Biography Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln , the son of a farmer , was born near Hodgenville , Kentucky , on 12th February , 1809. Although his parents were virtually illiterate , and he spent only a year at school , he developed a love of reading . In March 1830 , the Lincoln family moved to Illinios.

After helping his father to clear and fence his father's new farm , Lincoln moved to New Salem , where he worked as a storekeeper , postmaster and surveyor. He took a keen interest in politics and supported the Whig Party. In 1834, Lincoln was elected to the Illinios State Legislature where  he argued that the role of federal government was to encourage business by establishing a national bank , imposing protective tariffs and improving the country's transport system.

In his spare time , Lincoln continued his studies and become a lawyer after passing his bar examination in 1836. There was not much legal work in New Salem and the following year he moved to Springfield , the new state capital of Illinios.

In November 1842 , Lincoln married Mary Todd , the daughter of a prosperous family from Kentucky. The couple had four sons but three of them died young and only Robert lived long enough to marry and have children.

The country[USA] was having problems regarding the practice of slavery. The white men owned large farms in the southern states, Blacks were brought from Africa to work on these farms, they were kept as slaves. The people of northern states were against this practice of slavery and wanted to abolish it. The Constitution of America is based on the equality of man. Therefore, there was no place for slavery in that country.

At this difficult time, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the USA in 1860. He wanted to solve the problem of slavery. The southern states were against the abolition of slavery. This brought the unity of the country in danger. The southern states were prepared even to form a new country. Abraham Lincoln wanted all the states to remain united.

He faced many problems. He wanted to preserve the unity of the country at any cost. Finally a civil war broke out between the northern and southern states. He fought the war bravely and declared, 'A Nation cannot exist half free and half slave.' He won the war and kept the country united.

Lincoln was elected president for a second term. He was not against anybody and wanted everybody to live in peace. He made sincere efforts to heal the people's wounds caused by the war. In 1862, Lincoln declared that from then onwards all slaves would be free. This made him very popular among the people.

At his Cabinet meeting on 14th April 1865, Lincoln commented: "There are many in Congress who possess feelings of hate and vindictiveness in which I do not sympathize and cannot participate." He added that enough blood had been shed and would do what he could to prevent any "vengeful actions".

That night Lincoln went to Ford's Theatre with his wife, Mary Lincoln, Clara Harris and Major Henry Rathbone to see a play called " Our American Cousin ". During the Third Act, John Wilkes Booth entered Lincoln's box and shot the president in the back of the head. Booth then jumped to the stage eleven feet below. Despite fracturing his ankle, he was able to reach his horse and gallop out of the city.Lincoln was taken to the White House but died early the next morning.