Abraham Lincoln

1809–1865 · American (Kentucky/Illinois) · American Civil War Era

Known for: Preserved the Union, abolished slavery, and was assassinated at Ford's Theatre

Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin, educated himself by firelight, and became the 16th President during America's greatest crisis. He led the Union through the Civil War, issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved people in Confederate states, and pushed the 13th Amendment through Congress to abolish slavery permanently.

He was a gifted orator whose Gettysburg Address (272 words, two minutes) redefined American democracy. He was also a shrewd politician who managed a cabinet of rivals, navigated between radical and moderate factions, and made agonizing military decisions that cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

He was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865—five days after Lee's surrender. He died the next morning. His secretary of war Stanton said, 'Now he belongs to the ages.'

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