Abraham Lincoln- US statesman, one of the founders of the Republican Party, the 16th President of the United States, who freed slaves, a national American hero - the village was born. Hodgenville (Kentucky) February 12, 1809 early years engaged in physical work. At the age of eight, together with his parents, the boy moved to an area in Indiana where there was no school nearby at all. Nevertheless, little Lincoln learned to read and love reading. For him, it forever became an assistant in diligent self-education and a favorite pastime.

Young Lincoln had a chance to try a variety of activities - a day laborer, a carpenter, a postman, a lumberjack. In 1830, their family moved to New Salem (Illinois), and Abraham worked as a land surveyor, a small clerk in a trading shop. During the Black Falcons Indian War, Lincoln volunteered for the militia. the Indians at one time killed his grandfather and grandmother (paternal). He was chosen as a captain, but he did not serve for long, and he did not have a chance to participate in battles.

Working during 1833-1836. As a postmaster, Lincoln studied law at the same time, passed the exam and in 1836 received permission to practice law, which he did in the following years. In this field, he excelled, becoming one of the best lawyers in the state, at one time he worked with the Illinois Central railroad as a consultant. Such qualities as a sharp mind, adherence to principles, honesty, and a pronounced gift of eloquence also contributed to confident professional growth and strengthening of authority.

Lincoln's political biography began in the early 30s with failed attempt take a seat in the State House of Representatives. However, already in 1835, young A. Lincoln was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the State of Illinois, in which he adjoins the Whig party. Until 1842, he acted as chairman of the finance committee and one of the first persons in his party.

The next step in his political career was his election in 1847 to the US Congress. Lincoln advocated the expansion of political and civil rights of the broadest masses of the population, for women to receive the right to vote. Fighting slavery, the politician advocated stopping the spread of slavery throughout the country. In 1854, Lincoln acted as one of the organizers of the Republican Party. In 1858, he was a candidate for US senators, but he failed to win the election.

In 1860, Lincoln was elected president of the United States, he was head of state from March 1861 to April 1865. The South responded to his appointment by secession, despite the fact that the position of the new president was moderate in relation to slavery; The Civil War began in the country (1861-1865). Adopted in May 1862, the so-called. The Homestead Act, which gave American citizens land plots, was a powerful blow to the slave system and helped solve the agrarian problem. On December 30, 1862, the President signed the Emancipation Proclamation, thanks to which 4 million people were freed from the yoke of slavery. In 1863, government troops won major, decisive victories, which ultimately made it possible to break the resistance of the South and restore the unity of the nation.

In 1864, Lincoln was re-elected for a second presidential term, although he himself doubted the correctness of the decision to run again, in addition, some political forces opposed this. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln, who was at the Ford Theater in Washington at the play, was wounded: he was shot by actor J. W. Booth, a supporter of southern slave owners. Without regaining consciousness, on the morning of April 15, Lincoln died, thus becoming the first US president to be assassinated.

During his time in office, he was constantly subjected to sharp critical attacks, however, according to the results of opinion polls, Lincoln is still among the most loved by the people and the best, as well as intellectual, in his opinion, presidents of the country. A memorial was erected in Washington in honor of Abraham Lincoln as one of the four heads of the United States, whose activities determined historical development states.

Biography from Wikipedia

He grew up in the family of a poor farmer. From an early age engaged physical labor. Due to the difficult financial situation of the family, he attended school for no more than a year, but managed to learn to read and write and fell in love with books. Having become an adult, he began an independent life, was engaged in self-education, passed the exams and received permission to practice law. During the Indian uprising in Illinois, he joined the militia, was elected captain, but did not participate in the fighting. He was also a member of the Illinois Legislative Assembly, the US House of Representatives, in which he opposed the US-Mexican War. In 1858 he became a candidate for US Senators, but lost the election.

As an opponent of the expansion of slavery into new territories, he was one of the initiators of the creation of the Republican Party, was chosen as its presidential candidate and won the 1860 election. His election signaled the secession of the southern states and the emergence of the Confederacy. In his inaugural speech, he called for the reunification of the country, but could not prevent the conflict.

Lincoln personally directed the military action that led to victory over the Confederacy during civil war 1861-1865 His presidential activities led to the strengthening of executive power and the abolition of slavery in the United States. Lincoln included his opponents in the government and was able to bring them to work towards a common goal. The president held Great Britain and others throughout the war. European countries from intervention. During his presidency, a transcontinental railroad was built, the Homestead Act was adopted, which solved the agrarian question. Lincoln was an outstanding orator, his speeches inspired northerners and are a vivid legacy to this day. At the end of the war, he proposed a plan for moderate Reconstruction, associated with national harmony and the rejection of revenge. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was mortally wounded in a theater, becoming the first U.S. president to be assassinated. According to conventional wisdom and polls, he is still one of America's best and most beloved presidents, although he was heavily criticized during his presidency.

Childhood

Lincoln Born February 12, 1809 to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, who lived on the Sinking Spring Farm in Gardin County, Kentucky. His paternal grandfather Abraham, after whom the boy was later named, moved his family from Virginia to Kentucky, where he was ambushed and killed during a raid against the Indians in 1786. Lincoln's mother, Nancy, was born in West Virginia. Together with her mother, she moved to Kentucky, where she met Thomas Lincoln, a respected and wealthy citizen of Kentucky. By the time Abraham was born to them, Thomas owned two farms with a total area of ​​​​about 500 hectares, several buildings in the city, a large number of livestock and horses. He was one of the richest people in the area. However, in 1816, Thomas loses all his lands in court cases due to a legal error in property rights.

The family moves north, to Indiana, to develop new free lands. Lincoln later noted that this move was mainly due to legal problems with the land, but partly due to the situation with slavery in the south. At the age of nine, Abraham lost his mother, and his elder sister, Sarah, took charge of caring for him until their father remarried in 1819 to the widow Sarah Bush Johnston.

The stepmother, who had three children from her first marriage, quickly became close to the young Lincoln, as a result, he even began to call her "mother." Until the age of ten, Abraham did not love homework associated with a borderline lifestyle. Some in his family, as well as among the neighbors, even considered him lazy for a while. Later, he became willing to do everything that was required of him. Young Lincoln participated in field work, and, becoming older, worked in a variety of ways - at the post office, a lumberjack, a surveyor and a boatman. He was especially good at chopping wood. Lincoln avoided hunting and fishing because of his moral convictions. Lincoln also agreed to a son's customary obligation to give his father all income from work outside the home until the age of 21.

At the same time, Lincoln was increasingly moving away from his father, in particular, due to the latter's lack of education. Abraham was the first in the family who learned to write and count, although, according to his own admission, he attended school for no more than a year because of the need to help the family. Since childhood, he was addicted to books, carried his love for them through his whole life .. Dennis, a friend of his childhood, later wrote:

“After Abe was 12 years old, there was no case when I would have seen him without a book in his hands ... At night in the hut, he knocked over a chair, blocked the light with it, sat on the edge and read. It was just weird that a guy could read so much."

As a child, Lincoln read the Bible, Robinson Crusoe, The History of George Washington, and Aesop's fables. In addition, he helped neighbors write letters, thus honing grammar and style. Sometimes he even walked 30 miles to court to hear the lawyers speak.

Youth

In 1830, Abraham Lincoln's family moved again. Lincoln, becoming an adult, decides to start an independent life. He found a temporary job, where he happened to sail down the Mississippi River and visit New Orleans, where Lincoln visited the slave market and retained a lifelong dislike of slavery. Soon he settled in the village of New Salem, in Illinois. There, he devoted all his free hours to self-education and classes with a local school teacher. At night, the future president read books by the light of a torch.

