSDAAAQBAJ}}|isbn=978-0-19-537452-0}}
			* {{cite book|last=Meacham|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Meacham |year=2022|title=And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle
			|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-55-339396-5|ref=none}}
			* {{cite book |last=Morse |first=John Torrey |author-link=John Torrey Morse |title=Abraham Lincoln |volume=I |publisher=Cambridge, Mass., Riverside Press |year=1893 |url=https://archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnv1mors }}
			* {{cite book |last=Morse |first=John Torrey |author-link=John Torrey Morse |title=Abraham Lincoln |volume=II |publisher=Cambridge, Mass. Riverside Press |year=1893 |url=https://archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnv2mors |ref=morse2 }}
			* {{cite book|last=Neely|first=Mark E. Jr.|author-link=Mark E. Neely Jr.|year=1992|title=The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|location=New York, New York|url=https://www.questia.com/library/79055660/the-fate-of-liberty-abraham-lincoln-and-civil-liberties|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029142532/https://www.questia.com/library/79055660/the-fate-of-liberty-abraham-lincoln-and-civil-liberties|archive-date=October 29, 2014|url-status=live}}
			* {{cite journal|last=Neely|first=Mark E. Jr.|author-link=Mark E. Neely Jr.|year=2004|title=Was the Civil War a Total War?|journal=Civil War History|volume=50 |issue=4|pages=434–458|doi=10.1353/cwh.2004.0073|s2cid=258106755 }}
			* {{cite book|last=Nevins|first=Allan|author-link=Allan Nevins|year=1959|title=The War for the Union|publisher=Scribner|location=New York, New York|url=|isbn=978-0-684-10416-4}}
			* {{cite book|last=Nevins|first=Allan|author-link=Allan Nevins|year=1947|title=The War for the Union and Ordeal of the Union, and the Emergence of Lincoln|publisher=Scribner|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=88PUvgEACAAJ}}}}
			* {{cite journal|last=Nichols|first=David Allen|year=1974|title=The Other Civil War: Lincoln and the Indians|journal=Minnesota History|url=http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/44/v44i01p002-015.pdf|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/44/v44i01p002-015.pdf|archive-date=October 9, 2022|url-status=live}}
			* {{cite book|last=Noll|first=Mark A.|author-link=Mark Noll|year=1992|title=A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=VGF3wbzzy9QC|page=322}}|isbn=978-0-8028-0651-2}}
			* {{cite book|last1=Noll|first1=Mark A.|year=2002|title=America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=i4kRDAAAQBAJ}}|isbn=978-0-19-515111-4}}
			* {{cite book|last=Oates|first=Stephen B.|author-link=Stephen B. Oates|editor-last=Woodward|editor-first=Comer Vann|editor-link=C. Vann Woodward|year=1974|title=Responses of the Presidents to Charges of Misconduct|publisher=Dell Publishing|location=New York, New York|chapter=Abraham Lincoln 1861–1865|chapter-url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=ecKHAAAAMAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-440-05923-3}}
			* {{cite book|last=Paludan|first=Phillip Shaw|author-link=Phillip S. Paludan|year=1994|title=The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln|publisher=University Press of Kansas|location=Lawrence, Kansas|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Qi4aAQAAIAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-7006-0671-9}}
			* {{cite journal |last=Parrillo|first=Nicholas|year=2000|title=Lincoln's Calvinist Transformation: Emancipation and War|journal=Civil War History|volume=46| issue=3|pages=227–253|doi=10.1353/cwh.2000.0073|s2cid=143755083 |issn=1533-6271}}
			* {{cite book|last=Potter|first=David M.|author-link=David M. Potter|year=1977|title=The Impending Crisis: America Before the Civil War, 1848–1861|publisher=HarperCollins|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=S7Qk9nIwk14C}}|isbn=978-0-06-131929-7}}
			* {{cite book|last=Randall|first=James Garfield|author-link=James G. Randall|year=1962|title=Lincoln: The Liberal Statesman|publisher=Dodd, Mead & Co.|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=DHUqAAAAYAAJ}}|asin=B0051VUQXO}}
			* {{cite book|last1=Randall|first1=James Garfield|last2=Current|first2=Richard Nelson|author-link2=Richard N. Current|year=1955|title=Lincoln the President: Last Full Measure|volume=IV|publisher=Dodd, Mead & Co.|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=KBrdeG8hMhwC}}|oclc=950556947}}
			* {{cite book|last=Richards|first=John T.|year=2015|title=Abraham Lincoln: The Lawyer-Statesman (Classic Reprint)|publisher=Fb&c Limited|location=London, England|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=3uEUswEACAAJ}}|isbn=978-1-331-28158-0}}
			* {{cite book|last=Sandburg|first=Carl|author-link=Carl Sandburg|year=1926|title=Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years|publisher=Harcourt|location=San Diego, California|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=deFCAAAAIAAJ}}|oclc=6579822}}
			* {{cite book|last=Sandburg|first=Carl|year=2002|title=Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|location=Boston, Massachusetts|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=EPmfzxRags0C}}|isbn=978-0-15-602752-6}}
			* {{cite book|last=Schwartz|first=Barry|author-link=Barry Schwartz (sociologist)|year=2000|title=Abraham Lincoln and the Forge of National Memory|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=XZwX9ANHHbUC}}|isbn=978-0-226-74197-0}}
			* {{cite book|last=Schwartz|first=Barry|year=2008|title=Abraham Lincoln in the Post-Heroic Era: History and Memory in Late Twentieth-Century America|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=1p9T8drMHeYC}}|isbn=978-0-226-74188-8}}
			* {{cite book |last=Sherman|first=William T.|author-link=William Tecumseh Sherman|year=1990|title=Memoirs of General W.T. Sherman|publisher=BiblioBazaar|location=Charleston, South Carolina|isbn=978-1-174-63172-6}}
			* {{cite book|last=Simon|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Simon (politician)|year=1990|title=Lincoln's Preparation for Greatness: The Legislative Years|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=Champaign, Illinois|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=WSm1wQEACAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-252-00203-8}}
			* {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Robert C.|author-link=Robert C. Smith (political scientist)|year=2010|title=Conservatism and Racism, and Why in America They Are the Same|publisher=State University of New York Press|location=Albany, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=ueQjmQEACAAJ}}|isbn=978-1-4384-3233-5}}
			* {{cite book|last=Steers|first=Edward Jr.|author-link=Edward Steers Jr.|year=2010|title=The Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia|publisher=HarperCollins|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=5XbXsdrLwn8C}}|isbn=978-0-06-178775-1}}
			* {{cite book|last=Striner|first=Richard|year=2006|title=Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End Slavery|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=England, London|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=EuR2AAAAMAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-19-518306-1}}
			* {{cite book|editor1-last=Taranto|editor1-first=James|editor-link1=James Taranto|editor2-last=Leo|editor2-first=Leonard|editor-link2=Leonard Leo|year=2004|title=Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House|publisher=Free Press|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=myl2AAAAMAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-7432-5433-5}}
			* {{cite journal|last=Tegeder|first=Vincent G.|year=1948|title=Lincoln and the Territorial Patronage: The Ascendancy of the Radicals in the West|journal=The Mississippi Valley Historical Review|volume=35|issue=1|pages=77–90|jstor=1895140|doi=10.2307/1895140}}
			* {{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Benjamin P.|author-link=Benjamin P. Thomas|year=2008|title=Abraham Lincoln: A Biography|publisher=Southern Illinois University Press|location=Carbondale, Illinois|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=fkB_E9GM0XoC}}|isbn=978-0-8093-2887-1}}
			* {{cite book|last=Trostel|first=Scott D.|year=2002|title=The Lincoln Funeral Train: The Final Journey and National Funeral for Abraham Lincoln|publisher=Cam-Tech Publishing|location=Fletcher, Ohio|url=http://www.lincolnfuneraltrain.com/html/funeral_train.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712183544/http://lincolnfuneraltrain.com/html/funeral_train.html|archive-date=July 12, 2013|isbn=978-0-925436-21-4}}
			* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Vile|first=John R.|year=2003|title=Lincoln, Abraham (1809–1865)|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments: Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues 1789–2002|edition=2nd|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-428-8 }}
			* {{cite book|last=Vorenberg|first=Michael|year=2001|title=Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=f-UQWNPD5qgC}}|isbn=978-0-521-65267-4}}
			* {{cite book|last=Warren|first=Louis A.|year=2017|title=Lincoln's Youth: Indiana Years, Seven to Twenty-One, 1816–1830 (Classic Reprint)|publisher=Fb&c Limited|location=London, England|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=1zo7tAEACAAJ}}|isbn=978-0-282-90830-0}}
			* {{cite book|last=White|first=Ronald C.|author-link=Ronald C. White|year=2009|title=A. Lincoln: A Biography|publisher=Random House|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-1-58836-775-4}}
			* {{Cite web |last=Wilentz |first=Sean |author-link=Sean Wilentz |date=2012 |title=Abraham Lincoln and Jacksonian Democracy |url=https://www.gilderlehrman.org/node/242 |website=] |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818082649/http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/lincoln/essays/abraham-lincoln-and-jacksonian-democracy |archive-date=August 18, 2016 }}
			* {{cite book|last=Wills|first=Garry|author-link=Garry Wills|year=2012|title=Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York, New York|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=7-aynIQRkYcC}}|isbn=978-1-4391-2645-5}}
			* {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Douglas L. |title=Lincoln Before Washington: New Perspectives on the Illinois Years|year=1997|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=Urbana and Chicago|isbn=0-252-02331-5|ref=none}}
			* {{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Douglas L.|last2=Davis|first2=Rodney O.|last3=Wilson|first3=Terry|first4=William Henry|last4=Herndon|first5=Jesse William|last5=Weik|title=Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=s2gilcp4yYQC|page=35}}|year=1998|publisher=Univ of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-02328-6|pages=35–36}}
			* {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Douglas L.|author-link=Douglas L. Wilson |title=Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln|year=1999|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|isbn=978-0-307-76581-9}}
			* {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Douglas L. |title=Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words|year=2007|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4000-4039-1|ref=none}}
			* {{cite book|last=Winkle|first=Kenneth J.|year=2001|title=The Young Eagle: The Rise of Abraham Lincoln|publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing|location=Lanham, Maryland|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=JcEVAAAAQBAJ}}|isbn=978-1-4617-3436-9}}
			* {{cite book|last=Zarefsky|first=David|author-link=David Zarefsky|year=1993|title=Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=SlCU9PS9VGcC}}|isbn=978-0-226-97876-5}}
			{{Refend}}
	==Further reading==		==External links==
			<!--======================== {{No more links}} ============================
	;Biographies
			| PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS IN ADDING MORE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE. Misplaced Pages |
	{{refbegin}}
			| is not a collection of links nor should it be used for advertising. |
	*], ''The Life of Abraham Lincoln'' (1885), written by Lincoln's friend and political ally
			| |
	*],
			| Excessive or inappropriate links WILL BE DELETED. |
	*]. ''Abraham Lincoln: 1809-1858'' (1928). 2 vol. to 1858; notable for strong, unbiased political coverage
			| See ] & ] for details. |
	*Richard Carwardine. ''Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power'' ISBN 1400044561 (2003), winner of the 2004 Lincoln Prize from Gettysburg College
			| |
	*]. ''Lincoln'' (1995), major scholarly biography by winner of two Pulitzer prizes
			| If there are already plentiful links, please propose additions or |
	*William E. Gienapp. ''Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography'' by ISBN 0-19-515099-6 (2002), short
			| replacements on this article's discussion page, or submit your link |
	*] & ]. ''Abraham Lincoln: a History'' (1890); and 10 vols in all; detailed narrative of era by Lincoln's aides
			| to the relevant category at the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) |
	*] ''The Real Abraham Lincoln'' (1960), emphasis on politics
			| and link back to that category using the {{dmoz}} template. |
	*Mark E. Neely. ''The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia'' (1984), detailed articles on many men and movements associated with AL
			==={{No more links}}=========-->
	*Mark E. Neely. ''The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America'' (1993), Pulitzer prize winning author
			{{Sister project links|wikt=no|commons=Abraham Lincoln |b=no |n=no |q=Abraham Lincoln |s=Author:Abraham Lincoln|v=no|voy=no|species=no|display=Abraham Lincoln|d=Q91}}
	*Stephen B. Oates. ''With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln'' (1994)
			{{Library resources box |by=yes |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Abraham Lincoln }}
	*James G. Randall. ''Lincoln the President'' (4 vol., 1945–55; reprint 2000.) by prize winning scholar. '''' excerpts ed. by Richard N. Current (1957)
	*], '']'' (1939), for children
	* Carl Sandburg. ''Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years'' (two volumes) and ''The War Years'' (four volumes) (1926 and many editions), beautifully written tribue by famous poet
	* Benjamin P. Thomas. ''Abraham Lincoln: A Biography'' (1952);
	*John C. Waugh. ''One Man Great Enough: Abraham Lincoln’s Road to Civil War'' ISBN 978-0-15-101071-4 (2007), Harcourt
	*John C. Waugh. ''Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency'' ISBN 0-517-59766-7 (1997), Crown Publishers
	{{refend}}
			===Official===
	; Specialty topics
			*
	{{refbegin}}
			*
	*The real Lincoln : a new look at Abraham Lincoln, his agenda, and an unnecessary war
			* – an online edition available through University of Michigan Library Digital Collections
	DiLorenzo, Thomas J.'''
	*Angle, Paul M., ''Here I Have Lived: A History of Lincoln's Springfield, 1821-1865,'' (1935)
	*Baker, Jean H. ''Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography'' (1987)
	*Belz, Herman. ''Abraham Lincoln, Constitutionalism, and Equal Rights in the Civil War Era'' (1998)
	*Boritt, Gabor S. ''Lincoln and the Economics of the American Dream'' (1994). Lincoln's economic theory and policies
	*Boritt, Gabor S. ed. ''Lincoln the War President'' (1994)
	*Boritt, Gabor S., ed. ''The Historian's Lincoln'' U. of Illinois Press, 1988, historiography
	*Bruce, Robert V. ''Lincoln and the Tools of War'' (1956) on weapons development during the war
	*Bush, Bryan S. ''Lincoln and the Speeds: The Untold Story of a Devoted and Enduring Friendship'' (2008) ISBN 978-0-9798802-6-1
	*], , (1891). – ]
	*]. ''Lincoln Reconsidered: Essays on the Civil War Era'' (1960)
	*]. ''We Are Lincoln Men: Abraham Lincoln and His Friends'' Simon & Schuster, (2003).
	*Guelzo, Allen C., ''Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America'', Simon & Schuster (2004). ISBN 0743221826
	*Guelzo, Allen C., ''Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates that Defined America'', Simon & Schuster (2008). ISBN 978-0743273206
	*{{citebook|last=Hall|first=Roger Lee|title=Lincoln and Liberty: Music from Abraham Lincoln's Era|publisher=PineTree Press|year=2009|url=http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/LincolnandLiberty.htm}}
	*Harris, William C. ''With Charity for All: Lincoln and the Restoration of the Union'' (1997). AL's plans for Reconstruction
	*Hendrick, Burton J. ''Lincoln's War Cabinet'' (1946)
	*Hofstadter, Richard. ''The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It'' (1948) ch 5: "Abraham Lincoln and the Self-Made Myth"
	*Howe, Daniel Walker, ''Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association'' 16.1 (1995)
	*{{citebook|last=Lea|first=James Henry|title=The Ancestry of Abraham Lincoln|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1909|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5jlOsSwW85cC&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=%22swanton+morley%22+lincoln+norfolk&source=web&ots=4jwJ4mFq2m&sig=rF5pUF8AWiinJ_3Z4JZWELgEfTM&hl=en#PPR9,M1}}
	*Kunhardt Jr., Phillip B., Kunhardt III, Phillip, and Kunhardt, Peter W. ''Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography''. Gramercy Books, New York, 1992. ISBN 0-517-20715-X
	*Marshall, John A., " American Bastille" (1870) Fifth edition: A History of the Illegal Arrests and Imprisonment of American Citizens in the Northern and Border States on Account of Their political opinions during the late Civil War. Part 1
	*McPherson, James M. ''Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era'' (1988). Pulitzer Prize winner surveys all aspects of the war
	*Morgenthau, Hans J., and David Hein. ''Essays on Lincoln's Faith and Politics''. White Burkett Miller Center of Public Affairs at the U of Virginia, 1983.
	*Neely, Mark E. ''The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties'' (1992). Pulitzer Prize winner.
	*Oakes, James. ''The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics.'' New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2007. ISBN 0-39306194-9
	*Ostendorf, Lloyd, and Hamilton, Charles, ''Lincoln in Photographs: An Album of Every Known Pose'', Morningside House Inc., 1963, ISBN 089029-087-3.
	*Paludan, Philip S. ''The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln'' (1994), thorough treatment of Lincoln's administration
	*Peterson, Merrill D. ''Lincoln in American Memory'' (1994). how Lincoln was remembered after 1865
	*Polsky, Andrew J. "'Mr. Lincoln's Army' Revisited: Partisanship, Institutional Position, and Union Army Command, 1861–1865." ''Studies in American Political Development'' (2002), 16: 176-207
	*Randall, James G. ''Lincoln the Liberal Statesman'' (1947)
	*Richardson, Heather Cox. ''The Greatest Nation of the Earth: Republican Economic Policies during the Civil War'' (1997)
	*Shenk, Joshua Wolf. ''Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness'' (2005)
	*Kenneth P. Williams. ''Lincoln Finds a General: A Military Study of the Civil War'' (1959) 5 volumes on Lincoln's control of the war
	*Williams, T. Harry. ''Lincoln and His Generals'' (1967).
	*Wilson, Douglas L. ''Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words''(2006) ISBN 1-4000-4039-6.
	{{refend}}
			===Organizations===
	;Lincoln in art and popular culture
			* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428030450/http://abrahamlincolnassociation.org/ |date=April 28, 2020 }}
	{{refbegin}}
			*
	*{{cite book
	|title=]
	|first=Thomas
	|last=DiLorenzo
	|authorlink=Thomas DiLorenzo
	|isbn=0-7615-2646-3
	|year=2002
	|publisher=Three Rivers Press
	|location=New York
	}}
	*{{cite book
	|first=Bullard. F.
	|last=Lauriston
	|title=Lincoln in Marble and Bronze
	|publisher=Rutgers University Press
	|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey
	|year=1952
	}}
	*{{cite book
	|last=Mead
	|first=Franklin B.
	|title=Heroic Statues in Bronze of Abraham Lincoln: Introducing The Hoosier Youth by ]
	|publisher=The Lincoln National Life Foundation
	|year=1932
	}}
	*{{cite book
	|last=Moffatt
	|first=Frederick C.
	|title=Errant Bronzes: ]'s Statues of Abraham Lincoln
	|publisher=University of Delaware Press
	|location=Newark, DE
	|year=1998
	}}
	*{{cite book
	|last=Murry
	|first=Freeman Henry Morris
	|title=Emancipation and the Freed in American Sculpture
	|publisher=Books For Libraries Press
	|year=1972
	|origyear=1916
	}}
	*{{cite book
	|last=Petz
	|first=Weldon
	|title=Michigan's Monumental Tributes to Abraham Lincoln
	|publisher=Historical Society of Michigan
	|year=1987
	}}
	*{{cite book
	|last=Redway
	|first=Maurine Whorton
	|coauthors=Bracken, Dorothy Kendall
	|title=Marks of Lincoln on Our Land
	|publisher=Hastings House, Publishers
	|location=New York
	|year=1957
	}}
	*{{cite book
	|last=Savage
	|first=Kirk
	|title=Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race War and Monument in Nineteenth Century America
	|publisher=Princeton University Press
	|year=1997
	}}
	*{{cite book
	|last=Tice
	|first=George
	|title=Lincoln
	|publisher=Rutgers University Press
	|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey
	|year=1984
	}}
	{{refend}}
			===Media coverage===
	; Primary sources
			* {{New York Times topic|new_id=person/abraham-lincoln}}
	{{refbegin}}
	*{{cite book
	|last=Lincoln
	|first=Abraham
	|title=The Life and Writings of Abraham Lincoln
	|publisher=Modern Library Classics
	|editor=ed by Philip Van Doren Stern
	|year=2000
	}}
	* Fehrenbacher, Don E., ed. ''Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858'' (], ed. 1989) ISBN 978-0-94045043-1
	* Fehrenbacher, Don E., ed. ''Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865'' (], ed. 1989) ISBN 978-0-94045063-9
	*{{cite book
	|last=Goodwin
	|first=Doris Kearns
	|title=Team of Rivals
	|publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.
	|location=New York, New York
	|year=2005
	}}
	{{refend}}
	==External links==		===Other===
			{{Biographical Directory of Congress|L000313|ref=no}}
	{{sisterlinks|Abraham Lincoln}}
			*
	*{{dmoz|Society/History/By_Region/North_America/United_States/Presidents/Lincoln,_Abraham}}
			* , from ]'s ''American presidents: Life Portraits'', June 28, 1999
	*{{dmoz|Society/History/By_Region/North_America/United_States/Presidents/Lincoln,_Abraham/Speeches_and_Writings}} – Speeches and writings
			* from ]'s '']''
	* — Free full-length recording
	*		* – ]
			* – Northern Illinois University Libraries
	*
			* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210055506/http://edsitement.neh.gov/teaching-abraham-lincoln#node-19470 |date=December 10, 2017 }} – ]
	*
			* {{Gutenberg author|id=3}}
	*{{CongBio|L000313}}
			* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Abraham Lincoln}}
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			* {{Librivox author |id=2233}}
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			* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113063456/http://www.mchistory.org/perch/resources/Finding%20Aid%20PDFs/lincoln-abraham-miscellaneous-publications-1.pdf |date=November 13, 2018 }}, McLean County Museum of History
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			* Digitized items in in the in the ]
	* Springfield, Illinois
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	*{{US patent|6469|US PATNo. 6,469}} — ''Manner of Buoying Vessels'' — A. Lincoln — 1849
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	* (includes good early history)
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	* provides finding aid to article subject from the Special Collections, Washington State Historical Society (WSHS)
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	* Washington, DC
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	'''Project Gutenberg eTexts'''
	* List of {{gutenberg author|id=Abraham+Lincoln | name=Abraham Lincoln}}
	*{{cite book
	|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12462
	|title=A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents and more: Volume 6, part 1: Abraham Lincoln
	|author=Richardson, James D. (compiler)
	}} includes major (and minor) state papers, but not speeches or letters
	*{{cite book
	|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2517
	|title=Lincoln's Yarns and Stories
	}}
	*{{cite book |title=Abraham Lincoln: a History |year=1890 |first=John |last=Hay
	|authorlink=John Hay |coauthors=]}} {{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6812 |title=Volume 1}} to 1856; coverage of national politics. {{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11708
	|title=Volume 2 }} (1832 to 1901) ; covers 1856 to early 1861; coverage of national politics; part of 10 volume "life and times" by Lincoln's aides
	*{{cite book
	|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1815
	|title=The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln
	|year=1907
	|last=Nicolay
	|first=Helen
	}} (1866 to 1954)
	*{{cite book
	|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6811
	|title=The Life of Abraham Lincoln
	|year=1901
	|first=Henry
	|last=Ketcham
	}} ; popular
	*{{cite book |title=Abraham Lincoln |year=1899 |first=John T. |last=Morse
	}} ; a solid scholarly biography {{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12800
	|title=Volume 1}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12801
	|title=Volume 2}}
	*{{cite book
	|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14004
	|title=The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln
	|year=1913
	|author=Francis Fisher Browne
	}} ; popular
	*{{cite book
	|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11728
	|title=Abraham Lincoln: The People's Leader in the Struggle for National Existence
	|year=1909
	|author=George Haven Putnam, Litt. D.
	}}
	*{{cite book
	|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1713
	|title=Lincoln's Personal Life
	|year=1922
	|first=Nathaniel W.
	|last=Stephenson
	}} ; popular
	*{{cite book
	|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18379
	|title=Abraham Lincoln
	|year=1917
	|first=Godfrey Rathbone
	|last=Benson (Lorn Charnwood)
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Latest revision as of 01:03, 24 December 2024

