Abraham Lincoln
By: Cailey Radtke
Abraham Lincoln's Childhood
- Abe was born on February 12, 1809
- He lived in Kentucky
- Abraham had two siblings: Sarah who they called Sally and Thomas who died during pregnancy
- Nancy and Tom Lincoln were his parents
- Abe and his family soon moved to Perry County, Indiana
- The area they moved to had a little amount of useful farmland
- Abe made a little log cabin for his family that had no flooring and little to no furniture
- They slept on corn husk beds that were infested with bugs
- Abe's mother was very religious and taught them all about the bible
- When Abraham was seven a school opened up nine miles down the rode and his mother insisted that her husband let them go to school
- It took Abe and Sarah two and a half- three hours on foot to get to the school
- The school did not last long
- When Abe was nine his mother got very ill with milk sickness (It can happen to anyone who ate and drank dairy products from affected animals) she soon died and everyone in the family was very heartbroken and devastated
- Abe's father knew he needed help so he went back to Kentucky, leaving Sally and Abe all by themselves in the cabin just so he could go find a new wife for himself
- All they had was dried up berries to eat
- Tom pulled up many months later at the cabin with a new wife and 3 new kids
- As soon as Abe saw his stepmother he ran up and buried his face in her
- This new stepmother was Sarah Bush Johnston
Abraham Lincoln
Abe's Teen Years and Early Twenties
- Lincoln became very tall and very strong
- Abe worked for the neighbors and business people but had to give all of his money to his father
- When he was 22 (1831) he moved to New Salem, Illinois
- He moved because he loved Sarah but had no love towards his father
- When his father died he did not go to the funeral
While Abe was in New Salem, Illinois
- He stayed there for six years
- He had multiple jobs including: a boatman, a shopkeeper, postmaster (etc.)
- He also fought in the Black Hawk War
- He also ran for political office as a state legislature and won the election in 1834
- Took many trips to New Orleans on the Mississippi River and when he got to the true South he saw how horrible slavery was
Abraham Lincoln - Mini Biography
Lincoln's Love Life
- Abe married Mary Anne Todd on November 4, 1842
- He married her in Springfield, Illinois in Mary's sisters home
- Mary's nickname was Molly
- She had wealthy parents
- Molly met Abe in 1840 when she was 21 and he was 31
- She loved his tall and kind self
- Although her family didn't like him because of how poor he was she accepted his proposal
- In 1841 Lincoln broke apart the engagement
- That lasted until 1842 when they started their relationship again
- Mary was more of an abolitionist then Abraham
Abraham's Presidency
- Lincoln was the first Republican President elected in 1861 as our 16th President
- His Vice President for the first term was Hannibal Hanon
- He got re-elected in 1865 and his Vice President for the second term was Andrew Johnson
- The 13th amendment (abolished slavery) got passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864 and passed by the House on January 31, 1865
- They got the necessary amount of states to ratify it by December 6, 1865
- The 13th amendment was passed when Civil War ended
- After all of Lincoln's hard work the 13th amendment was successful and passed in January 1865
- The vote was 119-56
13th Amendment
Stephen A. Douglas vs. Abraham Lincoln
- In 1858 two politicians from Illinois got the attention of the nation
- From August 21 to October 15 Stephen battled Abraham in many debates around the state
- They both wanted a seat in the Senate
- The debates were in seven different locations throughout Illinois
- When the election of 1858 came
- Douglas ended up winning but Lincoln was now very well known
Abraham's Death
- April 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln was assassinated
- He was shot during a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C.
- The Assassination was John Wilkes Booth
- John and many others were planning to kidnap Abe and bring him to Richmond, Virginia
- On March 20, 1865 the day of the kidnapping Lincoln was not in the spot they expected him to be
- Lincoln was in a private booth above the stage with his wife Mary, Henry Rathbone, Rathbones fiance, Clara Harris, and the daughter of Ira Harris
- Booth was planning to shoot Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and William H. Steward
- At 10:15 P.M. Booth snuck into where Lincoln was located with his .44 caliber single-shot and shot it into the back of Lincoln's head
- He stabbed Rathbone as he started rushing toward him
- Booth broke his leg but was able to escape
- Lincoln was dead at 7:22 A.M.
- On April 26, many union troops surrounded the farmhouse in Virginia where Booth was staying
- A sergeant shot John in the neck
- Four other people that were staying with Booth were accused of helping him and were hung on July 7, 1865
My Reaction
The thing that surprised me most and made me angry is the fact that John Wilkes Booth wanted to kill Abraham Lincoln. He was such a kind man I don't see how anyone would hate him except the South of course. Something else I was confused on is if Abe's dad really abused him, all it said was it wasn't certain but I have a feeling he did. I am so glad that Abraham abolished slavery because it was the most horrible thing ever, you see pictures on websites of the slaves all cut up because they got whipped and even worse. I'm surprised it took the presidents so long to realize this was a HUGE problem. I also don't believe that Abraham was the first republican president (Is that true?). Abraham Lincoln was such a brave man and everyone who lived in the South that was a slave saw him as an amazing hero and thats how I see him too.
Works Cited
"13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)." Our Documents -. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.
"Abraham Lincoln Marries Mary Todd." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
"Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Crowther, Linnea. "Abe Lincoln's Illinois | Legacy.com." Abe Lincoln's Illinois | Legacy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
"Google Images." Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.