In 1832, Lincoln ran for the Illinois legislature but was defeated. After that, he began to systematically study the sciences. Initially, Lincoln wanted to become a blacksmith, but after meeting a justice of the peace, he turned to law. At the same time, he and his companion tried to earn money in a trading shop, but things were not going well. Sandburg, author of a popular biography of the president, writes:

“...Lincoln did what he read and dreamed. He had nothing to do, and he could sit with his thoughts for days, no one interrupted him. Under this external immobility, mental and moral maturation took place, slowly and steadily.

In 1832, an uprising of Indians broke out in Illinois, who did not want to leave their native places and move west across the Mississippi River. Lincoln joined the militia, was elected captain, but did not participate in the fighting. In 1833, Lincoln was appointed postmaster at New Salem. Thanks to this, he got more free time, which he devoted to studies. The new position allowed him to read political newspapers before being sent.

At the end of 1833, Lincoln received the position of land surveyor. After accepting this job, he spent six weeks intensively studying Gibson's Theory and Practice of Topography and Flint's Course in Geometry, Trigonometry and Topography.

During his years in New Salem, Lincoln often had to borrow money. His habit of repaying his debts in full earned him one of his most famous nicknames, "Honest Abe".

The beginning of a career as a politician and lawyer

In 1835 (at age 26), Lincoln was elected to the Illinois Legislature, where he joined the Whigs. When Lincoln entered the political arena, Andrew Jackson was President of the United States. Lincoln applauded his reliance on political action for the people, but disapproved of the policy of denial federal center from regulating the economic life of the states. After the session of the Assembly, he took up the study of law even more decisively than before. After learning on his own, in 1836 Lincoln passed the bar exam. In the same year, in the Legislative Assembly, Lincoln succeeded in obtaining the transfer of the state capital from Vandaliya to Springfield, where he moved in 1837. There, together with William Butler, he joined the firm of Stuart and Lincoln. The young legislator and lawyer quickly gained prestige due to his oratorical skills and impeccable reputation. Often refused to take fees from insolvent citizens, whom he defended in court; went to different ends state to help people with litigation. After the assassination of an abolitionist newspaper publisher in 1837, Lincoln delivered the first principled speech at the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield, emphasizing the values ​​of democracy, the constitution, and the heritage of the "Founding Fathers."

A family

In 1840, Lincoln met Mary Todd, a girl from Kentucky (English Mary Todd, 1818-1882) and on November 4, 1842 they were married. Mary gave birth to four sons, three of whom died in childhood before reaching adulthood:

• Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926). Eldest son of the Lincolns. American lawyer and Secretary of War. He was married to Mary Harlan Lincoln, with whom he had three children.
• Edward Lincoln was born March 10, 1846 and died February 1, 1850 in Springfield.
• William Lincoln was born December 21, 1850 and died February 20, 1862 in Washington, during his father's presidency.
• Thomas Lincoln was born April 4, 1853 and died July 16, 1871 in Chicago.

Political career before presidency

In 1846, Lincoln was elected a member of the House of Representatives in Congress (1847-1849) from the Whig party. In Washington, not being a particularly influential figure, he, however, actively opposed the actions of President Polk in the Mexican-American War, considering it unjustified aggression on the part of the United States. Nevertheless, Lincoln voted for the allocation of funds by Congress for the army, for the material support of disabled soldiers, wives who lost their husbands, in addition, he supported the requirement to grant voting rights to women. Lincoln sympathized with the abolitionists and was opposed to slavery, but did not recognize extreme measures, advocated the gradual emancipation of slaves, since he placed the integrity of the Union above their freedom.

Rejection of the popular Mexican-American War damaged Lincoln's reputation in his home state, and he decided to decline re-election to the House of Representatives. In 1849, Lincoln was informed that he had been appointed Secretary of the then Territory of Oregon. Accepting the offer would have meant the end of a career in booming Illinois, so he declined the appointment. Lincoln moved away political activity and in later years practiced law, became one of the state's leading attorneys, and was legal counsel for the Illinois Central railroad. Over the course of 23 years of his legal career, Lincoln was involved in 5,100 cases (excluding unrecorded ones), and, along with partners, appeared before the State Supreme Court more than 400 times.

In 1856, like many former Whigs, he joined the anti-slavery Republican Party, formed in 1854, and in 1858 was nominated as a candidate for a seat in the US Senate. In the election, his opponent was Democrat Stephen Douglas. The debate between Lincoln and Douglas, during which the issue of slavery was discussed, became widely known (some called this debate a dispute between a "little giant" (S. Douglas) and a "big sucker" (A. Lincoln)). Lincoln was not an abolitionist, but opposed slavery on moral grounds. He considered slavery a necessary evil in the agrarian economy of the South. Trying to challenge the arguments of Douglas, who accused his opponent of radicalism, Lincoln assured that he was not in favor of granting blacks political and civil rights and interracial marriages, since, in his opinion, the physical difference between the white and black races and the superiority of the first would never allow "them to coexist in conditions of social and political equality”. The issue of slavery, in his opinion, was within the competence of individual states and the federal government has no constitutional right to interfere in this problem. At the same time, Lincoln firmly opposed the spread of slavery to new territories, which undermined the foundations of slavery, because its extensive nature required expansion into the undeveloped lands of the West. Stephen Douglas won the election, but Lincoln's anti-slavery speech "A House Divided", in which he justified the impossibility of the country's continued existence in a state of "half-slavery and semi-freedom", was widely spread in the United States, creating its author a reputation as a fighter against slavery.

In October 1859, the revolt of John Brown broke out in the south, seizing the government arsenal and planning to start a slave uprising in the south. The detachment was blocked by troops and destroyed. Lincoln condemned Brown's actions as an attempt to forcefully resolve the issue of slavery.

Presidential election and inauguration

Elections

Presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, 1860

Moderate positions on the issue of slavery determined Lincoln's election as a compromise Republican presidential candidate in the 1860 election. The southern states threatened to secede from the Union if the Republicans won. Both parties, Democratic and Republican, fought for the values ​​that the candidates embodied. Lincoln's personality was associated among Americans with diligence, honesty, and social mobility. Coming from the people, he was a man who "made himself." On November 6, 1860, participation in the elections for the first time exceeded 80% of the population. Lincoln, largely due to the split in the Democratic Party, which nominated two candidates, managed to get ahead of his rivals in the elections and become the president of the United States and the first from his new party. Lincoln won the election, mainly due to the support of the North. In nine southern states, Lincoln's name did not appear on the ballot at all, and he only managed to win in 2 of 996 districts.

Division of the Union and Lincoln's inauguration

Lincoln was opposed to the expansion of slavery, and his election victory further divided the American people. Even before his inauguration, 7 southern states, at the initiative of South Carolina, announced their secession from the United States. The Upper South (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas) initially rejected the Separatists' appeal, but soon joined in the insurgency. Incumbent James Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the secession. In February 1861, a constitutional convention in Montgomery, Alabama, proclaimed the creation of the Confederate States of America, and Jefferson Davis was elected president and sworn in the same month. Richmond became the capital of the state.

Lincoln evaded would-be assassins in Baltimore and arrived in Washington on February 23, 1861, on a special train. During his inauguration on March 4, the capital was filled with troops who ensured order. In his speech, Lincoln said:

I believe that, from the point of view of universal law and the Constitution, the union of these states is eternal. Eternity, even if it is not expressed directly, is implied in the Basic Law of all state forms of government. It can be said with certainty that no system of government as such has ever had in its Basic Law a provision for the cessation of its own existence ...

And again, if the United States is not a system of government in the proper sense of the word, but an association of states based simply on a treaty, can it, as a treaty, be amicably terminated by fewer parties than it was when it was created? One party - a party to the agreement can violate it, that is, break it, but isn't the consent of everyone required to legally cancel its action? Based on these general principles, we come to the assertion that, from a legal point of view, the Union is eternal, and this is confirmed by the history of the Union itself. ... It follows from this that none of the states has the right to secede from the Union purely on its own initiative, that the decisions and decrees adopted for this purpose do not have legal force and acts of violence committed within any state (or states) directed against the Government of the United States acquire, as the case may be, an insurrectionary or revolutionary character.