President of the United States from 1861 to 1865 For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). "President Lincoln" redirects here. For the troopship, see USS President Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln in 1863
16th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
Vice President	Hannibal Hamlin (1861–1865) Andrew Johnson (Mar–Apr. 1865)
Preceded by	James Buchanan
Succeeded by	Andrew Johnson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 7th district
In office March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849
Preceded by	John Henry
Succeeded by	Thomas L. Harris
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from Sangamon County
In office December 1, 1834 – December 4, 1842
Preceded by	Achilles Morris
Personal details
Born	(1809-02-12)February 12, 1809 Hodgenville, Hardin County (now LaRue County), Kentucky, U.S.
Died	April 15, 1865(1865-04-15) (aged 56) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Manner of death	Assassination by gunshot
Resting place	Lincoln Tomb
Political party	Whig (before 1856) Republican (after 1856)
Other political affiliations	National Union (1864–1865)
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Spouse	Mary Todd ​(m. 1842)​
Children	Robert Edward Willie Tad
Parents	Thomas Lincoln Nancy Hanks
Relatives	Lincoln family
Occupation	Politician lawyer
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	Illinois Militia
Years of service	April–July 1832
Rank	Captain Private
Unit	31st (Sangamon) Regiment of Illinois Militia 4th Mounted Volunteer Regiment Iles Mounted Volunteers
Battles/wars	American Indian Wars Black Hawk War Battle of Stillman's Run (non-combatant) Battle of Kellogg's Grove (non-combatant)

Abraham Lincoln (/ˈlɪŋkən/ LINK-ən; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defending the nation as a constitutional union, defeating the Confederacy, playing a major role in the abolition of slavery, expanding the power of the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.

Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky and was raised on the frontier, mainly in Indiana. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator, and U.S. representative from Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his successful law practice in Springfield, Illinois. In 1854, angered by the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which opened the territories to slavery, he re-entered politics. He soon became a leader of the new Republican Party. He reached a national audience in the 1858 Senate campaign debates against Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln ran for president in 1860, sweeping the North to gain victory. Pro-slavery elements in the South viewed his election as a threat to slavery, and Southern states began seceding from the nation. They formed the Confederate States of America, which began seizing federal military bases in the South. A little over one month after Lincoln assumed the presidency, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, a U.S. fort in South Carolina. Following the bombardment, Lincoln mobilized forces to suppress the rebellion and restore the union.

Lincoln, a moderate Republican, had to navigate a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from both the Democratic and Republican parties. His allies, the War Democrats and the Radical Republicans, demanded harsh treatment of the Southern Confederates. He managed the factions by exploiting their mutual enmity, carefully distributing political patronage, and by appealing to the American people. Anti-war Democrats (called "Copperheads") despised Lincoln, and some irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements went so far as to plot his assassination. His Gettysburg Address became one of the most famous speeches in American history. Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the war effort, including the selection of generals, and implemented a naval blockade of the South's trade. He suspended habeas corpus in Maryland and elsewhere, and he averted war with Britain by defusing the Trent Affair. In 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the slaves in the states "in rebellion" to be free. It also directed the Army and Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons" and to receive them "into the armed service of the United States." Lincoln pressured border states to outlaw slavery, and he promoted the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime. Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just five days after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, he was attending a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Mary, when he was fatally shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth.

Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and a national hero for his wartime leadership and for his efforts to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. He is often ranked in both popular and scholarly polls as the greatest president in American history.

This article is part of a series aboutAbraham Lincoln
Personal Early life and career Family Health Sexuality Patent Political Spot Resolutions Political career, 1849–1861 Lincoln–Douglas debates Views on slavery Views on religion Electoral history 16th President of the United States Presidency First term Transition 1st inauguration Hannibal Hamlin American Civil War The Union Emancipation Proclamation Ten percent plan 13th Amendment Second term 2nd inauguration Andrew Johnson Reconstruction Presidential elections 1860 Convention 1864 Convention Speeches and works Inaugural speeches First Second State of the Union 1861 1862 1863 1864 Lyceum Peoria Lost Speech House Divided Cooper Union Farewell address Gettysburg Poetry "The Suicide's Soliloquy" Bixby letter McCullough letter Assassination and legacy Assassination State funeral Historical reputation Memorials Depictions Bibliography Topical guide
v t e

Family and childhood

Early life

Main article: Early life and career of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk, to its namesake, Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1638. The family through subsequent generations migrated west, passing through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lincoln was also a descendant of the Harrison family of Virginia; his paternal grandfather and namesake, Captain Abraham Lincoln and wife Bathsheba (née Herring) moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Kentucky. The captain was killed in an Indian raid in 1786. His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, Abraham's father, witnessed the attack. Thomas then worked at odd jobs in Kentucky and Tennessee before the family settled in Hardin County, Kentucky, in the early 1800s.

Lincoln's mother Nancy Lincoln is widely assumed to be the daughter of Lucy Hanks. Thomas and Nancy married on June 12, 1806, in Washington County, and moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. They had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who died as an infant.

Thomas Lincoln bought multiple farms in Kentucky, but could not get clear property titles to any, losing hundreds of acres of land in property disputes. In 1816, the family moved to Indiana, where the land surveys and titles were more reliable. They settled in an "unbroken forest" in Hurricane Township, Perry County, Indiana. When the Lincolns moved to Indiana it had just been admitted to the Union as a "free" (non-slaveholding) state, except that, though "no new enslaved people were allowed, ... currently enslaved individuals remained so". In 1860, Lincoln noted that the family's move to Indiana was "partly on account of slavery", but mainly due to land title difficulties. In Kentucky and Indiana, Thomas worked as a farmer, cabinetmaker, and carpenter. At various times he owned farms, livestock, and town lots, paid taxes, sat on juries, appraised estates, and served on county patrols. Thomas and Nancy were members of a Separate Baptist Church, which "condemned profanity, intoxication, gossip, horse racing, and dancing." Most of its members opposed slavery.

Overcoming financial challenges, Thomas in 1827 obtained clear title to 80 acres (32 ha) in Indiana, an area that became known as Little Pigeon Creek Community.

Mother's death

On October 5, 1818, Nancy Lincoln died from milk sickness, leaving 11-year-old Sarah in charge of a household including her father, nine-year-old Abraham, and Nancy's 19-year-old orphan cousin, Dennis Hanks. Ten years later, on January 20, 1828, Sarah died while giving birth to a stillborn son, devastating Lincoln.

On December 2, 1819, Thomas married Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with three children of her own. Abraham became close to his stepmother and called her "Mother". Dennis Hanks said he was lazy, for all his "reading—scribbling—writing—ciphering—writing poetry". His stepmother acknowledged he did not enjoy "physical labor" but loved to read.

Education and move to Illinois

Lincoln was largely self-educated. His formal schooling was from itinerant teachers. It included two short stints in Kentucky, where he learned to read, but probably not to write. In Indiana at age seven, due to farm chores, he attended school only sporadically, for a total of fewer than 12 months in aggregate by age 15. Nonetheless, he remained an avid reader and retained a lifelong interest in learning. Family, neighbors, and schoolmates recalled that his readings included the King James Bible, Aesop's Fables, John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Despite being self-educated, Lincoln was the recipient of honorary degrees later in life, including an honorary Doctor of Laws from Columbia University in June 1861.

When Lincoln was a teen, his "father grew more and more to depend on him for the 'farming, grubbing, hoeing, making fences' necessary to keep the family afloat. He also regularly hired his son out to work ... and by law, he was entitled to everything the boy earned until he came of age". Lincoln was tall, strong, and athletic, and became adept at using an ax. He was an active wrestler during his youth and trained in the rough catch-as-catch-can style (also known as catch wrestling). He became county wrestling champion at the age of 21. He gained a reputation for his strength and audacity after winning a wrestling match with the renowned leader of ruffians known as the Clary's Grove boys.

In March 1830, fearing another milk sickness outbreak, several members of the extended Lincoln family, including Abraham, moved west to Illinois, a free state, and settled in Macon County. Abraham then became increasingly distant from Thomas, in part, due to his father's lack of interest in education. In 1831, as Thomas and other family members prepared to move to a new homestead in Coles County, Illinois, Abraham struck out on his own. He made his home in New Salem, Illinois, for six years. Lincoln and some friends took goods, including live hogs, by flatboat to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he first witnessed slavery.

Marriage and children

Further information: Lincoln family, Health of Abraham Lincoln, and Sexuality of Abraham Lincoln 1864 photo of President Lincoln with youngest son, TadMary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln, in 1861

Speculation persists that Lincoln's first romantic interest was Ann Rutledge, whom he met when he moved to New Salem. However, witness testimony, given decades afterward, showed a lack of any specific recollection of a romance between the two. Rutledge died on August 25, 1835, most likely of typhoid fever; Lincoln took the death very hard, saying that he could not bear the idea of rain falling on Ann's grave. Lincoln sank into a serious episode of depression, and this gave rise to speculation that he had been in love with her.

In the early 1830s, he met Mary Owens from Kentucky. Late in 1836, Lincoln agreed to a match with Owens if she returned to New Salem. Owens arrived that November and he courted her; however, they both had second thoughts. On August 16, 1837, he wrote Owens a letter saying he would not blame her if she ended the relationship, and she never replied.

In 1839, Lincoln met Mary Todd in Springfield, Illinois, and the following year they became engaged. She was the daughter of Robert Smith Todd, a wealthy lawyer and businessman in Lexington, Kentucky. Their wedding, which was set for January 1, 1841, was canceled because Lincoln did not appear, but they reconciled and married on November 4, 1842, in the Springfield home of Mary's sister. While anxiously preparing for the nuptials, he was asked where he was going and replied, "To hell, I suppose". In 1844, the couple bought a house in Springfield near his law office. Mary kept house with the help of a hired servant and a relative.

Lincoln was an affectionate husband and father of four sons, though his work regularly kept him away from home. The eldest, Robert Todd Lincoln, was born in 1843, and was the only child to live to maturity. Edward Baker Lincoln (Eddie), born in 1846, died February 1, 1850, probably of tuberculosis. Lincoln's third son, "Willie" Lincoln was born on December 21, 1850, and died of a fever at the White House on February 20, 1862. The youngest, Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, was born on April 4, 1853, and survived his father, but died of heart failure at age 18 on July 16, 1871.

Lincoln "was remarkably fond of children" and the Lincolns were not considered to be strict with their own. In fact, Lincoln's law partner William H. Herndon would grow irritated when Lincoln brought his children to the law office. Their father, it seemed, was often too absorbed in his work to notice his children's behavior. Herndon recounted, "I have felt many and many a time that I wanted to wring their little necks, and yet out of respect for Lincoln I kept my mouth shut. Lincoln did not note what his children were doing or had done."

The deaths of their sons Eddie and Willie had profound effects on both parents. Lincoln suffered from "melancholy", a condition now thought to be clinical depression. Later in life, Mary struggled with the stresses of losing her husband and sons, and in 1875 Robert committed her to an asylum.

