Abraham Lincoln was born in the month of February 1809 in Hodgenville Kentucky. During the time of his birth, his parents were living in Hardin County. They were a humble family with petite wealth. His father was Thomas Lincoln, and His mother was Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Abraham had two siblings. His elder sister was Sarah, and his younger brother was Thomas. Both of his siblings died in infancy. A local land dispute caused them to vacate their home. The entire family relocated to Perry County in Indiana. This event occurred in 1817.
While at Indiana, Lincoln and his family became squatters on public land. They were not able to afford a parcel of land on which to settle. In the year 1818, Lincoln’s mother died of milk sickness. His mother’s death left him devastates and heartbroken. After this event, he had to undergo hard labor to assist the family. He slowly grew apart from his father and secretly resented him for making him undertake hard tasks despite his young age.
Nevertheless, he continued with his hard work and was eventually able to purchase the land in which they squatted. His neighbors characterized him as a vigorous and determined young man. He gained the respect and admiration of his peers and other members of his community. Abraham Lincoln attained his education as an adult. He learnt by himself through reading famous books and the family bible.
Eventually, he studied law and went on to become the white party Leader in Illinois. A few years later he got elected as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. He served in this capacity for twelve years. In 1846, he got elected to the U. S House of Representatives. During this time, he strongly advocated for the abolition of slavery and his stance gained him a lot of support and opposition in equal measure. In 1860, he secured the Republican Party presidential nomination. He got nominated as a moderate hailing from a swing state. Even though he gained insufficient support from slaveholding states of the South, he took the north by a landslide and got elected as the sixteenth president of America in 1860.
The civil war
Lincoln’s victory in the presidential elections inspired the creation of the Confederate States of America by seven slave states of the south. Subsequently, on the 12th of April 1861, the Confederates launched an attack on Fort summer. This act prompted the north to rally behind the union in declaring war. This was the birth of the civil war. The war was very vicious, and it went down in history as one of the bloodiest battles ever fought in American history.
The Confederates were fighting for their segregation from the north. They viewed the north as oppressive and neglectful of their needs. Most of the southern states were underdeveloped and mostly rural. They mainly consisted of crop plantations owned by wealthy Americans. Most of the workers in these farms were slaves living in camps within the plantations. The North was industrialized and had better services. The northerners, on the other hand, strived to preserve the union of the state.
During this time, Lincoln suspended the habeas corpus in border regions. This act aimed to allow the incarceration of suspected secessionists without trial. He also issued the emancipation proclamation, authorizing the Army to protect escaped slaves. This proclamation also encouraged the Border States to outlaw slavery. Lincoln established the first income tax to finance the union’s expenses (Jaffa 17).
Abolishment of slavery
President Lincoln signed into law the 13th amendment to the constitution permanently abolishing slavery (Guelzo 37). Most of the southern states encouraged slavery with the reason being that the slaves, mostly of African descent provided labor in the farms. They worked as gardeners and tillers of cotton, sugarcane and wheat. They were most often poorly paid and lived in deplorable conditions. They got concentrated in settlement camps with poor services. Most slaves did not receive proper sanitation services and supply of fresh water. Infectious diseases quickly spread within the camps due to poor sanitation services. The amendment thus meant an end to their oppression. They could now pursue better opportunities to better their lives.
Abraham Lincoln also set a good example of high character, honesty, and leadership. He provided a good path for his successors in the presidency to follow. His great speeches continue to inspire people up to the present. Such speeches include the House Divided speech, the first inaugural address, second speech and the Gettysburg speech.
Foreign policy
During his time in the presidency, Lincoln averted the recognition of the Confederacy by the British through dissolving the Trent affair in 1861 (Cohen 208). He strived for limited aid from foreign countries. One significant achievement was to enhance industrial activities leading to more exports that earned the country revenue. Dependence on other nations meant that America would effectively be under the control of these countries through their foreign policies. Furthermore, these foreign countries had various vested interests that would cause instability in the country and threaten his presidency.
Apart from avoiding dependence on foreign support, he also ensured that other nations did not intervene in the civil war. He managed to keep the situation under control. Eventually, he brokered a truce between the north and the south. This was a very significant achievement that kept the union together. It was then that the actual United States of America got formed. This unification of the states has kept the country in one piece to this day. Lincoln also played a significant role in the modernization of America.
Works Cited
Cohen, Victor H. “Charles Summer and the Trent Affair.” The Journal of Southern History 22, no. 2 (1956):205-219. Print.
Guelzo, Allen C. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America. Simon and Schuster, 2005. Print.
Jaffa, Harry V. A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the coming of the Civil War. Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. Print.