In his speech, Lincoln also stated that he "has no intention of directly or indirectly interfering with the functioning of the institution of slavery in those states where it exists": "I believe that I have no legal right to do this, and I am not inclined to do this" . Lincoln called for a peaceful solution to the conflict and the restoration of the unity of the United States. However, the exit had already been carried out and the Confederation was intensively preparing for military operations. The overwhelming majority of representatives of the southern states in the US Congress left it and went over to the side of the South.

After taking office, Lincoln took advantage of the protectionist system of distribution of posts. Already in the spring of 1861, 80% of the Democratic-controlled posts were occupied by Republicans. When forming the government, Lincoln included his opponents in it: William Seward received the post of US Secretary of State, Edward Bates - the Minister of Justice, Salmon Chase - the Secretary of the Treasury.

American Civil War

Start of the war (1861-1862)

The fighting began on April 12, 1861 with an attack by the southerners on Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay, which, after a 34-hour shelling, was forced to surrender. In response, Lincoln declared the southern states in mutiny, ordered the blockade of the Confederacy by sea, drafted 75,000 volunteers into the army, and later introduced conscription. Even before Lincoln's inauguration, a lot of weapons and ammunition were brought to the south, and seizures of federal arsenals and warehouses were organized. The most combat-ready units were located here, which were replenished by hundreds of officers who left the federal army. The beginning of the Civil War was unsuccessful for the North. The Southerners, prepared for warfare, were in a hurry to defeat the Union troops before the North mobilized superior military and economic potential. Heavily criticized for military defeats and economic difficulties, Lincoln, despite his lack of military experience, took decisive steps to build a combat-ready army, not even stopping at restricting civil liberties or spending funds not yet approved by the budget of Congress. In the first major battle in Virginia at the Manassas railroad station on July 21, 1861, the federal army was defeated. On November 1, Lincoln appointed J. B. McLellan as commander-in-chief, who avoided active action. On October 21, its units were defeated near Washington. On November 8, 1861, the British steamship Trent was captured, on board of which were the ambassadors of the southerners. This triggered the "Trent Affair" and nearly led to war against Great Britain.

In February-March 1862, General Ulysses Grant succeeded in driving the southerners out of Tennessee and Kentucky. By the summer, the state of Missouri was liberated, and Grant's troops entered northern regions Mississippi and Alabama. As a result of the landing operation, on April 25, 1862, New Orleans was captured. MacLellan was removed from the post of commander in chief by Lincoln and placed at the head of one of the armies, whose task was to capture Richmond. McLellan opted for defensive action over offensive action. On August 29-30, the northerners were defeated in the second battle of Bull Run, after which Lincoln announced a call for 500,000 people. On September 7, at Antietam Creek, the 40,000-strong army of the South was attacked by McClellan's 70,000-strong army, which defeated the Confederates. The flood of the Potomac River cut off Lee's retreat, but MacLellan, despite Lincoln's orders, abandoned the offensive and missed the opportunity to complete the defeat of the southerners.

After the Battle of Antietam, Great Britain and France refused to enter the war and recognize the Confederation. Russia supported during the war friendly relations with the USA. The Russian squadron paid a visit to San Francisco and New York in 1863-1864.

The year 1862 was also marked by the first battle of armored ships in history, which took place on March 9 off the coast of Virginia. The campaign of 1862 ended with the defeat of the Northerners at Friederiksberg on 13 December.

Political process

The plight of the federal army caused discontent among the population. Lincoln was under pressure from the Republican Party, which included both supporters of the immediate abolition of slavery and advocates for the gradual emancipation of slaves. Lincoln adhered to a policy of compromise, thanks to which he managed to prevent a split in the party. He was convinced that even in wartime, the country should carry out political process. This made it possible throughout the Civil War to maintain freedom of speech, to avoid serious restrictions on civil liberties and the crisis of the two-party system. Elections were held during Lincoln's presidency, citizens participated in government. After the Southern attack on Fort Sumter, some members of the Democratic Party formed a "loyal opposition" supporting government policies. On August 22, 1862, in an interview with the New York Tribune, when asked why he was delaying freeing the slaves, Lincoln replied:

My highest goal in this struggle is the preservation of the union, not the preservation or abolition of slavery. If I could save the union without freeing a single 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 slaves and not others liberated, I would do it. What I do in the matter of slavery and for the colored race, I do because I believe it will help to keep the union ... By this I have explained here my intention, which I consider as an official duty. And I do not intend to change my often expressed personal desire that all people everywhere should be free.

Homestead

At the initiative of Abraham Lincoln, on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act was passed, according to which every citizen of the United States who reached the age of 21 and did not fight on the side of the Confederacy could receive from the lands of the public fund a plot of land not more than 160 acres (65 hectares) after payment of the registration fee of 10 dollars. The law came into force on January 1, 1863. A settler who started cultivating the land and began to build buildings on it received free ownership of this land after 5 years. The land could also be acquired ahead of schedule, with a payment of $1.25 per acre. About 2 million homesteads were distributed in the United States under the Homestead Act, with a total area of ​​​​about 285 million acres (115 million hectares). This law radically solved the agrarian problem, directing the development of agriculture along the farmer's path, led to settlement until now. desert territories and provided Lincoln with the support of the broad masses of the population.

Freeing the slaves

Failures in the war and its prolongation gradually changed Lincoln's attitude towards the issue of slavery. He came to the conclusion that the United States would either become completely free or completely slave-owning. It became clear that the main goal of the war - the restoration of the Union, became unattainable without the abolition of slavery. Lincoln, who had always advocated the gradual emancipation of blacks on a compensatory basis, now believed that slavery should be abolished. Preparations for the abolition of the institute were carried out throughout 1862. On December 30, 1862, the President signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring the Negroes living in territories in revolt against the United States "from now and forever" free. The document gave impetus to the adoption of the XIII Amendment (1865) to the American Constitution, which completely abolished slavery in the United States. The Proclamation was rightly criticized by Radical Republicans, since the emancipation of slaves was carried out where the power of the federal government did not extend, but it changed the nature of the Civil War, turning it into a war to abolish slavery. In addition, she forced foreign states, including Great Britain, not to support the Confederation. British Prime Minister Palmerston was unable to organize interventions due to public opposition. The emancipation of slaves made it possible to recruit black Americans into the army. By the end of the war, there were 180,000 African Americans in the federal forces.

A turning point in the Civil War. Battle of Gettysburg

On March 3, 1863, for the first time in the history of the United States, conscription was introduced. At the same time, the rich were allowed to hire other people in their place and pay off the service, which provoked unrest, during which many blacks who became victims of lynching died.

In May 1863, the Union army of 130,000 was defeated by General Lee's army of 60,000. The northerners retreated, and the Confederates, bypassing Washington from the north, entered Pennsylvania. In this situation great importance acquired the outcome of a three-day battle at Gettysburg, during which more than 50 thousand people died. Lee's army was defeated and retreated to Virginia. On July 4, on the western front, after a many-day siege and two unsuccessful assaults, General Grant captured the fortress of Viksberg. On July 8, Port Hudson was taken in Louisiana. Thus, control was established over the Mississippi River Valley, and the Confederacy was divided into two parts. On November 19, 1863, the official opening ceremony of the Gettysburg National Cemetery took place, where the dead participants in the battle were buried. During the opening of the memorial, Lincoln delivered one of his most famous speeches, once again confirming his outstanding oratorical talents. At the end of the short speech:

"We must solemnly decree that these deaths will not be in vain, and our nation, under the protection of God, will receive a new source of freedom, and this government of the people, created by the people and for the people, will not die on earth."

In December 1863, Lincoln promised amnesty to all rebels (except Confederate leaders) subject to an oath of allegiance to the United States and acceptance of the abolition of slavery. The year ended with a Northern victory at Chattanooga.