Early career and militia service

Further information: Early life and career of Abraham Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk War

During 1831 and 1832, Lincoln worked at a general store in New Salem, Illinois. In 1832, he declared his candidacy for the Illinois House of Representatives, but interrupted his campaign to serve as a captain in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War. When Lincoln returned home from the Black Hawk War, he planned to become a blacksmith, but instead formed a partnership with 21-year-old William Berry, with whom he purchased a New Salem general store on credit. Because a license was required to sell customers beverages, Berry obtained bartending licenses for $7 each for Lincoln and himself, and in 1833 the Lincoln-Berry General Store became a tavern as well.

As licensed bartenders, Lincoln and Berry were able to sell spirits, including liquor, for 12 cents a pint. They offered a wide range of alcoholic beverages as well as food, including takeout dinners. But Berry became an alcoholic, was often too drunk to work, and Lincoln ended up running the store by himself. Although the economy was booming, the business struggled and went into debt, causing Lincoln to sell his share.

In his first campaign speech after returning from his military service, Lincoln observed a supporter in the crowd under attack, grabbed the assailant by his "neck and the seat of his trousers", and tossed him. In the campaign, Lincoln advocated for navigational improvements on the Sangamon River. He could draw crowds as a raconteur, but lacked the requisite formal education, powerful friends, and money, and lost the election. Lincoln finished eighth out of 13 candidates (the top four were elected), though he received 277 of the 300 votes cast in the New Salem precinct.

Lincoln served as New Salem's postmaster and later as county surveyor, but continued his voracious reading and decided to become a lawyer. Rather than studying in the office of an established attorney, as was the custom, Lincoln borrowed legal texts from attorneys John Todd Stuart and Thomas Drummond, purchased books including Blackstone's Commentaries and Chitty's Pleadings, and read law on his own. He later said of his legal education that "I studied with nobody."

Illinois state legislature (1834–1842)

Lincoln's second state house campaign in 1834, this time as a Whig, was a success over a powerful Whig opponent. Then followed his four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives for Sangamon County. He championed construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and later was a Canal Commissioner. He voted to expand suffrage beyond white landowners to all white males, but adopted a "free soil" stance opposing both slavery and abolition. In 1837, he declared, " Institution of slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy, but the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than abate its evils." He echoed Henry Clay's support for the American Colonization Society which advocated a program of abolition in conjunction with settling freed slaves in Liberia.

He was admitted to the Illinois bar on September 9, 1836, and moved to Springfield and began to practice law under John T. Stuart, Mary Todd's cousin. Lincoln emerged as a formidable trial combatant during cross-examinations and closing arguments. He partnered several years with Stephen T. Logan, and in 1844, began his practice with William Herndon, "a studious young man".

On January 27, 1838, Abraham Lincoln, then 28 years old, delivered his first major speech at the Lyceum in Springfield, Illinois, after the murder of newspaper editor Elijah Parish Lovejoy in Alton. Lincoln warned that no trans-Atlantic military giant could ever crush the U.S. as a nation. "It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher", said Lincoln. Prior to that, on April 28, 1836, a black man, Francis McIntosh, was burned alive in St. Louis, Missouri. Zann Gill describes how these two murders set off a chain reaction that ultimately prompted Abraham Lincoln to run for President.

U.S. House of Representatives (1847–1849)

True to his record, Lincoln professed to friends in 1861 to be "an old line Whig, a disciple of Henry Clay". Their party favored economic modernization in banking, tariffs to fund internal improvements including railroads, and urbanization.

In 1843, Lincoln sought the Whig nomination for Illinois's 7th district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives; he was defeated by John J. Hardin, though he prevailed with the party in limiting Hardin to one term. Lincoln not only pulled off his strategy of gaining the nomination in 1846, but also won the election. He was the only Whig in the Illinois delegation, but as dutiful as any participated in almost all votes and made speeches that toed the party line. He was assigned to the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads and the Committee on Expenditures in the War Department. Lincoln teamed with Joshua R. Giddings on a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia with compensation for the owners, enforcement to capture fugitive slaves, and a popular vote on the matter. He dropped the bill when it eluded Whig support.

Political views

On foreign and military policy, Lincoln spoke against the Mexican–American War, which he imputed President James K. Polk's desire for "military glory — that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood". He supported the Wilmot Proviso, a failed proposal to ban slavery in any U.S. territory won from Mexico.

Lincoln emphasized his opposition to Polk by drafting and introducing his Spot Resolutions. The war had begun with a killing of American soldiers by Mexican cavalry patrol in disputed territory, and Polk insisted that Mexican soldiers had "invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil". Lincoln demanded that Polk show Congress the exact spot on which blood had been shed and prove that the spot was on American soil. The resolution was ignored in both Congress and the national papers, and it cost Lincoln political support in his district. One Illinois newspaper derisively nicknamed him "spotty Lincoln". Lincoln later regretted some of his statements, especially his attack on presidential war-making powers.

Lincoln had pledged in 1846 to serve only one term in the House. Realizing Clay was unlikely to win the presidency, he supported General Zachary Taylor for the Whig nomination in the 1848 presidential election. Taylor won and Lincoln hoped in vain to be appointed Commissioner of the United States General Land Office. The administration offered to appoint him secretary or governor of the Oregon Territory as consolation. This distant territory was a Democratic stronghold, and acceptance of the post would have disrupted his legal and political career in Illinois, so he declined and resumed his law practice.

Prairie lawyer

See also: List of cases involving Abraham Lincoln

In his Springfield practice, Lincoln handled "every kind of business that could come before a prairie lawyer". Twice a year he appeared for 10 consecutive weeks in county seats in the Midstate county courts; this continued for 16 years. Lincoln handled transportation cases in the midst of the nation's western expansion, particularly river barge conflicts under the many new railroad bridges. As a riverboat man, Lincoln initially favored those interests, but ultimately represented whoever hired him. He later represented a bridge company against a riverboat company in Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company, a landmark case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge. In 1849 he received a patent for a flotation device for the movement of boats in shallow water. The idea was never commercialized, but it made Lincoln the only president to hold a patent.

Lincoln appeared before the Illinois Supreme Court in 175 cases; he was sole counsel in 51 cases, of which 31 were decided in his favor. From 1853 to 1860, one of his largest clients was the Illinois Central Railroad. His legal reputation gave rise to the nickname "Honest Abe".

In an 1858 criminal trial, Lincoln represented William "Duff" Armstrong, who was on trial for the murder of James Preston Metzker. The case is famous for Lincoln's use of a fact established by judicial notice to challenge the credibility of an eyewitness. After an opposing witness testified to seeing the crime in the moonlight, Lincoln produced a Farmers' Almanac showing the Moon was at a low angle, drastically reducing visibility. Armstrong was acquitted.

In an 1859 murder case, leading up to his presidential campaign, Lincoln elevated his profile with his defense of Simeon Quinn "Peachy" Harrison, who was a third cousin; Harrison was also the grandson of Lincoln's political opponent, Rev. Peter Cartwright. Harrison was charged with the murder of Greek Crafton who, as he lay dying of his wounds, confessed to Cartwright that he had provoked Harrison. Lincoln angrily protested the judge's initial decision to exclude Cartwright's testimony about the confession as inadmissible hearsay. Lincoln argued that the testimony involved a dying declaration and was not subject to the hearsay rule. Instead of holding Lincoln in contempt of court as expected, the judge, a Democrat, reversed his ruling and admitted the testimony into evidence, resulting in Harrison's acquittal.

Republican politics (1854–1860)

Main article: Abraham Lincoln in politics, 1849–1861

Emergence as Republican leader

Further information: Slave states and free states and Abraham Lincoln and slavery

The debate over the status of slavery in the territories failed to alleviate tensions between the slave-holding South and the free North, with the failure of the Compromise of 1850, a legislative package designed to address the issue. In his 1852 eulogy for Clay, Lincoln highlighted the latter's support for gradual emancipation and opposition to "both extremes" on the slavery issue. As the slavery debate in the Nebraska and Kansas territories became particularly acrimonious, Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed popular sovereignty as a compromise; the measure would allow the electorate of each territory to decide the status of slavery. The legislation alarmed many Northerners, who sought to prevent the spread of slavery that could result, but Douglas's Kansas–Nebraska Act narrowly passed Congress in May 1854.

Lincoln did not comment on the act until months later in his "Peoria Speech" of October 1854. Lincoln then declared his opposition to slavery, which he repeated en route to the presidency. He said the Kansas Act had a "declared indifference, but as I must think, a covert real zeal for the spread of slavery. I cannot but hate it. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world...." Lincoln's attacks on the Kansas–Nebraska Act marked his return to political life.

Nationally the Whigs were irreparably split by the Kansas–Nebraska Act and other efforts to compromise on the slavery issue. Reflecting on the demise of his party, Lincoln wrote in 1855, "I think I am a Whig, but others say there are no Whigs, and that I am an abolitionist. ... I do no more than oppose the extension of slavery." The new Republican Party was formed as a northern party dedicated to antislavery, drawing from the antislavery wing of the Whig Party and combining Free Soil, Liberty, and antislavery Democratic Party members, Lincoln resisted early Republican entreaties, fearing that the new party would become a platform for extreme abolitionists. Lincoln held out hope for rejuvenating the Whigs, though he lamented his party's growing closeness with the nativist Know Nothing movement.

In 1854, Lincoln was elected to the Illinois legislature, but before the term began in January he declined to take his seat so that he would be eligible to be a candidate in the upcoming U.S. Senate election. The year's elections showed the strong opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act, and in the aftermath Lincoln sought election to the U.S. Senate. At that time, senators were elected by state legislatures. After leading in the first six rounds of voting, he was unable to obtain a majority. Lincoln instructed his backers to vote for Lyman Trumbull. Trumbull was an antislavery Democrat and had received few votes in the earlier ballots; his supporters, also antislavery Democrats, had vowed not to support any Whig. Lincoln's decision to withdraw enabled his Whig supporters and Trumbull's antislavery Democrats to combine and defeat the mainstream Democratic candidate, Joel Aldrich Matteson.

1856 campaign

Violent political confrontations in Kansas continued, and opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act remained strong throughout the North. As the 1856 elections approached, Lincoln joined the Republicans and attended the Bloomington Convention, which formally established the Illinois Republican Party. The convention platform endorsed Congress's right to regulate slavery in the territories and backed the admission of Kansas as a free state. Lincoln gave the final speech of the convention supporting the party platform and called for the preservation of the Union. At the June 1856 Republican National Convention, though Lincoln received support to run as vice president, John C. Frémont and William Dayton were on the ticket, which Lincoln supported throughout Illinois. The Democrats nominated former Secretary of State James Buchanan and the Know-Nothings nominated former Whig President Millard Fillmore. Buchanan prevailed, while Republican William Henry Bissell won election as Governor of Illinois, and Lincoln became a leading Republican in Illinois.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Dred Scott was a slave whose master took him from a slave state to a territory that was free as a result of the Missouri Compromise. After Scott was returned to the slave state, he petitioned a federal court for his freedom. His petition was denied in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). In his opinion, Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote that black people were not citizens and derived no rights from the Constitution, and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional for infringing upon slave owners' "property" rights. While many Democrats hoped that Dred Scott would end the dispute over slavery in the territories, the decision sparked further outrage in the North. Lincoln denounced it as the product of a conspiracy of Democrats to support the Slave Power. He argued the decision was at variance with the Declaration of Independence; he said that while the founding fathers did not believe all men equal in every respect, they believed all men were equal "in certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".

Lincoln–Douglas debates and Cooper Union speech

Further information: Lincoln–Douglas debates and Cooper Union speech

In 1858, Douglas was up for re-election in the U.S. Senate, and Lincoln hoped to defeat him. Many in the party felt that a former Whig should be nominated in 1858, and Lincoln's 1856 campaigning and support of Trumbull had earned him a favor. Some eastern Republicans supported Douglas for his opposition to the Lecompton Constitution and admission of Kansas as a slave state. Many Illinois Republicans resented this eastern interference. For the first time, Illinois Republicans held a convention to agree upon a Senate candidate, and Lincoln won the nomination with little opposition.

Lincoln accepted the nomination with great enthusiasm and zeal. After his nomination he delivered his House Divided Speech, with the biblical reference Mark 3:25, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other." The speech created a stark image of the danger of disunion. The stage was then set for the election of the Illinois legislature which would, in turn, select Lincoln or Douglas. When informed of Lincoln's nomination, Douglas stated, " is the strong man of the party ... and if I beat him, my victory will be hardly won."

The Senate campaign featured seven debates between Lincoln and Douglas. These were the most famous political debates in American history; they had an atmosphere akin to a prizefight and drew crowds in the thousands. The principals stood in stark contrast both physically and politically. Lincoln warned that the Slave Power was threatening the values of republicanism, and he accused Douglas of distorting the Founding Fathers' premise that all men are created equal. In his Freeport Doctrine, Douglas argued that, despite the Dred Scott decision, which he claimed to support, local settlers, under the doctrine of popular sovereignty, should be free to choose whether to allow slavery within their territory, and he accused Lincoln of having joined the abolitionists. Lincoln's argument assumed a moral tone, as he claimed that Douglas represented a conspiracy to promote slavery. Douglas's argument was more legal in nature, claiming that Lincoln was defying the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court as exercised in the Dred Scott decision.

Though the Republican legislative candidates won more popular votes, the Democrats won more seats, and the legislature re-elected Douglas. However, Lincoln's articulation of the issues had given him a national political presence. In May 1859, Lincoln purchased the Illinois Staats-Anzeiger, a German-language newspaper that was consistently supportive; most of the state's 130,000 German Americans voted for Democrats, but the German-language paper mobilized Republican support. In the aftermath of the 1858 election, newspapers frequently mentioned Lincoln as a potential Republican presidential candidate, rivaled by William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Simon Cameron. While Lincoln was popular in the Midwest, he lacked support in the Northeast and was unsure whether to seek the office. In January 1860, Lincoln told a group of political allies that he would accept the presidential nomination if offered and, in the following months, several local papers endorsed his candidacy.

Over the coming months Lincoln was tireless, making nearly fifty speeches along the campaign trail. By the quality and simplicity of his rhetoric, he quickly became the champion of the Republican party. However, despite his overwhelming support in the Midwestern United States, he was less appreciated in the east. Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, at that time wrote up an unflattering account of Lincoln's compromising position on slavery and his reluctance to challenge the court's Dred Scott ruling, which was promptly used against him by his political rivals.

On February 27, 1860, powerful New York Republicans invited Lincoln to give a speech at Cooper Union, in which he argued that the Founding Fathers of the United States had little use for popular sovereignty and had repeatedly sought to restrict slavery. He insisted that morality required opposition to slavery and rejected any "groping for some middle ground between the right and the wrong". Many in the audience thought he appeared awkward and even ugly. But Lincoln demonstrated intellectual leadership, which brought him into contention. Journalist Noah Brooks reported, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience".

Historian David Herbert Donald described the speech as "a superb political move for an unannounced presidential aspirant. Appearing in Seward's home state, sponsored by a group largely loyal to Chase, Lincoln shrewdly made no reference to either of these Republican rivals for the nomination." In response to an inquiry about his ambitions, Lincoln said, "The taste is in my mouth a little".

1860 presidential election

Main article: 1860 United States presidential election The Rail Candidate—Lincoln's 1860 platform, portrayed as being held up by a slave and his partyIn the 1860 presidential election, northern and western electoral votes (shown in red) put Lincoln into the White House.

On May 9–10, 1860, the Illinois Republican State Convention was held in Decatur. Lincoln's followers organized a campaign team led by David Davis, Norman Judd, Leonard Swett, and Jesse DuBois, and Lincoln received his first endorsement. Exploiting his embellished frontier legend (clearing land and splitting fence rails), Lincoln's supporters adopted the label of "The Rail Candidate". In 1860, Lincoln described himself: "I am in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and gray eyes." Michael Martinez wrote about the effective imaging of Lincoln by his campaign. At times he was presented as the plain-talking "Rail Splitter" and at other times he was "Honest Abe", unpolished but trustworthy.

On May 18 at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Lincoln won the nomination on the third ballot, beating candidates such as Seward and Chase. A former Democrat, Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, was nominated for vice president to balance the ticket. Lincoln's success depended on his campaign team, his reputation as a moderate on the slavery issue, and his strong support for internal improvements and the tariff. Pennsylvania put him over the top, led by the state's iron interests who were reassured by his tariff support. Lincoln's managers had focused on this delegation while honoring Lincoln's dictate to "Make no contracts that will bind me".

As the Slave Power tightened its grip on the national government, most Republicans agreed with Lincoln that the North was the aggrieved party. Throughout the 1850s, Lincoln had doubted the prospects of civil war, and his supporters rejected claims that his election would incite secession. When Douglas was selected as the candidate of the Northern Democrats, delegates from eleven slave states walked out of the Democratic convention; they opposed Douglas's position on popular sovereignty, and selected incumbent Vice President John C. Breckinridge as their candidate. A group of former Whigs and Know Nothings formed the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell of Tennessee. Lincoln and Douglas competed for votes in the North, while Bell and Breckinridge primarily found support in the South.

Before the Republican convention, the Lincoln campaign began cultivating a nationwide youth organization, the Wide Awakes, which it used to generate popular support throughout the country to spearhead voter registration drives, thinking that new voters and young voters tended to embrace new parties. People of the Northern states knew the Southern states would vote against Lincoln and rallied supporters for Lincoln.

