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Abraham Lincoln's Accomplishments

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Abraham Lincoln was an amazing president that fought for the better of his country. He was a lawyer, civil rights activist, U.S representative and a U.S President. He was known for his humbleness and his honesty. Hence the name “Honest Abe.” Lincoln was able to accomplish a lot during his terms of presidency, even though he had a lot of people against him.
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was the son of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. He had two sibling that had passed away during their infancy. He grew up in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. At the age of 34 his mother passed away from tremetol, a milk sickness. This devastated Lincoln, but his father remarried a widow, Sarah Bush Johnston, and he …show more content…
He was 6’4’’ and he made a living welding, splitting wood for fire and rail fencing. He went to New Salem, Illinois, here is where he developed his social skills that he would soon need. He also developed a bond with the town’s people because he would tell stories to them. During the Black Hawk war the town’s volunteered Lincoln to become their captain. He did not engage in combat, he stated “A good many bloody struggles with mosquitos.” After this is when he began his political career. He was elected the legislator of Illinois in 1834, and became part of the Whig party. Due to the politics in the Whig party he began to develop his views on …show more content…
He was a U.S representative for Illinois from 1847- 1849, he had criticized the Mexican- American war which made him unpopular, and therefore he did not want to run again for office. In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska act was put in place, which let the states decide if they wanted slavery. In 1856 Lincoln joined the Republican Party. In 1857, he challenged U.S senator Stephen Douglas for his seat, because of his Scott vs Sanford case; which stated that African Americans had no rights. Lincoln disagreed with this he believed “all men were created with inalienable rights.” Lincoln also criticized the Supreme Court as well as the President, for promoting slavery, he stated “a house dived cannot stand.” He began to organize a campaign for presidency in 1860. His cabinet was as strong as ever. It consisted of his most known rivals, this is where the quote “Hold your friends close, but your enemies closer,” came from. The Civil War began during his presidency, because of how Lincoln wanted to end slavery and give rights to African Americans. He stood strongly by his troops and his cabinet even though they had a lot of disagreements. He declared the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1 1862. This proclamation stated that individuals that were held slaves, “hence forward shall be free.” The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union troops. Reconstruction had began after the war was over.

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