Re-election, end of war

The idea of ​​ending the war was gaining more and more popularity among the people. Lincoln's task was to instill in the Americans faith in victory. The President canceled the transfer of those arrested to the court, which allowed the imprisonment of deserters and the most ardent supporters of slavery and peace. In the 1863 congressional elections, the Democrats managed to close the gap in the number of mandates, but the Republicans still managed to maintain a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

In March 1864, Lincoln appointed Ulysses Grant as commander-in-chief, who, together with W. Sherman and F. Sheridan, carried out the plan developed by Lincoln - by delivering coordinated strikes to weaken the southerners and defeat them. The main blow was dealt by Sherman's army, which launched an invasion of Georgia in May. Grant's army was in action against General Lee.

Despite his own doubts and the objections of party leaders, Lincoln decided to run for a second term, although in the past four years he had made many enemies, he was often criticized by newspapers and hated by many people. The Democratic Party declared its slogan ending the war and negotiating. Her candidate was General J. B. McLellan, who was dismissed by Lincoln from the post of commander in chief in 1862. In the Republican Party, Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase tried to become one of the contenders, but Lincoln was nominated as the only candidate. The capture of Atlanta on September 2, 1864 by Sherman, the breadbasket of the confederation, allowed Lincoln to defeat his rival, peace supporter McLellan, in the presidential election and gain 212 of 233 electoral votes. On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, at the urging of Lincoln, which banned slavery in the country. At the beginning of 1865, the victory of the northerners was already a foregone conclusion. In his second inaugural speech, Lincoln called for the abandonment of revenge, set the task of reconstructing the South, building a harmonious Union:

"Bearing no malice, full of mercy, steadfast in truth, Americans should bind up the wounds of the country ... do everything possible to win and maintain a just and lasting peace in their home and with all the peoples of the world."

Grant, who had an army of 115,000 men in the spring of 1865, forced Lee, who had only 54,000 men at his disposal, to leave Petersburg, and on April 2, Richmond, the capital of the confederation. April 9, 1865 Li signed the Surrender, the resistance of individual units was crushed by the end of May. After the arrest of Jefferson Davis and members of his government, the Confederation ceased to exist.

Lincoln assassination

The Civil War ended with the surrender of the Confederate States of America on April 9, 1865. The country was to carry out the Reconstruction of the South and begin the process of integrating blacks into American society. Five days after the end of the war, on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, at the play Our American Cousin (at the Ford Theatre), Southerner actor John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln in the head. The next morning, without regaining consciousness, Abraham Lincoln died. Millions of Americans, white and black, came to pay their last respects to their president during the two-and-a-half-week funeral train journey from Washington to Springfield. The train was carrying two coffins: a large coffin with the body of Abraham Lincoln and a small one with the body of his son William, who had died three years earlier, during Lincoln's presidential term. Abraham and William Lincoln were buried in Springfield at Oak Ridge Cemetery. The tragic death of Lincoln contributed to the creation around his name of the aura of a martyr who gave his life for the reunification of the country and the liberation of black slaves.

The results of the presidency and the historical significance of Abraham Lincoln

The Civil War was the bloodiest military conflict in the history of the United States and the most difficult test for American democracy. Abraham Lincoln became a central historical figure in the minds of the American people, a man who prevented the collapse of the United States and made a significant contribution to the formation of the American nation and the abolition of slavery as the main obstacle to the subsequent normal development of the country. Lincoln initiated the modernization of the South, the emancipation of slaves. He owns the formulation of the main goal of democracy: "Government created by the people, from the people and for the people." During his presidency, a transcontinental railroad was also laid to Pacific Ocean, the infrastructure system was expanded, a new banking system was created, the agrarian problem was solved. However, at the end of the war, the country faced many problems, including the unity of the nation and the equalization of the rights of blacks and whites. Some of these problems still face American society. After the assassination of Lincoln, the United States economy for a long time became the most dynamically developing economy in the world, which allowed the country to become a world leader at the beginning of the 20th century. In many ways, his personal qualities made it possible to mobilize the forces of the state and reunite the country. Lincoln adhered to strict moral principles of morality, had a sense of humor, but was also prone to intense melancholy. To this day, Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the most intelligent presidents of the United States. As a token of the gratitude of the American people, a memorial was erected in Washington to the sixteenth President Abraham Lincoln as one of the four presidents who determined the historical development of the United States of America.

Lincoln Memorial

The memory of Lincoln is immortalized in a memorial located on the Esplanade in downtown Washington in 1914-1922 and symbolizing the president's belief that all people should be free. The building symbolizes the United States, it is supported by 36 columns (the number of states during the Lincoln presidency). Inside this white marble structure, sculptor Daniel French has placed a six-meter statue of the Liberator President sitting in thought. On the inner walls of the memorial, under the allegorical paintings, the texts of the Gettysburg and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Addresses are reproduced.

In addition, many monuments have been erected in honor of Lincoln in the United States, a city, streets, a university, various centers, a brand of prestigious cars, and an aircraft carrier have been named. The president's profile is carved on Mount Rushmore. Abraham Lincoln's birthday is a national holiday in some US states. Lincoln is also featured on the $5 bill.

The box at Ford's Theater that Lincoln was in when Booth shot him

Monument to Abraham Lincoln in London

Lincoln at Mount Rushmore

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, USA. When the boy was seven-seven years old, his family moved to southwestern Indiana. Abraham received his education at home and was very fond of reading. From a young age, he opposed slavery.

In 1830, Lincoln left his family and settled in the village of Salem, where he worked as a land surveyor, postman, and merchant. Then he served in the army for some time, and in 1832 announced his intention to run for the Illinois House of Representatives. But the young politician lost these elections.

In new elections in 1834, Abraham was successful, and in 1836 he was elected to a second term. In the fall of that year, Lincoln began practicing law. Then he ran for the House of Congress, but in 1843 and 1844 he lost the elections. Two years later, he nevertheless became a member of Congress from the Whig party and was there until 1849.

In 1856, Abraham Lincoln joined the Republican Party, which insisted on the prohibition of slavery in the new territories of the States.

In 1860, the politician won the election and became the sixteenth president of the United States. After the election results became known, the leaders of the South decided to secede from the United States. A civil war broke out between North and South.

Lincoln on September 22, 1862 issues a decree that if the rebellious southern states do not return to the Union before January 1, 1863, then all slaves in their territory will be declared free people. It was this decree that led to the creation of an amendment to the US Constitution, according to which slavery was eliminated in the country.

In 1864, the politician was re-elected President for new term. In March of the same year, a solemn ceremony of taking the oath was held.

The Civil War ended with the surrender of the Confederate States of America on April 9, 1865. The country was to carry out the Reconstruction of the South and begin the process of integrating blacks into American society. Five days after the end of the war, on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, at a performance of Our American Cousin at the Ford Theatre, Southerner actor John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln in the head.

On the morning of the next day, April 15, 1865, without regaining consciousness, Abraham Lincoln died. Buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield.

Memory of Abraham Lincoln

The memory of Lincoln is immortalized in a memorial located on the Esplanade in downtown Washington in 1914-1922 and symbolizing the president's belief that all people should be free. The building symbolizes the United States, it is supported by 36 columns (the number of states during the Lincoln presidency). Inside this white marble structure, sculptor Daniel French has placed a six-meter statue of the Liberator President sitting in thought. On the inner walls of the memorial, under the allegorical paintings, the texts of the Gettysburg and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Addresses are reproduced.

In addition, many monuments have been erected in honor of Lincoln in the United States, a city, streets, a university, various centers, a brand of prestigious cars, and an aircraft carrier have been named. The president's profile is carved on Mount Rushmore.

Abraham Lincoln's birthday is a national holiday in some US states.

Lincoln is also featured on the $5 banknote.