As Douglas and the other candidates campaigned, Lincoln gave no speeches, relying on the enthusiasm of the Republican Party. The party did the leg work that produced majorities across the North and produced an abundance of campaign posters, leaflets, and newspaper editorials. Republican speakers focused first on the party platform, and second on Lincoln's life story, emphasizing his childhood poverty. The goal was to demonstrate the power of "free labor", which allowed a common farm boy to work his way to the top by his own efforts. The Republican Party's production of campaign literature dwarfed the combined opposition; a Chicago Tribune writer produced a pamphlet that detailed Lincoln's life and sold 100,000–200,000 copies. Though he did not give public appearances, many sought to visit him and write him. In the runup to the election, he took an office in the Illinois state capitol to deal with the influx of attention. He also hired John George Nicolay as his personal secretary, who would remain in that role during the presidency.

On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president. He was the first Republican president and his victory was entirely due to his support in the North and West. No ballots were cast for him in 10 of the 15 Southern slave states, and he won only two of 996 counties in all the Southern states, an omen of the impending Civil War. Lincoln received 1,866,452 votes, or 39.8% of the total in a four-way race, carrying the free Northern states, as well as California and Oregon. His victory in the Electoral College was decisive: Lincoln had 180 votes to 123 for his opponents.

Presidency (1861–1865)

Main article: Presidency of Abraham Lincoln

Secession and inauguration

Main article: Presidential transition of Abraham Lincoln Further information: Secession winter and Baltimore Plot Lincoln's first inaugural at the United States Capitol, March 4, 1861. The Capitol dome above the rotunda was still under construction.Headines in The New York Times following Lincoln's first inauguration portended imminent hostilities; less than six weeks later, the Confederate Army attacked Fort Sumter, launching the American Civil War.

The South was outraged by Lincoln's election, and in response secessionists implemented plans to leave the Union before he took office in March 1861. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina took the lead by adopting an ordinance of secession; by February 1, 1861, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed. Six of these states declared themselves to be a sovereign nation, the Confederate States of America, and adopted a constitution. The upper South and border states (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas) initially rejected the secessionist appeal. President Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy, declaring secession illegal. The Confederacy selected Jefferson Davis as its provisional president on February 9, 1861.

Attempts at compromise followed but Lincoln and the Republicans rejected the proposed Crittenden Compromise as contrary to the Party's platform of free-soil in the territories. Lincoln said, "I will suffer death before I consent ... to any concession or compromise which looks like buying the privilege to take possession of this government to which we have a constitutional right".

Lincoln supported the Corwin Amendment to the Constitution, which passed Congress and was awaiting ratification by the states when Lincoln took office. That doomed amendment would have protected slavery in states where it already existed. On March 4, 1861, in his first inaugural address, Lincoln said that, because he holds "such a provision to now be implied constitutional law, I have no objection to its being made express and irrevocable". A few weeks before the war, Lincoln sent a letter to every governor informing them Congress had passed a joint resolution to amend the Constitution.

On February 11, 1861, Lincoln gave a particularly emotional farewell address upon leaving Springfield; he would never again return to Springfield alive. Lincoln traveled east in a special train. Due to secessionist plots, a then-unprecedented attention to security was given to him and his train. En route to his inauguration, Lincoln addressed crowds and legislatures across the North. The president-elect evaded suspected assassins in Baltimore. He traveled in disguise, wearing a soft felt hat instead of his customary stovepipe hat and draping an overcoat over his shoulders while hunching slightly to conceal his height. His friend Congressman Elihu B. Washburne recognized him on the platform upon arrival and loudly called out to him. On February 23, 1861, he arrived in Washington, D.C., which was placed under substantial military guard. Lincoln directed his inaugural address to the South, proclaiming once again that he had no inclination to abolish slavery in the Southern states:

Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States, that by the accession of a Republican Administration, their property, and their peace, and personal security, are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed, and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."

— First inaugural address, 4 March 1861

Lincoln cited his plans for banning the expansion of slavery as the key source of conflict between North and South, stating "One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute." The president ended his address with an appeal to the people of the South: "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.... The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." The failure of the Peace Conference of 1861 signaled that legislative compromise was impossible. By March 1861, no leaders of the insurrection had proposed rejoining the Union on any terms. Meanwhile, Lincoln and the Republican leadership agreed that the dismantling of the Union could not be tolerated. In his second inaugural address, Lincoln looked back on the situation at the time and said: "Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the Nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came."

Civil War

Main articles: American Civil War and Battle of Fort Sumter

Major Robert Anderson, commander of the Union's Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, sent a request for provisions to Washington, and Lincoln's order to meet that request was seen by the secessionists as an act of war. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Union troops at Fort Sumter and began the fight. Historian Allan Nevins argued that the newly inaugurated Lincoln made three miscalculations: underestimating the gravity of the crisis, exaggerating the strength of Unionist sentiment in the South, and overlooking Southern Unionist opposition to an invasion.

William Tecumseh Sherman talked to Lincoln during inauguration week and was "sadly disappointed" at his failure to realize that "the country was sleeping on a volcano" and that the South was preparing for war. Donald concludes, "His repeated efforts to avoid collision in the months between inauguration and the firing on Fort Sumter showed he adhered to his vow not to be the first to shed fraternal blood. But he had also vowed not to surrender the forts.... The only resolution of these contradictory positions was for the Confederates to fire the first shot". They did just that.

On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to send a total of 75,000 volunteer troops to recapture forts, protect Washington, and "preserve the Union", which, in his view, remained intact despite the seceding states. This call forced states to choose sides. Virginia seceded and was rewarded with the designation of Richmond as the Confederate capital, despite its exposure to Union lines. North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed over the following two months. Secession sentiment was strong in Missouri and Maryland, but did not prevail; Kentucky remained neutral. The Fort Sumter attack rallied Americans north of the Mason-Dixon line to defend the nation.

As states sent Union regiments south, on April 19 Baltimore mobs in control of the rail links attacked Union troops who were changing trains. Local leaders' groups later burned critical rail bridges to the capital and the Army responded by arresting local Maryland officials. Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in an effort to protect the troops trying to reach Washington. John Merryman, one Maryland official hindering the U.S. troop movements, petitioned Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney to issue a writ of habeas corpus. In June, in Ex parte Merryman, Taney, not ruling on behalf of the Supreme Court, issued the writ, believing that Article I, section 9 of the Constitution authorized only Congress and not the president to suspend it. But Lincoln invoked nonacquiescence and persisted with the policy of suspension in select areas.

Union military strategy

Lincoln took executive control of the war and shaped the Union military strategy. He responded to the unprecedented political and military crisis as commander-in-chief by exercising unprecedented authority. He expanded his war powers, imposed a blockade on Confederate ports, disbursed funds before appropriation by Congress, suspended habeas corpus, and arrested and imprisoned thousands of suspected Confederate sympathizers. Lincoln gained the support of Congress and the northern public for these actions. Lincoln also had to reinforce Union sympathies in the border slave states and keep the war from becoming an international conflict.

It was clear from the outset that bipartisan support was essential to success, and that any compromise alienated factions on both sides of the aisle, such as the appointment of Republicans and Democrats to command positions. Copperheads criticized Lincoln for refusing to compromise on slavery. The Radical Republicans criticized him for moving too slowly in abolishing slavery. On August 6, 1861, Lincoln signed the Confiscation Act of 1861, which authorized judicial proceedings to confiscate and free slaves who were used to support the Confederates. The law had little practical effect, but it signaled political support for abolishing slavery.

In August 1861, General John C. Frémont, the 1856 Republican presidential nominee, without consulting Washington, issued a martial edict freeing slaves of the rebels. Lincoln canceled the proclamation as violating the Confiscation Act of 1861 and beyond Frémont's authority to issue. As a result, Union enlistments from Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri increased by over 40,000.

Internationally, Lincoln wanted to forestall foreign military aid to the Confederacy. He relied on his combative Secretary of State William Seward while working closely with Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Charles Sumner. In the 1861 Trent Affair, which threatened war with Great Britain, the U.S. Navy illegally intercepted a British mail ship, the Trent, on the high seas and seized two Confederate envoys; Britain protested vehemently while the U.S. cheered. Lincoln ended the crisis by releasing the two diplomats. Biographer James G. Randall dissected Lincoln's successful techniques:

his restraint, his avoidance of any outward expression of truculence, his early softening of State Department's attitude toward Britain, his deference toward Seward and Sumner, his withholding of his paper prepared for the occasion, his readiness to arbitrate, his golden silence in addressing Congress, his shrewdness in recognizing that war must be averted, and his clear perception that a point could be clinched for America's true position at the same time that full satisfaction was given to a friendly country.

Lincoln painstakingly monitored the telegraph reports coming into the War Department. He tracked all phases of the effort, consulting with governors and selecting generals based on their success, their state, and their party. In January 1862, after complaints of inefficiency and profiteering in the War Department, Lincoln replaced War Secretary Simon Cameron with Edwin Stanton. Stanton centralized the War Department's activities, auditing and canceling contracts, saving the federal government $17,000,000. Stanton was a staunch Unionist, pro-business, conservative Democrat who gravitated toward the Radical Republican faction. He worked more often and more closely with Lincoln than did any other senior official. "Stanton and Lincoln virtually conducted the war together", say Thomas and Hyman.

Lincoln's war strategy had two priorities: ensuring that Washington was well-defended and conducting an aggressive war effort for a prompt, decisive victory. Twice a week, Lincoln met with his cabinet in the afternoon. Occasionally Mary prevailed on him to take a carriage ride, concerned that he was working too hard. For his edification Lincoln relied upon a book by his chief of staff General Henry Halleck entitled Elements of Military Art and Science; Halleck was a disciple of the European strategist Antoine-Henri Jomini. Lincoln began to appreciate the critical need to control strategic points, such as the Mississippi River. Lincoln saw the importance of Vicksburg and understood the necessity of defeating the enemy's army, rather than merely capturing territory.

In directing the Union's war strategy, Lincoln valued the advice of Gen. Winfield Scott, even after his retirement as Commanding General of the United States Army. On June 23–24, 1862, Lincoln made an unannounced visit to West Point, where he spent five hours consulting with Scott regarding the handling of the Civil War and the staffing of the War Department.

General McClellan

After the Union rout at Bull Run and Winfield Scott's retirement, Lincoln appointed Major General George B. McClellan general-in-chief. McClellan then took months to plan his Virginia Peninsula Campaign. McClellan's slow progress frustrated Lincoln, as did his position that no troops were needed to defend Washington. McClellan, in turn, blamed the failure of the campaign on Lincoln's reservation of troops for the capital.

The image on the left shows Lincoln with officers after the Battle of Antietam. Notable figures (from left) are 1. Col. Delos Sackett; 4. Gen. George W. Morell; 5. Alexander S. Webb, Chief of Staff, V Corps; 6. McClellan;. 8. Jonathan Letterman; 10. Lincoln; 11. Henry J. Hunt; 12. Fitz John Porter; 15. Andrew A. Humphreys; 16. Capt. George Armstrong Custer. The image on the right shows Lincoln and McClellan on October 3, 1862.

In 1862, Lincoln removed McClellan for the general's continued inaction. He elevated Henry Halleck in July and appointed John Pope as head of the new Army of Virginia. Pope satisfied Lincoln's desire to advance on Richmond from the north, thereby protecting Washington from counterattack. But in the summer of 1862 Pope was soundly defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run, forcing the Army of the Potomac back to defend Washington.

Despite his dissatisfaction with McClellan's failure to reinforce Pope, Lincoln restored him to command of all forces around Washington. Two days after McClellan's return to command, General Robert E. Lee's forces crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, leading to the Battle of Antietam. That battle, a Union victory, was among the bloodiest in American history; it facilitated Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in January.

McClellan then resisted the president's demand that he pursue Lee's withdrawing army, while General Don Carlos Buell likewise refused orders to move the Army of the Ohio against rebel forces in eastern Tennessee. Lincoln replaced Buell with William Rosecrans; and after the 1862 midterm elections he replaced McClellan with Ambrose Burnside. The appointments were both politically neutral and adroit on Lincoln's part.

Against presidential advice Burnside launched an offensive across the Rappahannock River and was defeated by Lee at Fredericksburg in December. Desertions during 1863 came in the thousands and only increased after Fredericksburg, so Lincoln replaced Burnside with Joseph Hooker.

In the 1862 midterm elections, the Republicans suffered severe losses due to rising inflation, high taxes, rumors of corruption, suspension of habeas corpus, military draft law, and fears that freed slaves would come North and undermine the labor market. The Emancipation Proclamation gained votes for Republicans in rural New England and the upper Midwest, but cost votes in the Irish and German strongholds and in the lower Midwest, where many Southerners had lived for generations.

In the spring of 1863, Lincoln was sufficiently optimistic about upcoming military campaigns to think the end of the war could be near; the plans included attacks by Hooker on Lee north of Richmond, Rosecrans on Chattanooga, Grant on Vicksburg, and a naval assault on Charleston.

Hooker was routed by Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May, then resigned and was replaced by George Meade. Meade followed Lee north into Pennsylvania and beat him in the Gettysburg Campaign, but then failed to follow up despite Lincoln's demands. At the same time, Grant captured Vicksburg and gained control of the Mississippi River, splitting the far western rebel states.

Emancipation Proclamation

Main articles: Abraham Lincoln and slavery and Emancipation Proclamation

The federal government's power to end slavery was limited by the Constitution, which before 1865, was understood to reserve the issue to the individual states. Lincoln believed that slavery would be rendered obsolete if its expansion into new territories were prevented, because these territories would be admitted to the Union as free states, and free states would come to outnumber slave states. He sought to persuade the states to agree to compensation for emancipating their slaves. Lincoln rejected Major General John C. Frémont's August 1861 emancipation attempt, as well as one by Major General David Hunter in May 1862, on the grounds that it was not within their power and might upset loyal border states enough for them to secede.

In June 1862, Congress passed an act banning slavery on all federal territory, which Lincoln signed. In July, the Confiscation Act of 1862 was enacted, providing court procedures to free the slaves of those convicted of aiding the rebellion; Lincoln approved the bill despite his belief that it was unconstitutional. He felt such action could be taken only within the war powers of the commander-in-chief, which he planned to exercise. On July 22, 1862, Lincoln reviewed a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation with his cabinet.

Peace Democrats (Copperheads) argued that emancipation was a stumbling block to peace and reunification, but Republican editor Horace Greeley of the New-York Tribune, in his public letter, "The Prayer of Twenty Millions", implored Lincoln to embrace emancipation. In a public letter of August 22, 1862, Lincoln replied to Greeley, writing that while he personally wished all men could be free, his first obligation as president was to preserve the Union:

My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union ... I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.

When Lincoln published his reply to Greeley, he had already decided to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and therefore had already chosen the third option he mentioned in his letter to Greeley: to free some of the slaves, namely those in the states in rebellion. Some scholars, therefore, believe that his reply to Greeley was disingenuous and was intended to reassure white people who would have opposed a war for emancipation that emancipation was merely a means to preserve the Union. On September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which announced that, in states still in rebellion on January 1, 1863, the slaves would be freed. He spent the next 100 days, between September 22 and January 1, preparing the army and the nation for emancipation, while Democrats rallied their voters by warning of the threat that freed slaves posed to northern whites. At the same time, during those 100 days, Lincoln made efforts to end the war with slavery intact, suggesting that he still took seriously the first option he mentioned in his letter to Greeley: saving the Union without freeing any slave. But, on January 1, 1863, keeping his word, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in 10 states not then under Union control, with exemptions specified for areas under such control. Lincoln's comment on signing the Proclamation was: "I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper."

With the abolition of slavery in the rebel states now a military objective, Union armies advancing south "enable thousands of slaves to escape to freedom". The Emancipation Proclamation having stated that freedmen would be "received into the armed service of the United States," enlisting these freedmen became official policy. By the spring of 1863, Lincoln was ready to recruit black troops in more than token numbers. In a letter to Tennessee military governor Andrew Johnson encouraging him to lead the way in raising black troops, Lincoln wrote, "The bare sight of fifty thousand armed, and drilled black soldiers on the banks of the Mississippi would end the rebellion at once". By the end of 1863, at Lincoln's direction, General Lorenzo Thomas "had enrolled twenty regiments of African Americans" from the Mississippi Valley.

Gettysburg Address (1863)

Main article: Gettysburg Address

Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield cemetery on November 19, 1863. In 272 words, and three minutes, Lincoln asserted that the nation was born not in 1789, but in 1776, "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". He defined the war as dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality for all. He declared that the deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain, that the future of democracy would be assured, and that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".

Defying his prediction that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here", the Address became the most quoted speech in American history.

Promoting General Grant

General Ulysses Grant's victories at the Battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign impressed Lincoln. Responding to criticism of Grant after Shiloh, Lincoln had said, "I can't spare this man. He fights." With Grant in command, Lincoln felt the Union Army could advance in multiple theaters, while also including black troops. Meade's failure to capture Lee's army after Gettysburg and the continued passivity of the Army of the Potomac persuaded Lincoln to promote Grant to supreme commander. Grant then assumed command of Meade's army.

Lincoln was concerned that Grant might be considering a presidential candidacy in 1864. He arranged for an intermediary to inquire into Grant's political intentions, and once assured that he had none, Lincoln promoted Grant to the newly revived rank of Lieutenant General, a rank which had been unoccupied since George Washington. Authorization for such a promotion "with the advice and consent of the Senate" was provided by a new bill which Lincoln signed the same day he submitted Grant's name to the Senate. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 2, 1864.

