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Boyhood of Abraham Lincoln The Lincoln family moved to Knob Creek Farm in 1811. The next five years on the farm furnished Abraham Lincoln his "earliest recollections." Abraham Lincoln's early years on the Kentucky frontier helped to shape his character and prepare the boy who would grow up to become the sixteenth President of the United States to lead the nation through the tragic and turbulent times of the Civil War. His legacy of liberty and equality remains relevant today and has impacted people around the world. Lincoln - Douglas Debates Over the months of August, September and October of 1858, Abraham Lincoln challenged the incumbent, Stephen A. Douglas, for one of the two United States Senate seats Illinois. In a series of seven debates on the issues of the expansion of slavery and popular sovereignty, the two candidates drew large crowds to towns such as Freeport, Quincy and Alton. Although Lincoln lost the election, the debates catapulted him to national prominence and eventually to the Presidency in 1860 Commander-in-Chief With the outbreak of civil war on April 12, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln quickly began to establish himself as Commander-in-Chief by establishing executive control over Union forces in the field and developing an overall strategy to quell the rebellion. He expanded the war powers of the presidency under the Constitution by ordering a blockade of southern ports, appropriating monies without Congressional approval, and later, suspended the writ of habeas corpus, having thousands arrested.
Lincoln in the White House
During the Illinois Republican Convention held in Decatur in early May 1860, Abraham Lincoln received his first endorsement as candidate for the presidency of the United States. His supporters promoted him as the "Rail Candidate." Through the use of compromises and promises at the National Republican Convention held in Chicago, Lincoln became a compromise candidate on the third ballot held on May 18, beating out rivals William H. Seward of New York and Salmon P. Chase of Ohio.
Eulogy of Abraham Lincoln The assassination of Abraham Lincoln stunned the nation and abruptly ended the nearly week long celebration of the surrender of Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Black crepe and evergreen mourning decorations quickly began to appear across the North. On April 21, 1865, the funeral train carrying the bodies of Abraham Lincoln and his deceased son, Willie, left Washington D. C. enroute to Springfield, Illinois, where it arrived twelve days later on May 3. |
Last updated: October 20, 2016