Abraham Lincoln family

In 1840, Lincoln met Mary Todd, a girl from Kentucky, and on November 4, 1842 they were married. Mary gave birth to four sons, three of whom died in childhood before reaching adulthood:

Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926). Eldest son of the Lincolns. American lawyer and Secretary of War. He was married to Mary Harlan Lincoln, with whom he had three children.
Edward Lincoln was born March 10, 1846 and died February 1, 1850 in Springfield.
William Lincoln was born December 21, 1850 and died February 20, 1862 in Washington, during his father's presidency.
Thomas Lincoln was born April 4, 1853 and died July 16, 1871 in Chicago.

Biography

Abraham Lincoln (Eng. Abraham Lincoln [ˈeɪbrəhæm ˈlɪŋkən]) (February 12, 1809, Hodgenville, Kentucky - April 15, 1865, Washington) - American statesman, 16th President of the United States (1861-1865) and the first from the Republican party, liberator of the American slaves, national hero of the American people. Included in the list of 100 most studied personalities in history.

He grew up in the family of a poor farmer. From an early age, he was engaged in physical labor. Due to the difficult financial situation of the family, he attended school for no more than a year, but managed to learn to read and write and fell in love with books. Having become an adult, he began an independent life, was engaged in self-education, passed the exams and received permission to practice law. During the Indian uprising in Illinois, he joined the militia, was elected captain, but did not participate in the fighting. He was also a member of the Illinois Legislative Assembly, the US House of Representatives, in which he opposed the US-Mexican War. In 1858 he became a candidate for US Senators, but lost the election.

As an opponent of the expansion of slavery into new territories, he was one of the initiators of the creation of the Republican Party, was chosen as its presidential candidate and won the 1860 election. His election signaled the secession of the southern states and the emergence of the Confederacy. In his inaugural speech, he called for the reunification of the country, but could not prevent the conflict.

Lincoln personally directed the military operations that led to the victory over the Confederacy during the Civil War of 1861-1865. His presidential activities led to the strengthening of executive power and the abolition of slavery in the United States. Lincoln included his opponents in the government and was able to bring them to work towards a common goal. The president kept Britain and other European countries from intervening throughout the war. During his presidency, a transcontinental railroad was built, the Homestead Act was adopted, which solved the agrarian question. Lincoln was an outstanding speaker, his speeches inspired northerners and are a vivid legacy to this day. At the end of the war, he proposed a plan for moderate Reconstruction, associated with national harmony and the rejection of revenge. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was mortally wounded in a theater, becoming the first U.S. president to be assassinated. According to conventional wisdom and polls, he is still one of America's best and most beloved presidents, although he was heavily criticized during his presidency.

Childhood

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 to uneducated farmers, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, who lived in a small log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm. in Hardin County, Kentucky. His paternal grandfather Abraham, after whom the boy was later named, moved his family from Virginia to Kentucky, where he was ambushed and killed during a raid against the Indians in 1786. Lincoln's mother, Nancy, was born in West Virginia. Together with her mother, she moved to Kentucky, where she met Thomas Lincoln, a respected and wealthy citizen of Kentucky. By the time Abraham was born to them, Thomas owned two farms with a total area of ​​​​about 500 hectares, several buildings in the city, a large number of livestock and horses. He was one of the richest people in the area. However, in 1816, Thomas loses all his lands in court cases due to a legal error in property rights.

The family moves north, to Indiana, to develop new free lands. Lincoln later noted that this move was mainly due to legal problems with the land, but partly due to the situation with slavery in the south. At the age of nine, Abraham lost his mother, then his older sister, Sarah, took charge of caring for him until their father remarried in 1819 to the widow Sarah Bush Johnston.

The stepmother, who had three children from her first marriage, quickly became close to the young Lincoln, as a result, he even began to call her "mother". Until the age of ten, Abraham did not like the housework that accompanies the frontier lifestyle. Some in his family, as well as among the neighbors, even considered him lazy for a while. Later, he became willing to do everything that was required of him. Young Lincoln participated in field work, and, becoming older, worked in a variety of ways - at the post office, a lumberjack, a surveyor and a boatman. He was especially good at chopping wood. Lincoln avoided hunting and fishing because of his moral convictions. Lincoln also agreed to a son's customary obligation to give his father all income from work outside the home until the age of 21.

At the same time, Lincoln was increasingly moving away from his father, in particular, due to the latter's lack of education. Abraham was the first in the family who learned to write and count, although, according to his own admission, he attended school for no more than a year because of the need to help the family. Since childhood, he was addicted to books, carried his love for them through his whole life .. Dennis, a friend of his childhood, later wrote:

“After Abe was 12 years old, there was no case when I would have seen him without a book in his hands ... At night in the hut, he knocked over a chair, blocked the light with it, sat on the edge and read. It was just weird that a guy could read so much."

As a child, Lincoln read the Bible, Robinson Crusoe, The History of George Washington, and Aesop's fables. In addition, he helped neighbors write letters, thus honing grammar and style. Sometimes he even walked 30 miles to court to hear the lawyers speak.

Youth

In 1830, Abraham Lincoln's family moved again. Lincoln, becoming an adult, decides to start an independent life. He found temporary work, during which he happened to sail down the Mississippi River and visit New Orleans, where Lincoln visited the slave market and retained a lifelong dislike of slavery. Soon he settled in the village of New Salem, in Illinois. There, he devoted all his free hours to self-education and classes with a local school teacher. At night, the future president read books by the light of a torch.

In 1832, Lincoln ran for the Illinois legislature but was defeated. After that, he began to systematically study the sciences. Initially, Lincoln wanted to become a blacksmith, but after meeting a justice of the peace, he turned to law. At the same time, he and his companion tried to earn money in a trading shop, but things were not going well. Sandburg, author of a popular biography of the president, writes:

“...Lincoln did what he read and dreamed. He had nothing to do, and he could sit with his thoughts for days, no one interrupted him. Under this external immobility, mental and moral maturation took place, slowly and steadily.

In 1832, an uprising of Indians broke out in Illinois, who did not want to leave their native places and move west across the Mississippi River. Lincoln joined the militia, was elected captain, but did not participate in the fighting. In 1833, Lincoln was appointed postmaster at New Salem. Thanks to this, he got more free time, which he devoted to studies. The new position allowed him to read political newspapers before being sent.

At the end of 1833, Lincoln received the position of land surveyor. After accepting this job, he spent six weeks intensively studying Gibson's Theory and Practice of Topography and Flint's Course in Geometry, Trigonometry and Topography.

During his years in New Salem, Lincoln often had to borrow money. His habit of repaying his debts in full earned him one of his most famous nicknames, "Honest Abe".

The beginning of a career as a politician and lawyer

In 1835 (at age 26), Lincoln was elected to the Illinois Legislature, where he joined the Whigs. When Lincoln entered the political arena, Andrew Jackson was President of the United States. Lincoln welcomed his reliance on the people in political action, but did not approve of the policy of the federal center's refusal to regulate the economic life of the states. After the session of the Assembly, he took up the study of law even more decisively than before. After learning on his own, in 1836 Lincoln passed the bar exam. In the same year, in the Legislative Assembly, Lincoln succeeded in obtaining the transfer of the state capital from Vandaliya to Springfield, where he moved in 1837. There, together with William Butler, he joined the firm of Stuart and Lincoln. The young legislator and lawyer quickly gained prestige due to his oratorical skills and impeccable reputation. Often refused to take fees from insolvent citizens, whom he defended in court; traveled to different parts of the state to help people in the analysis of litigation. After the assassination of an abolitionist newspaper publisher in 1837, Lincoln delivered the first principled speech at the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield, emphasizing the values ​​of democracy, the constitution, and the heritage of the "Founding Fathers."

A family

In 1840, Lincoln met Mary Todd, a girl from Kentucky (English Mary Todd, 1818-1882) and on November 4, 1842 they were married. Mary gave birth to four sons, of which only the eldest, Robert Lincoln, lived long enough. Edward Lincoln was born March 10, 1846 and died February 1, 1850 in Springfield. William Lincoln was born December 21, 1850 and died February 20, 1862 in Washington, during his father's presidency. Thomas Lincoln was born April 4, 1853 and died July 16, 1871 in Chicago.