Grant in 1864 waged the bloody Overland Campaign, which exacted heavy losses on both sides. When Lincoln asked what Grant's plans were, the persistent general replied, "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." Grant's army moved steadily south. Lincoln traveled to Grant's headquarters at City Point, Virginia, to confer with Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. Lincoln reacted to Union losses by mobilizing support throughout the North. Lincoln authorized Grant to target infrastructure—plantations, railroads, and bridges—hoping to weaken the South's morale and fighting ability. He emphasized defeat of the Confederate armies over destruction (which was considerable) for its own sake. Lincoln's engagement became distinctly personal on one occasion in 1864 when Confederate general Jubal Early raided Washington, D.C. Legend has it that while Lincoln watched from an exposed position, Union Captain (and future Supreme Court Justice) Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. shouted at him, "Get down, you damn fool, before you get shot!" But this story is commonly regarded as apocryphal.

As Grant continued to weaken Lee's forces, efforts to discuss peace began. Confederate Vice President Stephens led a group meeting with Lincoln, Seward, and others at Hampton Roads. Lincoln refused to negotiate with the Confederacy as a coequal; his objective to end the fighting was not realized. On April 1, 1865, Grant nearly encircled Petersburg in a siege. The Confederate government evacuated Richmond and Lincoln visited the conquered capital. On April 9, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, officially ending the war.

Reelection

Main article: 1864 United States presidential election

Lincoln ran for reelection in 1864, while uniting the main Republican factions along with War Democrats Edwin M. Stanton and Andrew Johnson. Lincoln used conversation and his patronage powers—greatly expanded from peacetime—to build support and fend off the Radicals' efforts to replace him. At its convention, the Republican Party selected Johnson as his running mate. To broaden his coalition to include War Democrats as well as Republicans, Lincoln ran under the label of the new Union Party.

Grant's bloody stalemates damaged Lincoln's re-election prospects, and many Republicans feared defeat. Lincoln confidentially pledged in writing that if he should lose the election, he would still defeat the Confederacy before turning over the White House; Lincoln did not show the pledge to his cabinet, but asked them to sign the sealed envelope. The pledge read as follows:

This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterward.

The Democratic platform followed the "Peace wing" of the party and called the war a "failure"; but their candidate, McClellan, supported the war and repudiated the platform. Meanwhile, Lincoln emboldened Grant with more troops and Republican party support. Sherman's capture of Atlanta in September and David Farragut's capture of Mobile ended defeatism. The Democratic Party was deeply split, with some leaders and most soldiers openly for Lincoln. The National Union Party was united by Lincoln's support for emancipation. State Republican parties stressed the perfidy of the Copperheads. On November 8, Lincoln carried all but three states, including 78 percent of Union soldiers.

On March 4, 1865, Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address. In it, he deemed the war casualties to be God's will. Historian Mark Noll places the speech "among the small handful of semi-sacred texts by which Americans conceive their place in the world;" it is inscribed in the Lincoln Memorial. Lincoln said:

Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether". With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

Among those present for this speech was actor John Wilkes Booth, who, on April 14, 1865, just over a month after Lincoln’s second inauguration, assassinated him.

Reconstruction

Main article: Reconstruction era

Reconstruction preceded the war's end, as Lincoln and his associates considered the reintegration of the nation, and the fates of Confederate leaders and freed slaves. When a general asked Lincoln how the defeated Confederates were to be treated, Lincoln replied, "Let 'em up easy." Lincoln was determined to find meaning in the war in its aftermath, and did not want to continue to outcast the southern states. His main goal was to keep the union together, so he proceeded by focusing not on whom to blame, but on how to rebuild the nation as one. Lincoln led the moderates in Reconstruction policy and was opposed by the Radicals, under Rep. Thaddeus Stevens, Sen. Charles Sumner and Sen. Benjamin Wade, who otherwise remained Lincoln's allies. Determined to reunite the nation and not alienate the South, Lincoln urged that speedy elections under generous terms be held. His Amnesty Proclamation of December 8, 1863, offered pardons to those who had not held a Confederate civil office and had not mistreated Union prisoners, if they were willing to sign an oath of allegiance.

As Southern states fell, they needed leaders while their administrations were restored. In Tennessee and Arkansas, Lincoln respectively appointed Johnson and Frederick Steele as military governors. In Louisiana, Lincoln ordered General Nathaniel P. Banks to promote a plan that would reestablish statehood when 10 percent of the voters agreed, and only if the reconstructed states abolished slavery. Democratic opponents accused Lincoln of using the military to ensure his and the Republicans' political aspirations. The Radicals denounced his policy as too lenient, and passed their own plan, the 1864 Wade–Davis Bill, which Lincoln vetoed. The Radicals retaliated by refusing to seat elected representatives from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

Lincoln's appointments were designed to harness both moderates and Radicals. To fill Chief Justice Taney's seat on the Supreme Court, he named the Radicals' choice, Salmon P. Chase, whom Lincoln believed would uphold his emancipation and paper money policies.

After implementing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln increased pressure on Congress to outlaw slavery throughout the nation with a constitutional amendment. He declared that such an amendment would "clinch the whole subject" and by December 1863 an amendment was brought to Congress. The Senate passed it on April 8, 1864, but the first vote in the House of Representatives fell short of the required two-thirds majority. Passage became part of Lincoln's reelection platform, and after his successful reelection, the second attempt in the House passed on January 31, 1865. With ratification, it became the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 6, 1865.

Lincoln believed the federal government had limited responsibility to the millions of freedmen. He signed Senator Charles Sumner's Freedmen's Bureau bill that set up a temporary federal agency designed to meet the immediate needs of former slaves. The law opened land for a lease of three years with the ability to purchase title for the freedmen. Lincoln announced a Reconstruction plan that involved short-term military control, pending readmission under the control of southern Unionists.

Historians agree that it is impossible to predict how Reconstruction would have proceeded had Lincoln lived. Biographers James G. Randall and Richard Current, according to David Lincove, argue that:

It is likely that had he lived, Lincoln would have followed a policy similar to Johnson's, that he would have clashed with congressional Radicals, that he would have produced a better result for the freedmen than occurred, and that his political skills would have helped him avoid Johnson's mistakes.

Eric Foner argues that:

Unlike Sumner and other Radicals, Lincoln did not see Reconstruction as an opportunity for a sweeping political and social revolution beyond emancipation. He had long made clear his opposition to the confiscation and redistribution of land. He believed, as most Republicans did in April 1865, that voting requirements should be determined by the states. He assumed that political control in the South would pass to white Unionists, reluctant secessionists, and forward-looking former Confederates. But time and again during the war, Lincoln, after initial opposition, had come to embrace positions first advanced by abolitionists and Radical Republicans. ... Lincoln undoubtedly would have listened carefully to the outcry for further protection for the former slaves. ... It is entirely plausible to imagine Lincoln and Congress agreeing on a Reconstruction policy that encompassed federal protection for basic civil rights plus limited black suffrage, along the lines Lincoln proposed just before his death.

Native Americans

Lincoln's relationship with Native Americans started before he was born, with their killing of his grandfather in front of his sons, including Lincoln's father Thomas. Lincoln himself served as a captain in the state militia during the Black Hawk War but saw no combat. Lincoln used appointments to the Indian Bureau as a reward to supporters from Minnesota and Wisconsin. While in office his administration faced difficulties guarding Western settlers, railroads, and telegraphs, from Indian attacks.

On August 17, 1862, the Dakota War broke out in Minnesota. Hundreds of settlers were killed, 30,000 were displaced from their homes, and Washington was deeply alarmed. Some feared incorrectly that it might represent a Confederate conspiracy to start a war on the Northwestern frontier. Lincoln ordered thousands of Confederate prisoners of war sent by railroad to put down the uprising. When the Confederates protested forcing Confederate prisoners to fight Indians, Lincoln revoked the policy and none arrived in Minnesota. Lincoln sent General John Pope as commander of the new Department of the Northwest two weeks into the hostilities. Before he arrived, the Fond Du Lac band of Chippewa sent Lincoln a letter asking to go to war for the United States against the Sioux, so Lincoln could send Minnesota's troops to fight the South. Shortly after, a Mille Lacs Band Chief offered the same at St. Cloud, Minnesota. In it the Chippewa specified they wanted to use the indigenous rules of warfare. That meant there would be no prisoners of war, no surrender, no peace agreement. Lincoln did not accept the Chippewa offer, as he could not control the Chippewa, and women and children were considered legitimate casualties in native American warfare.

Serving under Gen. Pope was Minnesota Congressman Henry H. Sibley. Minnesota's Governor had made Sibley a Colonel United States Volunteers to command the U.S. force tasked with fighting the war and that eventually defeated Little Crow's forces at the Battle of Wood Lake. The day the Mdewakanton force surrendered at Camp Release, a Chippewa war council met at Minnesota's capitol with another Chippewa offer to Lincoln, to fight the Sioux. Sibley ordered a military commission to review the actions of the captured, to try those that had committed war crimes. The legitimacy of military commissions trying opposing combatants had been established during the Mexican War. Sibley thought he had 16-20 of the men he wanted for trial, while Gen. Pope ordered all detained be tried. 303 were given death sentences that were subject to Presidential review. Lincoln ordered Pope send all trial transcripts to Washington, where Lincoln and two of his staff examined them. Lincoln realized the trials could be divided into two groups: combat between combatants and combat against civilians. The groups could be identified by their transcripts, the first group all had three pages in length while the second group had more, some up to twelve pages. He placed 263 cases into the first group and commuted their sentences. In the second group were forty cases. One he commuted for becoming a state's witness. Sibley dismissed another when proof surfaced exonerating the defendant. The remaining 38 were executed in the largest mass execution in U.S. history. Questions arose concerning three executions that have not been answered. Less than 4 months afterwards, Lincoln issued the Lieber Code, which governed wartime conduct of the Union Army, by defining command responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Congressman Alexander Ramsey told Lincoln in 1864, he would have gotten more re-election support in Minnesota had he executed all 303 of the Mdewakanton. Lincoln responded, "I could not afford to hang men for votes." The men whose sentences he commuted were sent to a military prison at Davenport, Iowa. Some he released due to the efforts of Bishop Henry Whipple.

Whig theory of a presidency

Lincoln adhered to the Whig theory of a presidency focused on executing laws while deferring to Congress' responsibility for legislating. Under this philosophy, Lincoln vetoed only four bills during his presidency, including the Wade-Davis Bill with its harsh Reconstruction program. The 1862 Homestead Act made millions of acres of Western government-held land available for purchase at low cost. The 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act provided government grants for agricultural colleges in each state. The Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864 granted federal support for the construction of the United States' first transcontinental railroad, which was completed in 1869. The passage of the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Acts was enabled by the absence of Southern congressmen and senators who had opposed the measures in the 1850s.

The Lincoln cabinet
Office	Name	Term
President	Abraham Lincoln	1861–1865
Vice President	Hannibal Hamlin	1861–1865
Andrew Johnson	1865
Secretary of State	William H. Seward	1861–1865
Secretary of the Treasury	Salmon P. Chase	1861–1864
	William P. Fessenden	1864–1865
Hugh McCulloch	1865
Secretary of War	Simon Cameron	1861–1862
Edwin M. Stanton	1862–1865
Attorney General	Edward Bates	1861–1864
James Speed	1864–1865
Postmaster General	Montgomery Blair	1861–1864
William Dennison Jr.	1864–1865
Secretary of the Navy	Gideon Welles	1861–1865
Secretary of the Interior	Caleb Blood Smith	1861–1862
John Palmer Usher	1863–1865

In the selection and use of his cabinet Lincoln employed the strengths of his opponents in a manner that emboldened his presidency. Lincoln commented on his thought process, "We need the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services." Goodwin described the group in her biography as a Team of Rivals.

There were two measures passed to raise revenues for the federal government: tariffs (a policy with long precedent), and a federal income tax. In 1861, Lincoln signed the second and third Morrill Tariffs, following the first enacted by Buchanan. He also signed the Revenue Act of 1861, creating the first U.S. income tax—a flat tax of 3 percent on incomes above $800 (equivalent to $27,129 in 2023). The Revenue Act of 1862 adopted rates that increased with income.

The Lincoln Administration presided over the expansion of the federal government's economic influence in other areas. The National Banking Act created the system of national banks. The U.S. issued paper currency for the first time, known as greenbacks—printed in green on the reverse side. In 1862, Congress created the Department of Agriculture.

In response to rumors of a renewed draft, the editors of the New York World and the Journal of Commerce published a false draft proclamation that created an opportunity for the editors and others to corner the gold market. Lincoln attacked the media for such behavior, and ordered a military seizure of the two papers which lasted for two days.

Lincoln is largely responsible for the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving had become a regional holiday in New England in the 17th century. It had been sporadically proclaimed by the federal government on irregular dates. The prior proclamation had been during James Madison's presidency 50 years earlier. In 1863, Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November of that year to be a day of Thanksgiving.

In June 1864 Lincoln approved the Yosemite Grant enacted by Congress, which provided unprecedented federal protection for the area now known as Yosemite National Park.

Supreme Court appointments

Supreme Court Justices

Justice	Nominated	Appointed
Noah Haynes Swayne	January 21, 1862	January 24, 1862
Samuel Freeman Miller	July 16, 1862	July 16, 1862
David Davis	December 1, 1862	December 8, 1862
Stephen Johnson Field	March 6, 1863	March 10, 1863
Salmon Portland Chase (Chief Justice)	December 6, 1864	December 6, 1864

Lincoln's philosophy on court nominations was that "we cannot ask a man what he will do, and if we should, and he should answer us, we should despise him for it. Therefore we must take a man whose opinions are known." Lincoln made five appointments to the Supreme Court. Noah Haynes Swayne was an anti-slavery lawyer who was committed to the Union. Samuel Freeman Miller supported Lincoln in the 1860 election and was an avowed abolitionist. David Davis was Lincoln's campaign manager in 1860 and had served as a judge in the Illinois court circuit where Lincoln practiced. Democrat Stephen Johnson Field, a previous California Supreme Court justice, provided geographic and political balance. Finally, Lincoln's Treasury Secretary, Salmon P. Chase, became Chief Justice. Lincoln believed Chase was an able jurist, would support Reconstruction legislation, and that his appointment united the Republican Party.

Foreign policy

Main articles: Presidency of Abraham Lincoln § Foreign policy, and Diplomacy of the American Civil War

Lincoln named his main political rival, William H. Seward, as Secretary of State and left most diplomatic issues in Seward's portfolio. However, Lincoln did select some top diplomats as part of his patronage policy. He also closely watched the handling of the Trent Affair in late 1861 to make sure the situation did not escalate into war with Britain. Seward's main role was to keep Britain and France from supporting the Confederacy. He was successful after indicating to Britain and France that the Union would declare war on them if they supported the South.

Assassination

Main article: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

John Wilkes Booth was a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate army, he had contacts with the Confederate secret service. After attending Lincoln's last public address, on April 11, 1865, in which Lincoln stated his preference that the franchise be conferred on some black men, specifically "on the very intelligent, and on those who serve our cause as soldiers", Booth hatched a plot to assassinate the President. When Booth learned of the Lincolns' intent to attend a play with General Grant, he planned to assassinate Lincoln and Grant at Ford's Theatre. "Booth had attended a dress rehearsal the day before to better rehearse his scheme for shooting Lincoln ... and then escaping." Lincoln and his wife attended the play Our American Cousin on the evening of April 14, just five days after the Union victory at the Battle of Appomattox Courthouse. At the last minute, Grant decided to go to New Jersey to visit his children instead of attending the play.

At 10:15 in the evening Booth entered the back of Lincoln's theater box, crept up from behind, and fired at the back of Lincoln's head, mortally wounding him. Lincoln's guest, Major Henry Rathbone, momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped. After being attended by Doctor Charles Leale and two other doctors, Lincoln was taken across the street to Petersen House. After remaining in a coma for nine hours, Lincoln died at 7:22 in the morning on April 15. Stanton saluted and said, "Now he belongs to the ages." Lincoln's body was placed in a flag-wrapped coffin, which was loaded into a hearse and escorted to the White House by Union soldiers. President Johnson was sworn in later that same day.

Two weeks later, Booth, refusing to surrender, was tracked to a farm in Virginia. He was mortally shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett and died on April 26. Secretary of War Stanton had issued orders that Booth be taken alive, so Corbett was initially arrested to be court martialed. After a brief interview, Stanton declared him a patriot and dismissed the charge.

Funeral and burial

Main article: State funeral of Abraham Lincoln

The late President lay in state, first in the East Room of the White House, and then in the Capitol Rotunda from April 19 to 21. The caskets containing Lincoln's body and the body of his son Willie traveled for three weeks on the Lincoln Special funeral train. The train followed a circuitous route from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois, stopping at many cities for memorials attended by hundreds of thousands. Many others gathered along the tracks as the train passed with bands, bonfires, and hymn singing or in silent grief. Poet Walt Whitman composed "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" to eulogize him, one of four poems he wrote about Lincoln. African Americans were especially moved; they had lost their "Moses". In a larger sense, the reaction was in response to the deaths of so many men in the war. Historians emphasized the widespread shock and sorrow, but noted that some Lincoln haters celebrated his death. Lincoln's body was buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield and now lies within the Lincoln Tomb.

Religious and philosophical beliefs

Further information: Religious views of Abraham Lincoln

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As a young man Lincoln was a religious skeptic. He was deeply familiar with the Bible, quoting and praising it. He was private about his position on organized religion and respected the beliefs of others. He never made a clear profession of Christian beliefs. Throughout his public career, Lincoln often quoted Scripture. His three most famous speeches—the House Divided Speech, the Gettysburg Address, and his second inaugural—all contain direct allusions to Providence and quote from Scripture.

In the 1840s Lincoln subscribed to the Doctrine of Necessity, a belief that the human mind was controlled by a higher power. With the death of his son Edward in 1850 he more frequently expressed a dependence on God. He never joined a church, although he frequently attended First Presbyterian Church with his wife beginning in 1852.

