Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809, Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky-died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.) was the sixteenth President of the United States from 1861 until his death by assassination. He was the son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Thomas Lincoln, and Nancy Hanks.

In 1816, Lincoln moved to Pigeon Creek, Indiana, where he worked on his family's farm. Following his mother's death two years later, he continued working on farms until moving with his father to New Salem, Illinois, in 1831. He became an avid member of the Whig Party and served in the state legislature from 1834 through 1840. In 1840, Lincoln began practicing law in Springfield and entered into a partnership with Stephen T. Logan. Two years later, he married Mary Todd, with whom he had four children. It was not until 1846 that Lincoln decided to re-enter politics, when he was elected to Congress from 1847 through 1849. After returning to his law practice once again in 1850, he helped establish the Republican Party in Illinois in 1856 and made a bid for the presidency in 1860. The political climate of the U. S. radicalized following Lincoln's election, culminating in the secession of southern states and the outbreak of hostilities.

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