Political career before presidency

In 1846, Lincoln was elected a member of the House of Representatives in Congress (1847-1849) from the Whig party. In Washington, not being a particularly influential figure, he, however, actively opposed the actions of President Polk in the Mexican-American War, considering it unjustified aggression on the part of the United States. Nevertheless, Lincoln voted for the allocation of funds by Congress for the army, for the material support of disabled soldiers, wives who lost their husbands, in addition, he supported the requirement to grant voting rights to women. Lincoln sympathized with the abolitionists and was opposed to slavery, but did not recognize extreme measures, advocated the gradual emancipation of slaves, since he placed the integrity of the Union above their freedom.

Rejection of the popular Mexican-American War damaged Lincoln's reputation in his home state and he decided to decline re-election to the House of Representatives. In 1849, Lincoln was informed that he had been appointed Secretary of the then Territory of Oregon. Accepting the offer would have meant the end of a career in booming Illinois, so he declined the appointment. Lincoln retired from politics and in later years practiced law, became one of the state's leading attorneys, and was legal counsel for the Illinois Central railroad. Over the course of 23 years of his legal career, Lincoln was involved in 5,100 cases (excluding unrecorded ones), and, along with partners, appeared before the State Supreme Court more than 400 times.

In 1856, like many former Whigs, he joined the anti-slavery Republican Party, formed in 1854, and in 1858 was nominated as a candidate for a seat in the US Senate. In the election, his opponent was Democrat Stephen Douglas. The debate between Lincoln and Douglas, during which the issue of slavery was discussed, became widely known (some called this debate a dispute between the “little giant” (S. Douglas) and the “big sucker” (A. Lincoln)). Lincoln was not an abolitionist, but opposed slavery on moral grounds. He considered slavery a necessary evil in the agrarian economy of the South. Trying to challenge the arguments of Douglas, who accused his opponent of radicalism, Lincoln assured that he was not in favor of granting blacks political and civil rights and interracial marriages, since in his opinion the physical difference between the white and black races and the superiority of the first would never allow "them to coexist in conditions of social and political equality”. The issue of slavery, in his opinion, was within the competence of individual states and the federal government has no constitutional right to interfere in this problem. At the same time, Lincoln firmly opposed the spread of slavery to new territories, which undermined the foundations of slavery, because its extensive nature required expansion into the undeveloped lands of the West. Stephen Douglas won the election, but Lincoln's anti-slavery speech "A House Divided", in which he justified the impossibility of the country's continued existence in a state of "half-slavery and semi-freedom", was widely spread in the United States, creating its author a reputation as a fighter against slavery.

In October 1859, the revolt of John Brown broke out in the south, seizing the government arsenal and planning to start a slave uprising in the south. The detachment was blocked by troops and destroyed. Lincoln condemned Brown's actions as an attempt to forcefully resolve the issue of slavery.

Presidential election and inauguration

Moderate positions on the issue of slavery determined Lincoln's election as a compromise Republican presidential candidate in the 1860 election. The southern states threatened to secede from the Union if the Republicans won. Both parties, Democratic and Republican, fought for the values ​​that the candidates embodied. Lincoln's personality was associated among Americans with diligence, honesty, and social mobility. Coming from the people, he was a man who "made himself." On November 6, 1860, participation in the elections for the first time exceeded 80% of the population. Lincoln, largely due to the split in the Democratic Party, which nominated two candidates, managed to get ahead of his rivals in the elections and become the president of the United States and the first from his new party. Lincoln won the election, mainly due to the support of the North. In nine southern states, Lincoln's name did not appear on the ballot at all, and he only managed to win in 2 of 996 districts.

Division of the Union and Lincoln's inauguration

Lincoln was opposed to the expansion of slavery, and his election victory further divided the American people. Even before his inauguration, 7 southern states, at the initiative of South Carolina, announced their secession from the United States. The Upper South (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas) initially rejected the Separatists' appeal, but soon joined in the insurgency. Incumbent James Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the secession. In February 1861, a constitutional convention in Montgomery, Alabama, proclaimed the creation of the Confederate States of America, and Jefferson Davis was elected president and sworn in the same month. Richmond became the capital of the state.

Lincoln evaded would-be assassins in Baltimore and arrived in Washington on February 23, 1861, on a special train. During his inauguration on March 4, the capital was filled with troops who ensured order. In his speech, Lincoln said:

I believe that, from the point of view of universal law and the Constitution, the union of these states is eternal. Eternity, even if it is not expressed directly, is implied in the Basic Law of all state forms of government. It can be said with certainty that no system of government as such has ever had in its Basic Law a provision for the cessation of its own existence ...

And again, if the United States is not a system of government in the proper sense of the word, but an association of states based simply on a treaty, can it, as a treaty, be amicably terminated by fewer parties than it was when it was created? One party - a party to the agreement can violate it, that is, break it, but isn't the consent of all required to legally cancel its action? Based on these general principles, we come to the conclusion that, from a legal point of view, the Union is eternal, and this is confirmed by the history of the Union itself. ... It follows that no state may secede from the Union purely on its own initiative, that decisions and decrees adopted for this purpose have no legal force and acts of violence committed within any state (or states) directed against the Government of the United States acquire, depending on the circumstances, an insurrectionary or revolutionary character.

In his speech, Lincoln also stated that he "has no intention of directly or indirectly interfering with the functioning of the institution of slavery in those states where it exists": "I believe that I have no legal right to do this, and I am not inclined to do this" . Lincoln called for a peaceful solution to the conflict and the restoration of the unity of the United States. However, the exit had already been carried out and the Confederation was intensively preparing for military operations. The overwhelming majority of representatives of the southern states in the US Congress left it and went over to the side of the South.

After taking office, Lincoln took advantage of the protectionist system of distribution of posts. Already in the spring of 1861, 80% of the Democratic-controlled posts were occupied by Republicans. When forming the government, Lincoln included his opponents in it: William Seward received the post of US Secretary of State, Edward Bates - the Minister of Justice, Salmon Chase - the Secretary of the Treasury.

American Civil War

Start of the war (1861-1862)
The fighting began on April 12, 1861 with an attack by the southerners on Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay, which, after a 34-hour shelling, was forced to surrender. In response, Lincoln declared the southern states in mutiny, ordered the blockade of the Confederacy by sea, drafted 75,000 volunteers into the army, and later introduced conscription. Even before Lincoln's inauguration, a lot of weapons and ammunition were brought to the south, and seizures of federal arsenals and warehouses were organized. The most combat-ready units were located here, which were replenished by hundreds of officers who left the federal army. The beginning of the Civil War was unsuccessful for the North. The Southerners, prepared for warfare, were in a hurry to defeat the Union troops before the North mobilized superior military and economic potential. Heavily criticized for military defeats and economic difficulties, Lincoln, despite his lack of military experience, took decisive steps to build a combat-ready army, not even stopping at restricting civil liberties or spending funds not yet approved by Congress. In the first major battle in Virginia at the Manassas railroad station on July 21, 1861, the federal army was defeated. On November 1, Lincoln appointed J. B. McLellan as commander-in-chief, who avoided active action. On October 21, its units were defeated near Washington. On November 8, 1861, the British steamship Trent was captured, on board of which were the ambassadors of the southerners. This triggered the "Trent Affair" and nearly led to war against Great Britain.

In February-March 1862, General Ulysses Grant succeeded in driving the southerners out of Tennessee and Kentucky. By the summer, Missouri was liberated, and Grant's troops entered the northern regions of Mississippi and Alabama. As a result of the landing operation on April 25, 1862, New Orleans was captured. MacLellan was removed from the post of commander in chief by Lincoln and placed at the head of one of the armies, whose task was to capture Richmond. McLellan opted for defensive action over offensive action. On August 29-30, the northerners were defeated in the second battle of Bull Run, after which Lincoln announced a call for 500,000 people. On September 7, at Antietam Creek, the 40,000-strong army of the South was attacked by McClellan's 70,000-strong army, which defeated the Confederates. The flood of the Potomac River cut off Lee's retreat, but MacLellan, despite Lincoln's orders, abandoned the offensive and missed the opportunity to complete the defeat of the southerners.