In the 1850s Lincoln asserted his belief in "providence" in a general way and rarely used the language or imagery of the evangelicals; instead, he regarded the republicanism of the Founding Fathers with an almost religious reverence. The death of his son Willie in February 1862 may have caused him to look toward religion for solace. After Willie's death, he questioned the divine necessity of the war's severity. He wrote at this time that God "could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds."

Lincoln did believe in an all-powerful God that shaped events and by 1865 was expressing that belief in major speeches. By the end of the war, he increasingly appealed to the Almighty for solace and to explain events, writing on April 4, 1864, to a newspaper editor in Kentucky:

I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God.

This spirituality can best be seen in his second inaugural address, considered by some scholars as the greatest such address in American history, and by Lincoln himself as his own greatest speech, or one of them at the very least. Lincoln explains therein that the cause, purpose, and result of the war was God's will. Lincoln's frequent use of religious imagery and language toward the end of his life may have reflected his own personal beliefs or might have been a device to reach his audiences, who were mostly evangelical Protestants. On the day Lincoln was assassinated, he reportedly told his wife he desired to visit the Holy Land.

Health

Main article: Health of Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln is believed to have had depression, smallpox, and malaria. He took blue mass pills, which contained mercury, to treat constipation. It is unknown to what extent this may have resulted in mercury poisoning.

Several claims have been made that Lincoln's health was declining before the assassination. These are often based on photographs of Lincoln appearing to show weight loss and muscle wasting. It is also suspected that he might have had a rare genetic disease such as Marfan syndrome or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B.

Legacy

See also: Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln

Republican values

Lincoln's redefinition of republican values has been stressed by historians such as John Patrick Diggins, Harry V. Jaffa, Vernon Burton, Eric Foner, and Herman J. Belz. Lincoln called the Declaration of Independence—which emphasized freedom and equality for all—the "sheet anchor" of republicanism beginning in the 1850s. He did this at a time when the Constitution, which "tolerated slavery", was the focus of most political discourse. Diggins notes, "Lincoln presented Americans a theory of history that offers a profound contribution to the theory and destiny of republicanism itself" in the 1860 Cooper Union speech. Instead of focusing on the legality of an argument, he focused on the moral basis of republicanism.

His position on war was founded on a legal argument regarding the Constitution as essentially a contract among the states, and all parties must agree to pull out of the contract. Furthermore, it was a national duty to ensure the republic stands in every state. Many soldiers and religious leaders from the north, though, felt the fight for liberty and freedom of slaves was ordained by their moral and religious beliefs.

As a Whig activist Lincoln was a spokesman for business interests, favoring high tariffs, banks, infrastructure improvements, and railroads, in opposition to Jacksonian democrats. Lincoln shared the sympathies that the Jacksonians professed for the common man, but he disagreed with the Jacksonian view that the government should be divorced from economic enterprise. Nevertheless, Lincoln admired Andrew Jackson's steeliness as well as his patriotism. According to historian Sean Wilentz:

Just as the Republican Party of the 1850s absorbed certain elements of Jacksonianism, so Lincoln, whose Whiggery had always been more egalitarian than that of other Whigs, found himself absorbing some of them as well. And some of the Jacksonian spirit resided inside the Lincoln White House.

William C. Harris found that Lincoln's "reverence for the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, the laws under it, and the preservation of the Republic and its institutions strengthened his conservatism." James G. Randall emphasizes his tolerance and moderation "in his preference for orderly progress, his distrust of dangerous agitation, and his reluctance toward ill digested schemes of reform." Randall concludes that "he was conservative in his complete avoidance of that type of so-called 'radicalism' which involved abuse of the South, hatred for the slaveholder, thirst for vengeance, partisan plotting, and ungenerous demands that Southern institutions be transformed overnight by outsiders."

Reunification of the states

Bureau of Engraving and Printing portrait of Lincoln as president

In Lincoln's first inaugural address, he explored the nature of democracy. He denounced secession as anarchy, and he explained that majority rule had to be balanced by constitutional restraints. He said, "A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people."

The successful reunification of the states had consequences for how people viewed the country. The term "the United States" has historically been used sometimes in the plural ("these United States") and other times in the singular. The Civil War was a significant force in the eventual dominance of the singular usage by the end of the 19th century.

Historical reputation

In his company, I was never reminded of my humble origin, or of my unpopular color.

— Frederick Douglass

In surveys of U.S. scholars ranking presidents conducted since 1948, the top three presidents are generally Lincoln, Washington, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, although the order varies. Between 1999 and 2011, Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan were the top-ranked presidents in eight public opinion surveys, according to Gallup. A 2004 study found that scholars in the fields of history and politics ranked Lincoln number one, while legal scholars placed him second after George Washington.

Lincoln's assassination left him a national martyr. He was viewed by abolitionists as a champion of human liberty. Republicans linked Lincoln's name to their party. Many, though not all, in the South considered Lincoln as a man of outstanding ability. Historians have said he was "a classical liberal" in the 19th-century sense. Allen C. Guelzo states that Lincoln was a "classical liberal democrat—an enemy of artificial hierarchy, a friend to trade and business as ennobling and enabling, and an American counterpart to Mill, Cobden, and Bright", whose portrait Lincoln hung in his White House office.

Sociologist Barry Schwartz argues that Lincoln's American reputation grew slowly from the late 19th century until the Progressive Era (1900–1920s), when he emerged as one of America's most venerated heroes, even among white Southerners. The high point came in 1922 with the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Union nationalism, as envisioned by Lincoln, "helped lead America to the nationalism of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt." In the New Deal era, liberals honored Lincoln not so much as the self-made man or the great war president, but as the advocate of the common man who they claimed would have supported the welfare state.

Schwartz argues that in the 1930s and 1940s the memory of Abraham Lincoln was practically sacred and provided the nation with "a moral symbol inspiring and guiding American life." During the Great Depression, he argues, Lincoln served "as a means for seeing the world's disappointments, for making its sufferings not so much explicable as meaningful." Franklin D. Roosevelt, preparing America for war, used the words of the Civil War president to clarify the threat posed by Germany and Japan. Americans asked, "What would Lincoln do?" However, Schwartz also finds that since World War II Lincoln's symbolic power has lost relevance, and this "fading hero is symptomatic of fading confidence in national greatness." He suggested that postmodernism and multiculturalism have diluted greatness as a concept.

In the Cold War years Lincoln's image shifted to a symbol of freedom who brought hope to those oppressed by Communist regimes. He had long been known as the Great Emancipator, but, by the late 1960s, some African American intellectuals, led by Lerone Bennett Jr., denied that Lincoln deserved that title. Bennett won wide attention when he called Lincoln a white supremacist in 1968. He noted that Lincoln used ethnic slurs and told jokes that ridiculed blacks. Bennett argued that Lincoln opposed social equality and proposed that freed slaves voluntarily move to another country. The emphasis shifted away from Lincoln the emancipator to an argument that blacks had freed themselves from slavery, or at least were responsible for pressuring the government to emancipate them. Defenders of Lincoln retorted that he was a "moral visionary" who deftly advanced the abolitionist cause, as fast as politically possible. Brian Dirck stated that few Civil War scholars take Bennett (or Thomas DiLorenzo) seriously, pointing to their "narrow political agendas and faulty research".

By the 1970s Lincoln had become a hero to political conservatives—apart from neo-Confederates such as Mel Bradford, who denounced his treatment of the white South—for his intense nationalism, his support for business, his insistence on stopping the spread of slavery, his acting on Lockean and Burkean principles on behalf of both liberty and tradition, and his devotion to the principles of the Founding Fathers. Lincoln became a favorite of liberal intellectuals across the world.

Barry Schwartz wrote in 2009 that Lincoln's image suffered "erosion, fading prestige, benign ridicule" in the late 20th century. By contrast, David Herbert Donald opined in his 1996 biography that Lincoln was distinctly endowed with the personality trait of negative capability, defined by the poet John Keats and attributed to extraordinary leaders who were "capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason".

In the 21st century President Barack Obama named Lincoln his favorite president and insisted on using the Lincoln Bible for his inaugural ceremonies.

Lincoln has often been portrayed by Hollywood, almost always in a flattering light.

Lincoln has also been admired by political figures outside the U.S., including German political theorist Karl Marx, Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, leader of the Italian Risorgimento, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and Libyan revolutionary Muammar Gaddafi.

Memory and memorials

Main article: Memorials to Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's portrait appears on two denominations of United States currency, the penny and the $5 bill. He appears on postage stamps across the world. While he is usually portrayed bearded, he did not grow a beard until 1860 at the suggestion of 11-year-old Grace Bedell. He was the first of five presidents to do so.

He has been memorialized in many town, city, and county names, including the capital of Nebraska. The United States Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is named after Lincoln, the second Navy ship to bear his name. The Lincoln Memorial is one of the most visited monuments in the nation's capital and is one of the most visited National Park Service sites in the country. Ford's Theatre, among the most visited sites in Washington, D.C., is across the street from Petersen House, where Lincoln died. Memorials in Springfield, Illinois, include the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln's home, and his tomb. A portrait carving of Lincoln appears with those of three other presidents on Mount Rushmore, which receives about 3 million visitors a year. An influential statue of Lincoln stands in Lincoln Park, Chicago, with recastings given as diplomatic gifts standing in Parliament Square, London, and Parque Lincoln, Mexico City.

In 2019, Congress officially dedicated room H-226 in the United States Capitol to Abraham Lincoln. The room is located off National Statuary Hall and served as the post office of the House while then-Representative Abraham Lincoln served in Congress from 1847 to 1849.

• Lincoln's image carved into the stone of Mount Rushmore
• Abraham Lincoln, a 1909 bronze statue by Adolph Weinman, sits before a historic church in Hodgenville, Kentucky.
• The Lincoln memorial postage stamp of 1866 was issued by the U.S. Post Office exactly one year after Lincoln's assassination.
• Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
• The Lincoln cent, an American coin portraying Lincoln

See also

• Lincoln (film), directed by Steven Spielberg (2012)
• Linconia, proposed colony in Central America named for Lincoln
• List of civil rights leaders
• List of presidents of the United States
• List of presidents of the United States by previous experience
• Outline of Abraham Lincoln
• The Towers (Ohio State), Lincoln Tower

Notes

1. ^ Discharged from command-rank of Captain and re-enlisted at rank of Private.
2. The identity of Lincoln's grandmother Bathsheba Herring, though without certainty, is the consensus of multiple Lincoln biographers. She was the daughter of Alexander and Abigail Herring (née Harrison).
3. Thomas, born January 1778, would have been 8 at the attack, May 1786. Older sources use six.
4. Later, this land became part of a separate county in 1818.
5. Historians disagree on who initiated the move; Thomas Lincoln had no obvious reason to do so. One possibility is that other members of the family, including Dennis Hanks, may not have matched Thomas's stability and steady income.
6. The Lincolns' last descendant, great-grandson Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, died in 1985.
7. Lincoln was a descendant of the Harrisons through his grandmother, Bathsheba Herring.
8. Eric Foner contrasts the abolitionists and anti-slavery Radical Republicans of the Northeast, who saw slavery as a sin, with the conservative Republicans, who thought it was bad because it hurt white people and blocked progress. Foner argues that Lincoln was in the middle, opposing slavery primarily because it violated the republicanism principles of the Founding Fathers, especially the equality of all men and democratic self-government as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
9. Although the name of the Supreme Court case is Dred Scott v. Sandford, the respondent's surname was actually "Sanford". A clerk misspelled the name, and the court never corrected the error.
10. Major Northern newspapers, however, demanded more—they expected victory within 90 days.
11. At the moment of death some observers said his face seemed to relax into a smile.
12. Other versions of the quotation have been offered, including "He now belongs to the ages," "He is a man for the ages," and "Now he belongs to the angels." Gopnik, Adam, "Angels and Ages: Lincoln's language and its legacy," The New Yorker, May 21, 2007.
13. On claims that Lincoln was baptized by an associate of Alexander Campbell, see Martin, Jim (1996). "The secret baptism of Abraham Lincoln". Restoration Quarterly. 38 (2). Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
14. Lincoln wrote to Thurlow Weed on March 4, 1865, "on the recent Inaugeral Address. I expect the latter to wear as well as—perhaps better than—any thing I have produced...."
15. While the book Rating The Presidents: A Ranking of U.S. Leaders, From the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Incompetent acknowledges that polls have rated Lincoln among the top presidents since 1948, the authors find him to be among the two best presidents, along with Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

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Bibliography

See also: Bibliography of Abraham Lincoln

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• Schwartz, Barry (2008). Abraham Lincoln in the Post-Heroic Era: History and Memory in Late Twentieth-Century America. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-74188-8.
• Sherman, William T. (1990). Memoirs of General W.T. Sherman. Charleston, South Carolina: BiblioBazaar. ISBN 978-1-174-63172-6.
• Simon, Paul (1990). Lincoln's Preparation for Greatness: The Legislative Years. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-00203-8.
• Smith, Robert C. (2010). Conservatism and Racism, and Why in America They Are the Same. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-3233-5.
• Steers, Edward Jr. (2010). The Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia. New York, New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-178775-1.
• Striner, Richard (2006). Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End Slavery. England, London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-518306-1.
• Taranto, James; Leo, Leonard, eds. (2004). Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House. New York, New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0-7432-5433-5.
• Tegeder, Vincent G. (1948). "Lincoln and the Territorial Patronage: The Ascendancy of the Radicals in the West". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 35 (1): 77–90. doi:10.2307/1895140. JSTOR 1895140.
• Thomas, Benjamin P. (2008). Abraham Lincoln: A Biography. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-2887-1.
• Trostel, Scott D. (2002). The Lincoln Funeral Train: The Final Journey and National Funeral for Abraham Lincoln. Fletcher, Ohio: Cam-Tech Publishing. ISBN 978-0-925436-21-4. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013.
• Vile, John R. (2003). "Lincoln, Abraham (1809–1865)". Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments: Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues 1789–2002 (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-428-8.
• Vorenberg, Michael (2001). Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-65267-4.
• Warren, Louis A. (2017). Lincoln's Youth: Indiana Years, Seven to Twenty-One, 1816–1830 (Classic Reprint). London, England: Fb&c Limited. ISBN 978-0-282-90830-0.
• White, Ronald C. (2009). A. Lincoln: A Biography. New York, New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-58836-775-4.
• Wilentz, Sean (2012). "Abraham Lincoln and Jacksonian Democracy". Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016.
• Wills, Garry (2012). Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-2645-5.
• Wilson, Douglas L. (1997). Lincoln Before Washington: New Perspectives on the Illinois Years. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02331-5.
• Wilson, Douglas L.; Davis, Rodney O.; Wilson, Terry; Herndon, William Henry; Weik, Jesse William (1998). Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln. Univ of Illinois Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-252-02328-6.
• Wilson, Douglas L. (1999). Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-76581-9.
• Wilson, Douglas L. (2007). Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-1-4000-4039-1.
• Winkle, Kenneth J. (2001). The Young Eagle: The Rise of Abraham Lincoln. Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4617-3436-9.
• Zarefsky, David (1993). Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-97876-5.

External links

Library resources about
Abraham Lincoln

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• Online books
• Resources in your library
• Resources in other libraries

By Abraham Lincoln

• Online books
• Resources in your library
• Resources in other libraries

Official

• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
• The Lincoln Presidential Library's ongoing digitization of all documents written by or to Abraham Lincoln during his lifetime
• Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln – complete collected works as edited by Basler et al. (1958) – an online edition available through University of Michigan Library Digital Collections

Organizations

• Abraham Lincoln Association Archived April 28, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
• Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation

Media coverage

• Abraham Lincoln collected news and commentary at The New York Times

Other

• United States Congress. "Abraham Lincoln (id: L000313)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Abraham Lincoln: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
• "Life Portrait of Abraham Lincoln", from C-SPAN's American presidents: Life Portraits, June 28, 1999
• "Writings of Abraham Lincoln" from C-SPAN's American Writers: A Journey Through History
• Abraham Lincoln: Original Letters and Manuscripts – Shapell Manuscript Foundation
• Lincoln/Net: Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project – Northern Illinois University Libraries
• Teaching Abraham Lincoln Archived December 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine – National Endowment for the Humanities
• Works by Abraham Lincoln at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Abraham Lincoln at the Internet Archive
• Works by Abraham Lincoln at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• In Popular Song: Our Noble Chief Has Passed Away by Cooper/Thomas
• Abraham Lincoln Recollections and Newspaper Articles Collection Archived November 13, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, McLean County Museum of History
• Digitized items in the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division in the Library of Congress

v t e Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States (1861–1865) U.S. Representative for IL–7 (1847–1849)
Presidency	Transition First inauguration Perpetual Union Lincoln Bible Second inauguration Civil War Confiscation Acts President Lincoln's 75,000 volunteers War based income tax Seaports blockade RMS Trent Affair Habeas Corpus suspended Emancipation Proclamation West Virginia statehood Overland Campaign strategy Hampton Roads Conference Tour of Richmond Ten percent plan Reconstruction Foreign policy 13th Amendment abolishing slavery Dakota War of 1862 Department of the Northwest Homestead Act of 1862 National Banking Acts Thanksgiving Day Fanny McCullough letter Birchard Letter Bixby letter National Academy of Sciences Department of Agriculture Pardons State of the Union Address, 1863 1864 Cabinet Judicial appointments
Speeches	Lyceum address (1838) Peoria speech (1854) "Lost Speech" (1856) House Divided speech (1858) Lincoln–Douglas debates (1858) Cooper Union Address (1860) Farewell Address (1861) First inaugural address (1861) Gettysburg Address (1863, event) Second inaugural address (1865)
Life and views	Early life and career Black Hawk War Matson Trial Spot Resolutions Boat lifting patent Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Co. Baltimore Plot Lincoln's beard Medical and mental health Poetry Political career, 1849–1861 Religious views Sexuality Slavery
Homes and places	Lincoln Birthplace Knob Creek Farm Lincoln Boyhood Memorial Lincoln State Park Little Pigeon Creek Community Lincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial Lincoln's New Salem Lincoln-Berry General Store Lincoln Home Cottage at the Soldier's Home Lincoln Bedroom Lincoln Sitting Room Lincoln Pioneer Village Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site
Elections	Republican National Convention, 1856 1860 1864 National Union Party 1860 United States presidential election 1864 1860 campaign song
Assassination	Ford's Theater Our American Cousin opera John Wilkes Booth "Sic semper tyrannis" Petersen House State funeral Lincoln catafalque Lincoln Tomb "O Captain! My Captain!" "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"
Legacy and memorials	Presidential Library and Museum Papers Lincoln/Net Artifacts and relics Bibliography Birthday Photographs of Lincoln Cultural depictions films Art Currency Illinois Centennial half dollar Lincoln penny Five-dollar bill Mount Rushmore Anniversary coins Postage stamps Abraham Lincoln Association Abraham Lincoln Institute Association of Lincoln Presenters USS Abraham Lincoln (1960, 1988) Here I Grew Up mosaic Lincoln Highway Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln Park (Chicago) Lincoln Park (D.C.) Lincoln Prize Lincoln Heritage Trail Lincoln Trail State Memorial Lincoln–Kennedy coincidences Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln White House ghost Statues Lincoln Memorial statue reflecting pool Mount Rushmore Abraham Lincoln: The Man Abraham Lincoln: The Head of State Lincoln the Lawyer Young Abe Lincoln Emancipation Memorial Brooklyn relief Cincinnati D.C. City Hall Hodgenville, Kentucky Indianapolis relief Laramie, Wyoming Lincoln, Nebraska Los Angeles Louisville, Kentucky Newark, New Jersey New York City Parliament Square, London Philadelphia Rochester U.S. Capitol bust U.S. Capitol statue Wabash, Indiana
Family	Family tree Mary Todd Lincoln (wife) Robert Todd Lincoln (son) Edward Baker Lincoln (son) William Wallace Lincoln (son) Thomas "Tad" Lincoln III (son) Mary Todd "Mamie" Lincoln (granddaughter) Jessie Harlan Lincoln (granddaughter) Thomas Lincoln (father) Nancy Hanks Lincoln (mother) Sarah Bush Lincoln (stepmother) Sarah Lincoln Grigsby (sister) Abraham Lincoln (grandfather) Mordecai Lincoln (uncle) Mary Lincoln Crume (aunt) John Hanks (cousin) Joseph Hanks (great-grandfather) Samuel Lincoln (17th-century ancestor) Mary Lincoln Beckwith (great-granddaughter) Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith (great-grandson) Old Bob (horse) Fido (dog)
← James Buchanan Andrew Johnson → Category Outline

Offices and distinctions

U.S. House of Representatives Preceded byJohn Henry Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 7th congressional district 1847–1849 Succeeded byThomas Harris Party political offices Preceded byJohn Frémont Republican nominee for President of the United States 1860, 1864 Succeeded byUlysses Grant Political offices Preceded byJames Buchanan President of the United States 1861–1865 Succeeded byAndrew Johnson Honorary titles Preceded byHenry Clay Persons who have lain in state or honor in the United States Capitol rotunda 1865 Succeeded byThaddeus Stevens