After the Battle of Antietam, Great Britain and France refused to enter the war and recognize the Confederation. Russia during the war years maintained friendly relations with the United States. The Russian squadron paid a visit to San Francisco and New York in 1863-1864.

The year 1862 was also marked by the first battle of armored ships in history, which took place on March 9 off the coast of Virginia. The campaign of 1862 ended with the defeat of the Northerners at Friederiksberg on 13 December.

Political process

The plight of the federal army caused discontent among the population. Lincoln was under pressure from the Republican Party, which included both supporters of the immediate abolition of slavery and advocates for the gradual emancipation of slaves. Lincoln adhered to a policy of compromise, thanks to which he managed to prevent a split in the party. He was convinced that even in wartime, a political process should be carried out in the country. This made it possible throughout the Civil War to maintain freedom of speech, to avoid serious restrictions on civil liberties and the crisis of the two-party system. Elections were held during Lincoln's presidency, citizens participated in government. After the Southern attack on Fort Sumter, some members of the Democratic Party formed a "loyal opposition" supporting government policies. On August 22, 1862, in an interview with the New York Tribune, when asked why he was delaying freeing the slaves, Lincoln replied:

My highest goal in this struggle is the preservation of the union, not the preservation or abolition of slavery. If I could save the union without freeing a single 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 slaves and not others liberated, I would do it. What I do in the matter of slavery and for the colored race, I do because I believe it will help to keep the union ... By this I have explained here my intention, which I consider as an official duty. And I do not intend to change my often expressed personal desire that all people everywhere should be free.

Homestead

At the initiative of Abraham Lincoln, on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act was passed, according to which every citizen of the United States who reached the age of 21 and did not fight on the side of the Confederacy could receive from the lands of the public fund a plot of land not more than 160 acres (65 hectares) after payment of the registration fee of 10 dollars. The law came into force on January 1, 1863. A settler who started cultivating the land and began to build buildings on it received free ownership of this land after 5 years. The land could also be acquired ahead of schedule, with a payment of $1.25 per acre. About 2 million homesteads were distributed in the United States under the Homestead Act, with a total area of ​​​​about 285 million acres (115 million hectares). This law radically solved the agrarian problem, directing the development of agriculture along the farmer path, led to the settlement of hitherto desert areas, and provided Lincoln with the support of the masses of the population.

Freeing the slaves

The failures in the war and its prolongation gradually changed Lincoln's attitude towards the issue of slavery. He came to the conclusion that the United States would either become completely free or completely slave. It became clear that the main goal of the war - the restoration of the Union, became unattainable without the abolition of slavery. Lincoln, who had always advocated the gradual emancipation of blacks on a compensatory basis, now believed that slavery should be abolished. Preparations for the abolition of the institute were carried out throughout 1862. On December 30, 1862, the President signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring the Negroes living in territories in revolt against the United States "from now and forever" free. The document gave impetus to the adoption of the XIII Amendment (1865) to the American Constitution, which completely abolished slavery in the United States. The Proclamation was rightly criticized by Radical Republicans, since the emancipation of slaves was carried out where the power of the federal government did not extend, but it changed the nature of the Civil War, turning it into a war to abolish slavery. In addition, she forced foreign states, including Great Britain, not to support the Confederation. British Prime Minister Palmerston was unable to organize interventions due to public opposition. The emancipation of slaves made it possible to recruit black Americans into the army. By the end of the war, there were 180,000 blacks in the federal troops.

Lincoln assassination

The Civil War ended with the surrender of the Confederate States of America on April 9, 1865. The country was to carry out the Reconstruction of the South and begin the process of integrating blacks into American society. Five days after the end of the war, on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, at the play Our American Cousin (at the Ford Theatre), Southerner actor John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln in the head. The next morning, without regaining consciousness, Abraham Lincoln died. Millions of Americans, white and black, came to pay their last respects to their president during the two-and-a-half-week funeral train journey from Washington to Springfield. The train was carrying two coffins: a large coffin with the body of Abraham Lincoln and a small one with the body of his son William, who had died three years earlier, during Lincoln's presidential term. Abraham and William Lincoln were buried in Springfield at Oak Ridge Cemetery. The tragic death of Lincoln contributed to the creation around his name of the aura of a martyr who gave his life for the reunification of the country and the liberation of black slaves.

The results of the presidency and the historical significance of Abraham Lincoln

The Civil War was the bloodiest military conflict in the history of the United States and the most difficult test for American democracy. Abraham Lincoln became a central historical figure in the minds of the American people, a man who prevented the collapse of the United States and made a significant contribution to the formation of the American nation and the abolition of slavery as the main obstacle to the subsequent normal development of the country. Lincoln initiated the modernization of the South, the emancipation of slaves. He owns the formulation of the main goal of democracy: "Government created by the people, from the people and for the people." During his presidency, a transcontinental railway to the Pacific Ocean was also laid, the infrastructure system was expanded, a new banking system was created, and the agrarian problem was solved. However, at the end of the war, the country faced many problems, including the unity of the nation and the equalization of the rights of blacks and whites. Some of these problems still face American society. After the assassination of Lincoln, the United States economy for a long time became the most dynamically developing economy in the world, which allowed the country to become a world leader at the beginning of the 20th century. In many ways, his personal qualities made it possible to mobilize the forces of the state and reunite the country. Lincoln adhered to strict moral principles of morality, had a sense of humor, but was also prone to intense melancholy. To this day, Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the most intelligent presidents of the United States. As a token of the gratitude of the American people, a memorial was erected in Washington to the sixteenth President Abraham Lincoln as one of the four presidents who determined the historical development of the United States of America.

Abraham Lincoln, short biography hardly fit in a few lines, is one of the most popular and studied presidents in American history. He occupies one of the first positions in the list of hundreds of the most studied personalities: about two thousand monographs are devoted to his life and work.

Childhood of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's childhood was not much different from that of any average American of that period. He was born on February 12, 1809 on a farm located in Kentucky, one of the 50 states of the United States. A small wooden hut, where, according to a common legend, Lincoln was born, today is a museum exhibit.

His father was a wealthy man, the owner of two large farms, several city buildings, a large herd. However, by the time Abraham Lincoln was seven years old, his father was bankrupt. Due to illiteracy, which was common for those years, he was unable to competently formalize the right to property, and due to legal errors, he lost almost all his property.

Abraham Lincoln biography video

After that, the Lincolns move to the northern part of the country, to the state of Indiana. As Abraham Lincoln later wrote, this move was due to legal property problems, in part the prevailing situation with slavery. His father was a principled opponent of slavery: on the one hand, he considered it immoral, on the other hand, he, as an employee who had to start from scratch, did not need extra competition.

Shortly after the move, Lincoln's mother died. A year later, his father remarried, to a widow with three children. This fact had a certain influence on the formation of the character of Abraham Lincoln. He began to help the family with basic work in the field, and, becoming a little older, he went to work part-time. The prevailing moral convictions did not allow him to earn money by hunting and fishing, but allowed him to cut firewood.

Lincoln gradually left the family. About a year he went to school, where, the first of the Lincolns, he learned to read and write. To practice grammar and style, he helped illiterate neighbors write letters and contracts. Among the books read - including the biography of the first American President George Washington. Sometimes he walked 30-40 kilometers to listen to the speeches of professional lawyers.

Independent life and early career

In 1830, Lincoln's father and his family moved again. Abraham Lincoln decided to start living separately. During one of the temporary jobs that he took to earn money, he happened to swim along the Mississippi River all the way to New Orleans. There he visited a slave market where slaves were sold, and acquired a strong aversion to the slave system.