Articles related to Abraham Lincoln

v t e Lincoln–Douglas debates Participants Abraham Lincoln Stephen A. Douglas Other 1858 United States Senate elections Freeport Doctrine 1994 reenactments Lincoln–Douglas debate format v t e Presidents of the United States Presidents and presidencies George Washington (1789–1797) John Adams (1797–1801) Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809) James Madison (1809–1817) James Monroe (1817–1825) John Quincy Adams (1825–1829) Andrew Jackson (1829–1837) Martin Van Buren (1837–1841) William Henry Harrison (1841) John Tyler (1841–1845) James K. Polk (1845–1849) Zachary Taylor (1849–1850) Millard Fillmore (1850–1853) Franklin Pierce (1853–1857) James Buchanan (1857–1861) Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) Andrew Johnson (1865–1869) Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881) James A. Garfield (1881) Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885) Grover Cleveland (1885–1889) Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893) Grover Cleveland (1893–1897) William McKinley (1897–1901) Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) William Howard Taft (1909–1913) Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) Warren G. Harding (1921–1923) Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929) Herbert Hoover (1929–1933) Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) Richard Nixon (1969–1974) Gerald Ford (1974–1977) Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) Bill Clinton (1993–2001) George W. Bush (2001–2009) Barack Obama (2009–2017) Donald Trump (2017–2021) Joe Biden (2021–present) Presidency timelines Washington McKinley T. Roosevelt Taft Wilson Harding Coolidge Hoover F. D. Roosevelt Truman Eisenhower Kennedy L. B. Johnson Nixon Ford Carter Reagan G. H. W. Bush Clinton G. W. Bush Obama Trump Biden Category List v t e Republican Party History National Union Party Third Party System Fourth Party System Fifth Party System Sixth Party System Presidential tickets, national conventions, and presidential primaries 1856 (Philadelphia): Frémont/Dayton 1860 (Chicago): Lincoln/Hamlin 1864 (Baltimore): Lincoln/Johnson 1868 (Chicago): Grant/Colfax 1872 (Philadelphia): Grant/Wilson 1876 (Cincinnati): Hayes/Wheeler 1880 (Chicago): Garfield/Arthur 1884 (Chicago): Blaine/Logan 1888 (Chicago): Harrison/Morton 1892 (Minneapolis): Harrison/Reid 1896 (Saint Louis): McKinley/Hobart 1900 (Philadelphia): McKinley/Roosevelt 1904 (Chicago): Roosevelt/Fairbanks 1908 (Chicago): Taft/Sherman 1912 (Chicago): Taft/Sherman/Butler primaries 1916 (Chicago): Hughes/Fairbanks primaries 1920 (Chicago): Harding/Coolidge primaries 1924 (Cleveland): Coolidge/Dawes primaries 1928 (Kansas City): Hoover/Curtis primaries 1932 (Chicago): Hoover/Curtis primaries 1936 (Cleveland): Landon/Knox primaries 1940 (Philadelphia): Willkie/McNary primaries 1944 (Chicago): Dewey/Bricker primaries 1948 (Philadelphia): Dewey/Warren primaries 1952 (Chicago): Eisenhower/Nixon primaries 1956 (San Francisco): Eisenhower/Nixon primaries 1960 (Chicago): Nixon/Lodge primaries 1964 (San Francisco): Goldwater/Miller primaries 1968 (Miami Beach): Nixon/Agnew primaries 1972 (Miami Beach): Nixon/Agnew primaries 1976 (Kansas City): Ford/Dole primaries 1980 (Detroit): Reagan/G. H. W. Bush primaries 1984 (Dallas): Reagan/G. H. W. Bush primaries 1988 (New Orleans): G. H. W. Bush/Quayle primaries 1992 (Houston): G. H. W. Bush/Quayle primaries 1996 (San Diego): Dole/Kemp primaries 2000 (Philadelphia): G. W. Bush/Cheney primaries 2004 (New York): G. W. Bush/Cheney primaries 2008 (St. Paul): McCain/Palin primaries 2012 (Tampa): Romney/Ryan primaries 2016 (Cleveland): Trump/Pence primaries 2020 (Charlotte/other locations): Trump/Pence primaries 2024 (Milwaukee): Trump/Vance primaries 2028 (Houston) Presidential administrations Lincoln (1861–1865) Johnson (1865–1868) Grant (1869–1877) Hayes (1877–1881) Garfield (1881) Arthur (1881–1885) Harrison (1889–1893) McKinley (1897–1901) Roosevelt (1901–1909) Taft (1909–1913) Harding (1921–1923) Coolidge (1923–1929) Hoover (1929–1933) Eisenhower (1953–1961) Nixon (1969–1974) Ford (1974–1977) Reagan (1981–1989) G. H. W. Bush (1989–1993) G. W. Bush (2001–2009) Trump (2017–2021) U.S. House leaders, Speakers, and Conference chairs Pennington (1860–1861) Grow (1861–1863) Colfax (1863–1869) Pomeroy (1869) Blaine (1869–1875) McCrary (1875–1877) Hale (1877–1879) Frye (1879–1881) Keifer (1881–1883) Cannon (1883–1889) Reed (1889–1891) T. J. Henderson (1891–1895) Reed (1895–1899) D. B. Henderson (1899–1903) Cannon (1903–1911) Mann (1911–1919) Gillett (1919–1925) Longworth (1925–1931) Snell (1931–1939) Martin (1939–1959) Halleck (1959–1965) Ford (1965–1973) Rhodes (1973–1981) Michel (1981–1995) Gingrich (1995–1999) Hastert (1999–2007) Boehner (2007–2015) Ryan (2015–2019) McCarthy (2019–2023) Johnson (2023–) RNC Chairs Morgan Raymond Ward Claflin Morgan Chandler Cameron Jewell Sabin Jones Quay Clarkson Campbell Carter Hanna Payne Cortelyou New Hitchcock Hill Rosewater Hilles Wilcox Hays Adams Butler Work Huston Fess Sanders Fletcher Hamilton Martin Walsh Spangler Brownell Reece Scott Gabrielson Summerfield Roberts Hall Alcorn T. Morton Miller Burch Bliss R. Morton Dole Bush Smith Brock Richards Laxalt/Fahrenkopf Fahrenkopf Atwater Yeutter Bond Barbour Nicholson Gilmore Racicot Gillespie Mehlman Martínez/Duncan Duncan Steele Priebus McDaniel Whatley Chair elections 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2024 Parties by state and territory State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Territory American Samoa District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Affiliated organizations Congress House Conference Legislative Digest Steering and Policy Committees Senate Conference Policy Committee Factions Freedom Caucus Problem Solvers Caucus Republican Governance Group Republican Study Committee Fundraising groups National Republican Congressional Committee National Republican Redistricting Trust National Republican Senatorial Committee Republican Attorneys General Association Republican Governors Association Sectional groups College Republicans Chairmen Congressional Hispanic Conference Log Cabin Republicans Republican Jewish Coalition Republican National Hispanic Assembly Republicans Abroad Teen Age Republicans Young Republicans Republicans Overseas High School Republican National Federation Factional groups Republican Main Street Partnership Republican Majority for Choice Republican Liberty Caucus Republican National Coalition for Life ConservAmerica Liberty Caucus Ripon Society The Wish List Related Primaries Debates Bibliography International Democracy Union Timeline of modern American conservatism Trumpism v t e Illinois's delegation(s) to the 30th United States Congress (ordered by seniority) 30th Senate: ▌S. Breese (D) · ▌S. Douglas (D) House: ▌O. Ficklin (D) ▌J. McClernand (D) ▌R. Smith (ID) ▌J. Wentworth (D) ▌A. Lincoln (W) ▌T. Turner (D) ▌W. Richardson (D) v t e Historical anti-slavery parties in the United States Presidential tickets Liberty Party James G. Birney/Thomas Earle (1840) James G. Birney/Thomas Morris (1844) Gerrit Smith/Charles C. Foote (1848) William Goodell/S. M. Bell (1852) Gerrit Smith/Samuel McFarland (1856) Gerrit Smith/Samuel McFarland (1860) Free Soil Party Martin Van Buren/Charles F. Adams (1848) John P. Hale/George W. Julian (1852) Republican Party John C. Frémont/William L. Dayton (1856) Abraham Lincoln/Hannibal Hamlin (1860) National Union Party Abraham Lincoln/Andrew Johnson (1864) National conventions 1848 Free Soil 1856 Republican 1860 Republican 1864 National Union Other party leaders Salmon P. Chase Charles Sumner Thaddeus Stevens William H. Seward Simon Cameron Edward Bates Francis P. Blair Related groups American Anti-Slavery Society Anti-Nebraska movement Barnburners Conscience Whigs North American Party Radical Democracy Party v t e Hall of Fame for Great Americans inductees John Adams John Quincy Adams Jane Addams Louis Agassiz Susan B. Anthony John James Audubon George Bancroft Clara Barton Henry Ward Beecher Alexander Graham Bell Daniel Boone Edwin Booth Louis Brandeis Phillips Brooks William Cullen Bryant Luther Burbank Andrew Carnegie George Washington Carver William Ellery Channing Rufus Choate Henry Clay Grover Cleveland James Fenimore Cooper Peter Cooper Charlotte Cushman James Buchanan Eads Thomas Alva Edison Jonathan Edwards Ralph Waldo Emerson David Farragut Stephen Foster Benjamin Franklin Robert Fulton Josiah W. Gibbs William C. Gorgas Ulysses S. Grant Asa Gray Alexander Hamilton Nathaniel Hawthorne Joseph Henry Patrick Henry Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Mark Hopkins Elias Howe Washington Irving Andrew Jackson Thomas J. Jackson Thomas Jefferson John Paul Jones James Kent Sidney Lanier Robert E. Lee Abraham Lincoln Henry Wadsworth Longfellow James Russell Lowell Mary Lyon Edward MacDowell James Madison Horace Mann John Marshall Matthew Fontaine Maury Albert A. Michelson Maria Mitchell James Monroe Samuel F. B. Morse William T. G. Morton John Lothrop Motley Simon Newcomb Thomas Paine Alice Freeman Palmer Francis Parkman George Peabody William Penn Edgar Allan Poe Walter Reed Franklin D. Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Augustus Saint-Gaudens William Tecumseh Sherman John Philip Sousa Joseph Story Harriet Beecher Stowe Gilbert Stuart Sylvanus Thayer Henry David Thoreau Mark Twain Lillian Wald Booker T. Washington George Washington Daniel Webster George Westinghouse James McNeill Whistler Walt Whitman Eli Whitney John Greenleaf Whittier Emma Willard Frances Willard Roger Williams Woodrow Wilson Orville Wright Wilbur Wright v t e Cabinet of President Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) Secretary of State William H. Seward (1861–1865) Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase (1861–1864) William P. Fessenden (1864–1865) Hugh McCulloch (1865) Secretary of War Simon Cameron (1861–1862) Edwin Stanton (1862–1865) Attorney General Edward Bates (1861–1864) James Speed (1864–1865) Postmaster General Montgomery Blair (1861–1864) William Dennison Jr. (1864–1865) Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles (1861–1865) Secretary of the Interior Caleb Blood Smith (1861–1862) John Palmer Usher (1863–1865) Related Team of Rivals (2005 book) v t e (← 1852) 1856 United States presidential election (1860 →) Democratic Party (Convention) Nominees President: James Buchanan Vice President: John C. Breckinridge Other candidates Lewis Cass Stephen A. Douglas Franklin Pierce (incumbent) Republican Party (Convention) Nominees President: John C. Frémont Vice President: William L. Dayton Other candidates Nathaniel P. Banks Abraham Lincoln John McLean Robert F. Stockton American Party Nominees President: Millard Fillmore Vice President: Andrew J. Donelson Other candidates George Law Other 1856 elections: House Senate v t e (← 1856) 1860 United States presidential election (1864 →) Republican Party (Convention) Nominees President: Abraham Lincoln Vice President: Hannibal Hamlin Other candidates Edward Bates Simon Cameron Salmon P. Chase William L. Dayton John McLean William H. Seward Benjamin Wade Democratic Party (Southern) (Convention) Nominees President: John C. Breckinridge (incumbent VP) Vice President: Joseph Lane Other candidates Daniel S. Dickinson Constitutional Union Party (Convention) Nominees President: John Bell Vice President: Edward Everett Other candidates John J. Crittenden William A. Graham Sam Houston William C. Rives Democratic Party (Northern) (Conventions) Nominees President: Stephen A. Douglas Vice President: Herschel V. Johnson Other candidates Daniel S. Dickinson James Guthrie Robert M. T. Hunter Andrew Johnson Other 1860 elections: House Senate v t e (← 1860) 1864 United States presidential election (1868 →) National Union Party (Convention) Nominees President: Abraham Lincoln (incumbent) Vice President: Andrew Johnson Other candidates President: Ulysses S. Grant Vice President: Benjamin Butler Daniel S. Dickinson Hannibal Hamlin (incumbent) Lovell Rousseau Democratic Party (Convention) Nominees President: George B. McClellan Vice President: George H. Pendleton Other candidates President: Thomas H. Seymour Vice President: George W. Cass Augustus C. Dodge Daniel W. Voorhees Other 1864 elections: House Senate v t e American Civil War Origins Origins Timeline leading to the War Bleeding Kansas Border states Compromise of 1850 John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry Kansas-Nebraska Act Lincoln–Douglas debates Missouri Compromise Nullification crisis Origins of the American Civil War Panic of 1857 Popular sovereignty Secession South Carolina Declaration of Secession States' rights President Lincoln's 75,000 volunteers Slavery African Americans Cornerstone Speech Crittenden Compromise Dred Scott v. Sandford Emancipation Proclamation Fire-Eaters Fugitive slave laws Plantations in the American South Positive good Slave Power Slavery in the United States Treatment of slaves in the United States Uncle Tom's Cabin Abolitionism Abolitionism in the United States Susan B. Anthony James G. Birney John Brown Frederick Douglass William Lloyd Garrison Lane Debates on Slavery Elijah Parish Lovejoy J. Sella Martin Lysander Spooner George Luther Stearns Thaddeus Stevens Charles Sumner Caning Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Combatants Theaters Campaigns Battles States Combatants Union Army Navy Marine Corps Revenue Cutter Service Confederacy Army Navy Marine Corps Theaters Eastern Western Lower Seaboard Trans-Mississippi Pacific Coast Union naval blockade Major campaigns Anaconda Plan Blockade runners New Mexico Jackson's Valley Peninsula Northern Virginia Maryland Stones River Vicksburg Tullahoma Gettysburg Morgan's Raid Bristoe Knoxville Red River Overland Atlanta Valley 1864 Bermuda Hundred Richmond-Petersburg Franklin–Nashville Price's Missouri Expedition Sherman's March Carolinas Mobile Appomattox Major battles Fort Sumter 1st Bull Run Wilson's Creek Fort Donelson Pea Ridge Hampton Roads Shiloh New Orleans Corinth Seven Pines Seven Days 2nd Bull Run Antietam Perryville Fredericksburg Stones River Chancellorsville Gettysburg Vicksburg Chickamauga Chattanooga Wilderness Fort Pillow Spotsylvania Cold Harbor Atlanta Crater Mobile Bay Franklin Nashville Five Forks Involvement States and territories Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Dakota Territory District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indian Territory Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Cities Atlanta Charleston Chattanooga New Orleans Richmond Washington, D.C. Winchester Leaders Confederate Military R. H. Anderson Beauregard Bragg Buchanan Cooper Early Ewell Forrest Gorgas Hill Hood Jackson A. S. Johnston J. E. Johnston Lee Longstreet Morgan Mosby Polk Price Semmes E. K. Smith Stuart Taylor Wheeler Civilian Benjamin Bocock Breckinridge Davis Hunter Mallory Memminger Seddon Stephens Union Military Anderson Buell Burnside Butler Du Pont Farragut Foote Frémont Grant Halleck Hooker Hunt McClellan McDowell Meade Meigs Ord Pope D. D. Porter Rosecrans Scott Sheridan Sherman Thomas Civilian Adams Chase Ericsson Hamlin Lincoln Pinkerton Seward Stanton Stevens Wade Welles Aftermath Constitution Reconstruction Amendments 13th Amendment 14th Amendment 15th Amendment Reconstruction Alabama Claims Brooks–Baxter War Carpetbaggers Colfax riot of 1873 Compromise of 1877 Confederate refugees Confederados Eufaula riot of 1874 Freedmen's Bureau Freedman's Savings Bank Homestead Acts Southern Homestead Act of 1866 Timber Culture Act of 1873 Impeachment of Andrew Johnson trial efforts timeline first inquiry second inquiry impeachment managers investigation Kirk–Holden war Knights of the White Camelia Ku Klux Klan Ethnic violence Memphis riots of 1866 Meridian riot of 1871 New Orleans riot of 1866 Pulaski (Tennessee) riot of 1867 South Carolina riots of 1876 Reconstruction acts Habeas Corpus Act of 1867 Enforcement Act of 1870 Enforcement Act of February 1871 Enforcement Act of April 1871 Reconstruction era Reconstruction military districts Reconstruction Treaties Indian Council at Fort Smith Red Shirts Redeemers Scalawags South Carolina riots of 1876 Southern Claims Commission White League Post- Reconstruction Commemoration Centennial Civil War Discovery Trail Civil War Roundtables Civil War Trails Program Civil War Trust Confederate History Month Confederate Memorial Day Decoration Day Historical reenactment Robert E. Lee Day Confederate Memorial Hall Disenfranchisement Black Codes Jim Crow Historiographic issues Lost Cause mythology Modern display of the Confederate flag Red Shirts Sons of Confederate Veterans Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Southern Historical Society United Confederate Veterans United Daughters of the Confederacy Children of the Confederacy Wilmington insurrection of 1898 Monuments and memorials Union List Grand Army of the Republic memorials to Lincoln Confederate List artworks in Capitol memorials to Davis memorials to Lee Removal Cemeteries Ladies' Memorial Associations U.S. national cemeteries Veterans 1913 Gettysburg reunion 1938 Gettysburg reunion Confederate Memorial Hall Confederate Veteran Grand Army of the Republic Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S. Old soldiers' homes Southern Cross of Honor United Confederate Veterans Related topics Military Arms Campaign Medal Cavalry Confederate Home Guard Confederate railroads Confederate revolving cannon Field artillery Medal of Honor recipients Medicine Naval battles Official Records Partisan rangers POW camps Rations Signal Corps Turning point Union corps badges U.S. Balloon Corps U.S. Home Guard U.S. Military Railroad Political Committee on the Conduct of the War Confederate States presidential election of 1861 Confiscation Act of 1861 Confiscation Act of 1862 Copperheads Diplomacy Emancipation Proclamation Habeas Corpus Act of 1863 Hampton Roads Conference National Union Party Politicians killed Radical Republicans Trent Affair Union Leagues U.S. Presidential Election of 1864 War Democrats Music Battle Hymn of the Republic Dixie John Brown's Body A Lincoln Portrait Marching Through Georgia Maryland, My Maryland When Johnny Comes Marching Home Daar kom die Alibama By ethnicity African Americans German Americans Irish Americans Italian Americans Native Americans Catawba Cherokee Choctaw Seminole Other topics Baltimore riot of 1861 Battlefield preservation Bibliography Confederate war finance Confederate States dollar Espionage Confederate Secret Service Great Hanging at Gainesville Great Revival of 1863 Gender issues Juneteenth Naming the war New York City Gold Hoax of 1864 New York City riots of 1863 Photographers Richmond riots of 1863 Salt Supreme Court cases Tokens U.S. Sanitary Commission Women soldiers Related List of films and television shows about the American Civil War Category Portal v t e Reconstruction era Participants Federal government Presidents Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes Congress 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Radical Republicans Moderate Republicans Conservative Republicans African-American senators African-American representatives Reconstruction Amendments United States Congressional Joint Committee on Reconstruction United States House Select Committee on Reconstruction Federal judiciary Taney Court Chase Court Waite Court Federal bureaucracy Edwin Stanton Freedmen's Bureau Justice Department State governments Southern United States Confederate States of America Others African Americans Free people of color Freedman Politicians Carpetbaggers Ku Klux Klan Scalawag Redeemers White League Red Shirts Democratic Party Bourbon Democrat Horatio Seymour Samuel J. Tilden Republican Party Stalwarts Charles Sumner Thaddeus Stevens Lyman Trumbull Benjamin Wade John Bingham James Mitchell Ashley Freedman's Savings Bank Women during the Reconstruction era Elections Presidential 1864 DNC National Union Convention Radical Democracy Party 1868 DNC RNC 1872 DNC RNC Liberal Republican Party Straight-Out Democratic Party Victoria Woodhull 1876 DNC RNC Greenback Convention Prohibition Convention Electoral Commission Compromise of 1877 U.S. Senate 1864–65 1866–67 1868–69 1870–71 1872–73 1874–75 1876–77 U.S. House 1864–65 1866–67 1868–69 1870–71 1872–73 1874–75 1876–77 Gubernatorial 1863 AL CA CT KY MA MN NH OH PA VA VT WI WV 1864 CT IL IN LA MD MA MI MO NH VT WV 1865 CT FL LA MA MN NJ OH SC VT WI 1866 CT DE MA ME MI NC OR PA TX VT WV 1867 CA CT MA MD ME MN OH VT WI 1868 AL CT FL IL IN LA MA ME MI MO NC NJ SC VT WV 1869 CT IA MA ME MN MS OH PA RI VA VT WI 1870 AL CT DE MA ME MI MO OR RI SC VT WV 1871 CA CT IA KY MA MD ME MN NJ OH RI WI 1872 AL CT FL IL IN LA MA ME MI MO NC PA RI SC VT WV 1873 CT IA MA ME MN MS OH TX VA WI 1874 AL CT DE KS MA ME MI MO NJ NV OR SC VT 1875 CA CT IA KY MA MD ME MN OH OH WI 1876 AL CO CT Apr. CT Nov. FL IL IN KS LA MA ME MI MO NC RI SC VT WV U.S. elections 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 Key events Prelude American Indian Wars Slavery in the United States A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) The Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women (1838) Woman in the Nineteenth Century (1839) Seneca Falls Convention (1848) National Women's Rights Convention (1850) American Civil War Confiscation Act of 1861 Confiscation Act of 1862 District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act (1862) Militia Act of 1862 1863 Emancipation Proclamation General Order No. 143 Lincoln's presidential Reconstruction Ten percent plan National Bank Act Women's Loyal National League New York City draft riots 1863 State of the Union Address 1864 Wade–Davis Bill 1864 elections 1864 State of the Union Address 1865 13th Amendment Second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln Address Black Codes Special Field Orders No. 15 Freedmen's Bureau Freedmen's Bureau bills Confederates surrender at Appomattox Assassination of Abraham Lincoln Shaw University New Departure 1865 State of the Union Address Founding of the Ku Klux Klan 1866 Civil Rights Act of 1866 Memphis massacre of 1866 New Orleans Massacre of 1866 Swing Around the Circle Southern Homestead Act of 1866 Fort Smith Conference and Cherokee Reconstruction Treaty of 1866 Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty of Washington of 1866 Tennessee readmitted to Union Petition for Universal Freedom National Labor Union Ex parte Garland Ex parte Milligan Slave Kidnapping Act of 1866 1866 elections 1867 Tenure of Office Act Command of Army Act Indian Peace Commission Knights of the White Camelia Pulaski riot Reconstruction Acts Reconstruction military districts Constitutional conventions of 1867 Habeas Corpus Act of 1867 Peonage Act of 1867 First impeachment inquiry into Andrew Johnson 1867 State of the Union Address 1868 14th Amendment Second impeachment inquiry into Andrew Johnson Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Timeline Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson Impeachment managers investigation Articles of impeachment Arkansas readmitted to Union Florida readmitted to Union North Carolina readmitted to Union South Carolina readmitted to Union Louisiana readmitted to Union Alabama readmitted to Union Opelousas massacre Fourth Reconstruction Act Georgia v. Stanton 1868 elections 1868 State of the Union Address 1869 National Woman Suffrage Association American Woman Suffrage Association Alabama Claims Proposed annexation of Santo Domingo Board of Indian Commissioners Public Credit Act of 1869 Black Friday (1869) Ex parte McCardle First transcontinental railroad 1869 State of the Union Address 1870 15th Amendment Enforcement Act of 1870 Justice Department Naturalization Act of 1870 Kirk–Holden war Shoffner Act 1870 elections 1870 State of the Union Address 1871 Ku Klux Klan hearings Second Enforcement Act Ku Klux Klan Act Alcorn State University Meridian race riot of 1871 Treaty of Washington New York custom house ring Civil service commission United States expedition to Korea 1871 State of the Union Address 1872 General Mining Act of 1872 Crédit Mobilier scandal Modoc War Star Route scandal Salary Grab Act Amnesty Act 1872 elections 1872 State of the Union Address 1873 Panic of 1873 Colfax massacre Timber Culture Act Slaughter-House Cases Virginius Affair Coinage Act of 1873 Long Depression Comstock laws 1873 State of the Union Address 1874 Brooks–Baxter War Battle of Liberty Place Coushatta massacre Red River War Timber Culture Act White League Election Massacre of 1874 Vicksburg massacre Black Hills Gold Rush Sanborn incident Anti-Moiety Acts 1874 elections 1874 State of the Union Address 1875 United States v. Cruikshank Civil Rights Act of 1875 Red Shirts Mississippi Plan Clifton Riot of 1875 Yazoo City Riot of 1875 Specie Payment Resumption Act Whiskey Ring Wheeler Compromise Delano affair Pratt & Boyd 1875 State of the Union Address 1876 Hamburg massacre South Carolina civil disturbances of 1876 Ellenton massacre Great Sioux War of 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn United States v. Reese Trader post scandal Centennial Exposition Cattellism Safe burglary conspiracy 1876 elections 1876 State of the Union Address 1877 Electoral Commission Compromise of 1877 Nez Perce War Desert Land Act Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Aftermath Posse Comitatus Act (1878) Civil Rights Cases (1883) United States v. Harris (1883) Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Williams v. Mississippi (1898) Wilmington insurrection of 1898 Giles v. Harris (1903) Disenfranchisement Aspects Historiography Bibliography of the Reconstruction era James Shepherd Pike The Prostrate State (1874) James Bryce The American Commonwealth (1888) Claude G. Bowers The Tragic Era (1929) Columbia University John Burgess Walter Lynwood Fleming Dunning School William Archibald Dunning Charles A. Beard Howard K. Beale W. E. B. Du Bois Black Reconstruction in America (1935) C. Vann Woodward Joel Williamson William R. Brock The American Crisis (1963) John Hope Franklin From Slavery to Freedom (1947) After Slavery (1965) Leon Litwack Been in the Storm So Long (1979) Eric Foner Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877 (1988) Kenneth M. Stampp Steven Hahn A Nation Under Our Feet (2003) The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution (2019) Memory Winslow Homer A Visit from the Old Mistress (1876) Thomas Dixon Jr. The Leopard's Spots (1902) The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan (1905) D. W. Griffith The Birth of a Nation (1915) United Daughters of the Confederacy Gone with the Wind (1939) David W. Blight Race and Reunion (2001) Legacy Women's suffrage in the United States Labor history of the United States Gilded Age Jim Crow era Civil rights movement American frontier Other topics African American founding fathers of the United States Forty acres and a mule Habeas corpus History of the United States (1865–1917) Paramilitary Race (human categorization) Reconstruction Treaties Suffrage Technological and industrial history of the United States White supremacy Whitecapping Category v t e Individuals lain in state, in honor and in repose in the United States State funerals in the United States Lain in state US Capitol rotunda Clay (1852) Lincoln (1865, funeral) Stevens (1868) Sumner (1874) Wilson (1875) Garfield (1881) Logan (1886) McKinley (1901) L'Enfant (1909) Dewey (1917) Unknown Soldier for World War I (1921) Harding (1923) W. H. Taft (1930) Pershing (1948) R. A. Taft (1953) Unknown Soldiers for World War II and the Korean War (1958) Kennedy (1963, funeral) MacArthur (1964) H. Hoover (1964) Eisenhower (1969) Dirksen (1969) J. E. Hoover (1972) Johnson (1973) Humphrey (1978) Blassie / Unknown Soldier for the Vietnam War (1984) Pepper (1989) Reagan (2004, funeral) Ford (2006–07, funeral) Inouye (2012) McCain (2018) Bush (2018, funeral) Lewis (2020) Dole (2021) Reid (2022) National Statuary Hall Cummings (2019) Ginsburg (2020, funeral) Young (2022) House Chamber Hooper (1875) Herbert C. Hoover Building Brown (1996) Old Senate Chamber Chase (1873) Lain in honor US Capitol rotunda Chestnut and Gibson (1998) Parks (2005) Graham (2018) Sicknick (2021) Evans (2021) Williams (2022) Lain in repose East Room Harrison (1841) Taylor (1850) Lincoln (1865, funeral) McKinley (1901) Harding (1923) Roosevelt (1945) Kennedy (1963, funeral) Great Hall of the US Supreme Court Warren (1974) Marshall (1993) Burger (1995) Brennan (1997) Blackmun (1999) Rehnquist (2005) Scalia (2016) Stevens (2019) Ginsburg (2020, funeral) O'Connor (2023) Senate Chamber Byrd (2010) Lautenberg (2013) Bold: Presidents and chief justices v t e Appalachia People of the Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern United States Ethnic groups Black-Dutch Cherokee (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) Chestnut Ridge people Melungeon Scotch-Irish formerly Kanawha Valley people, Koasati, Shawnee, and Yuchi History Battle of Blair Mountain Coal Creek War Coal strike of 1902 French–Eversole feud Hatfield–McCoy feud (Battle of the Grapevine Creek) Lincoln County feud Hillbilly Highway (Baltimore Chicago Detroit) Kentucky County, Virginia Overmountain Men Paint Creek–Cabin Creek strike of 1912 Southwest Territory Trans-Appalachia Wilderness Road West Virginia coal wars 1920 Alabama coal strike Society Appalachia Social and economic stratification in Appalachia Appalachian Americans Childbirth in rural Appalachia Settlement school Urban Appalachians Culture Appalachian English Appalachian folk art Affrilachia Cuisine apple butter chicken fried steak chow-chow country ham Goo Goo Clusters Shucky beans sorghum syrup soup beans Traditional music Appalachian music Appalachian dulcimer Blackberry Blossom (tune) Bluegrass fiddle Bluegrass music Clogging Cripple Creek (folk song) Cumberland Gap (folk song) East Tennessee Blues Hootenanny In the Pines Nottamun Town Shady Grove (song) Tom Dooley (song) Historical individuals Francis Asbury Daniel Boone Davy Crockett John Gordon (militia captain) Devil Anse Hatfield Abraham Lincoln Belle Starr In popular culture Appalachian stereotypes Appalachian studies Deliverance Hillbilly Moonshine in popular culture Mountain white Poor White Redneck Redneck joke The Hatfields and the McCoys Part of a series on hill people around the world v t e Mount Rushmore Shrine of Democracy Construction Gutzon Borglum (sculptor) Lincoln Borglum (assistant sculptor) Luigi Del Bianco (chief carver) Walter K. Long (assisted) Doane Robinson (conceived idea) Peter Norbeck (political promoter, Norbeck-Williamson Act of 1929) Subjects George Washington Thomas Jefferson Theodore Roosevelt Abraham Lincoln Museum Lincoln Borglum Museum Location Black Hills of South Dakota Legacy In popular culture Mount Rushmore Anniversary coins National symbols of the United States Related Charles E. Rushmore (namesake) 2020 fireworks celebration Mount Rushmore Syndrome USS Rushmore (LSD-14) USS Rushmore (LSD-47)

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