In 1832 began political career Lincoln. He is running for the first time in the Illinois State Legislature, where he lived during those years. Then there was the first defeat, natural for young man who does not have a completed education and has not done anything in life. After the defeat, Lincoln proceeds to the systematic development of science.

In the same year, an Indian uprising began in the state, called the Black Hawk War. Lincoln took a formal part, took an officer's position, but did not participate directly in the hostilities. Soon he was appointed postmaster, and a year later - surveyor. Due to the lack of necessary experience, he had to study books on topography for a month and a half.

Lincoln's political career

In 1835, Lincoln was elected to the Illinois Legislature. There he joined the Whig party, studied law by passing the professional bar exam, and moved the region's capital to Springfield.

In 1846, the Whigs sent him to Washington, where he became the party's representative in Congress. However negative attitude Lincoln to the Mexican-American War led to a decrease in his popularity in his own state and a temporary retreat from political activity.

For several years, Lincoln was engaged almost exclusively in the practice of law. Statistics say that during the 23 years that he was in the legal profession, he managed to participate in 5,100 cases, not counting unregistered cases, and made about 400 appearances in the State Supreme Court.

In 1856 he became a member of the Republican Party. In 1858, he was nominated for the US Senate, where his main competitor was the representative of the Democratic Party, Stephen Douglas. The main debate revolved around the issue of slavery. Douglas became a senator.

In 1860, against the background of the growing confrontation between the South and the North, one of the main issues of which was the issue of slavery in the newly annexed territories, Lincoln became president. His main contender in the election was also Stephen Douglas, who this time lost. In the photo of Abraham Lincoln of this period, he appears before us as a stately ruler, ready to lead his country to a better life.

Some might wonder who is President Abraham Lincoln. In this position, he was 16th. Immediately after Lincoln's victory, several southern states announced the creation of their own state with the capital in Richmond and under the control of Jefferson Davis.

Then there was a four-year war that ended in the defeat of the Confederacy. The war went on with varying success, but in the end Lincoln was able to defend a single country. Richmond was taken on April 2, 1865, a week later the final surrender of the South took place, and a few days later, on April 14, the president was assassinated.

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln drew a certain line. In the memory of Americans, he remained a hero, despite certain shortcomings and miscalculations in his political activities.

Today there is no question who killed Abraham Lincoln: John Booth, a hereditary actor, a staunch southerner, did it. This happened during a comedy performance in which Booth was not busy. He went to the presidential box and shot the president in the head.

In the ensuing confusion, the killer managed to get away. He was found only on April 26 in the state of Virginia. Booth was killed during the arrest.

There is interesting fact about Abraham Lincoln and Booth. A few months before the assassination, Edwin Booth, brother of the assassin and one of the nation's leading actors, saved Lincoln's eldest son from death on the railroad. Subsequently, this helped Edwin to completely distance himself from the business of his brother, with whom he had a hostile relationship, and remain one of the largest American actors of the 19th century.

Video about US President Abraham Lincoln

Results of the presidency

Lincoln succeeded in defending the integrity of the country, eliminating slavery at the federal level and laying some foundations for the further development of the United States. With him was done:

• Modernization of the transport system. Built one of the largest railways that time - transcontinental.
• Modernization of the banking system.
• Modernization of the agrarian system.

As a result, a few years after the assassination, the Lincoln Memorial became part of the museum complex located on the National Mall in Washington.

Some of the problems he raised, such as the question of racial tolerance, still face the country today.

Abraham Lincoln family

Abraham Lincoln's wife was several years younger than him. Her name is Mary Todd. They married in 1842 and became the parents of four children.

Mary Todd survived Lincoln by 17 years and died in 1882. At the time of the murder, she was next to her husband, and after his death she never recovered. In 1875 she underwent treatment in a psychiatric hospital, then traveled around Europe for several years, stopping for a long time in France.

Robert Todd Lincoln, eldest son, rescued by Edwin Booth, became only child who survived their mother. He was the 35th United States Secretary of War under the presidencies of Garfield and Chester Arthur, and head of the American embassy in Britain under Benjamin Harrison.

Lincoln's famous sayings

There are many sayings of Abraham Lincoln made in different years his life and political career:

"People without faults tend to have few virtues."

“You can always fool some, you can fool everyone for a short time, but you can’t fool everyone all the time.”

Running for a second term in 1864, he said: "They don't change horses at the crossing."

A politician, from Lincoln's point of view, is "a man who killed his father and mother and asks for mercy on the grounds that he is an orphan."

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Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) is one of the most famous presidents of the United States of America. He was the sixteenth in this post. He is famous for his fight for the abolition of slavery and the rights of the black population.

Childhood and youth

Abraham was born in 1809 in a family of low-income and illiterate farmers. Their Sinking Spring farm brought in very little income, and the dwellings for people and animals differed little from each other. It is noteworthy that at one time Lincoln's father was one of the wealthiest people in the district, but due to a legal error in paperwork, he lost all his property.

No one in those days thought about the happy and carefree childhood of their offspring. All together, to the best of their ability, worked on the ground. Abraham himself rarely had the opportunity to attend school. And after his mother died and the frequent moving family, he had to abandon his studies altogether.

However, this only pushed the boy to self-education. He enjoyed learning to read and read books constantly. At a very young age, he mastered the Bible, as well as Aesop's fables and The History of Benjamin Washington. To improve his writing skills and earn extra money at the same time, he regularly wrote letters for his illiterate neighbors.

After another move, the Lincoln family ended up in New Orleans. Here, Abraham, already grown up, saw something that could not be found in the northern states in which he had previously lived. A slave market with all the nightmares and mockery of human nature opened up to his eyes. This sight struck him so much that it stuck in his brain for many years.

Thanks to his education, Lincoln could qualify for a clean and well-paid job away from cattle and fields. He changed many occupations, was a clerk, postmaster, was in the militia.

Carier start

At just 26 years old, Abraham Lincoln was already a member of the Legislative Assembly in Illinois. In this position, he was given the opportunity to study political world from within. A lot of things did not suit him and even seemed wrong. Therefore, the young man set about studying law with redoubled energy. He perfectly mastered the discipline, which he proved in 1836, having brilliantly passed the exam and received the title of lawyer.

Together with his associate, Lincoln founded a law office. He quickly formed a whole line of wealthy clients. At the same time, he helped the poor for free.

In 1856, Abraham Lincoln became a member of the newly formed Republican Party. Already in this role in 1856 he ran for the Senate. Despite the loss, it was this election campaign that opened him and his ideas to the citizens of the country. Lincoln's brilliant speech conveyed to the people the idea that America could no longer turn a blind eye to the existence of slavery.

President Lincoln

In 1860, Lincoln overtook all his rivals and became President of America. This event led to the start of the Civil War. However, it also became a powerful impetus to the development of the country.

The southern states, long prosperous due to the labor of slaves, came out sharply against the newly elected leader. They announced their secession. However, the President did not recognize their independence. On the contrary, he declared all slaves free. The southern states could not resist the might of the regular army. The war was lost by them.

New presidential term

In 1864, Lincoln was re-elected President. He was well aware that the country after the Civil War needed to be restored. The law on the allocation of land to all citizens was a significant step in this, but there was still a lot to be done.

The President made bold plans for the future. He was convinced that a country that threw off the shackles of slavery would develop rapidly. Lincoln promised pardon to all participants in the rebellion, with the exception of particularly distinguished leaders.

Death

Unfortunately, he was not destined to make it all come true. In 1865, Lincoln went to Ford's Theater for his last performance.

One of the actors, J. W. Booth, fanatically loyal to the southerners and hating the northerners with all his heart, crept into his box. No one expected that he brought a pistol with him.

A headshot killed the great President. However, his ideas had already taken root on fertile soil, and there was no possibility of returning to the past.

The 16th President of the United States is buried at Oak Roge Cemetery.