Abraham Lincoln | Biography, Childhood, Quotes, Death, & Facts

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data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln">Introduction & Top Questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref8721"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln#ref8721">Life</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8722"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln#ref8722">Childhood and youth</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8723"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Prairie-lawyer">Prairie lawyer</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8724"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Lincolns-family">Lincoln’s family</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8725"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Early-political-career">Early political career</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8726"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/The-road-to-presidency">The road to presidency</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref384206"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/The-road-to-presidency#ref384206">At a glance: the Lincoln presidency</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref384207"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/The-road-to-presidency#ref384207">The Lincoln Presidency</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8727"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Leading-a-house-divided">Leading a house divided</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8728"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Outbreak-of-the-U-S-Civil-War">Outbreak of the U.S. Civil War</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8729"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Leadership-in-war">Leadership in war</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8730"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Wartime-politics">Wartime politics</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref8731"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Postwar-policy">Postwar policy</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref8732"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Reputation-and-character">Reputation and character</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref277402"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Reputation-and-character#ref277402">Cabinet of President Abraham Lincoln</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/quotes/Abraham-Lincoln">Quotes</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Abraham-Lincoln">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/images-videos">Images, Videos & Interactives</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/23/62223-050-D8BF8591/President-Abraham-Lincoln-painting-George-Healy-1887-National-Portrait-Gallery.jpg" data-href="/media/1/341682/52489" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" 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Current</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History, University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Author of <i>Daniel Webster and the Rise of National Conservatism; The Lincoln Nobody Knows; </i>and others.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Richard N. Current</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-23T00:00:00CST" >Nov 23, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm 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class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Born: </dt> <dd>February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, <a href="/place/Kentucky">Kentucky</a>, <a href="/place/United-States">U.S.</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Died: </dt> <dd>April 15, 1865, Washington, <a href="/place/Washington-DC">D.C.</a> (aged 56)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Also Known As: </dt> <dd>The Rail-splitter</dd> <dd>The Great Emancipator</dd> <dd>Honest Abe</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Title / Office: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/presidency-of-the-United-States-of-America">presidency of the United States of America (1861-1865)</a>, <a href="/place/United-States">United States</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/House-of-Representatives-United-States-government">House of Representatives (1847-1849)</a>, <a href="/place/United-States">United States</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Political Affiliation: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Republican-Party">Republican Party</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Whig-Party">Whig Party</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Awards And Honors: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Hall-of-Fame-for-Great-Americans">Hall of Fame (1900)</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Works: </dt> <dd><a href="/event/Gettysburg-Address">Gettysburg Address</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Family Members: </dt> <dd>spouse <a href="/biography/Mary-Todd-Lincoln">Mary Todd Lincoln</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Role In: </dt> <dd><a href="/event/American-Civil-War">American Civil War</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Emancipation-Proclamation">Emancipation Proclamation</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Lincoln-Douglas-debates">Lincoln-Douglas debates</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Freeport-Doctrine">Freeport Doctrine</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Abraham-Lincoln"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> <button class="facts-list-show-more-btn mt-15 p-0 mx-auto btn font-14 d-block font-weight-normal"> <span class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></span> <span class="show-more-label">Show More</span> </button> </div><script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What were Abraham Lincoln\u2019s politics?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Abraham Lincoln was a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Whig-Party\">Whig Party<\/a> and later a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Republican-Party\">Republican<\/a>. He believed that the government\u2019s job was to do what a community of people could not do for themselves. One of his greatest preoccupations as a political thinker was the issue of self-governance and the promise and problems that could arise from it. The choice by some to allow the expansion of slavery was one such problem and was central to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/American-Civil-War\">American Civil War<\/a>. Although opposed to slavery from the outset of his political career, Lincoln would not make its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/abolitionism-European-and-American-social-movement\">abolition<\/a> a mainstay of his policy until several years into the war. " } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>How did Abraham Lincoln get into politics?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "From 1834 to 1840, Abraham Lincoln occupied a seat in the Illinois state legislature. He also practiced law in Illinois during the 1830s and \u201940s, and in that time he became one of the state\u2019s most renowned lawyers. He first entered national politics in 1847 while serving a single term in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Congress-of-the-United-States\">Congress<\/a>. In 1858 he made a bid for the Senate in a much-publicized race which he ultimately lost but which transformed him into a nationally recognized political figure. In 1860 he was nominated at the Republican National Convention to be the party\u2019s presidential candidate, and he embarked on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/United-States-presidential-election-of-1860\">presidential campaign<\/a> that he would win. " } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What were Abraham Lincoln\u2019s chief goals in the American Civil War?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Abraham Lincoln\u2019s chief goal in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/American-Civil-War\">American Civil War<\/a> was to preserve the Union. At the outset of the war, he would have done so at any cost, including by allowing slavery to continue. But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/abolitionism-European-and-American-social-movement\">abolishing slavery<\/a> would become a nonnegotiable objective for him as the war progressed because of his own long-expressed abhorrence for the practice and because of the growing antislavery sentiment among his fellow Northerners. His intransigence on the subject scuttled possibilities of a peace conference between the Union and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Confederate-States-of-America\">Confederacy<\/a> in 1864. 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Lincoln had his critics as well, particularly in the South: there were those who regarded him as an opponent to the values of personal freedom and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/states-rights\">states\u2019 rights<\/a>." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What was Abraham Lincoln\u2019s personal life like?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in a backwoods cabin in Kentucky. His father was a pioneer and a farmer, and his mother was a deeply religious woman who died when Lincoln was young. His father\u2019s second wife adored Lincoln and is said to have stoked his love of learning. Lincoln would go on to marry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Mary-Todd-Lincoln\">Mary Todd<\/a> and have four boys with her, only one of whom survived into adulthood." } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What were Abraham Lincoln’s politics?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Abraham Lincoln was a member of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Whig-Party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Whig Party</a> and later a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Republican-Party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Republican</a>. He believed that the government’s job was to do what a community of people could not do for themselves. One of his greatest preoccupations as a political thinker was the issue of self-governance and the promise and problems that could arise from it. The choice by some to allow the expansion of slavery was one such problem and was central to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">American Civil War</a>. Although opposed to slavery from the outset of his political career, Lincoln would not make its <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/abolitionism-European-and-American-social-movement" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">abolition</a> a mainstay of his policy until several years into the war. </p></div><div class="connections border-top mt-15"><a href="/topic/Republican-Party" class="d-flex mt-15">Republican Party</a>Learn the history of the Republican Party. </div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>How did Abraham Lincoln get into politics?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>From 1834 to 1840, Abraham Lincoln occupied a seat in the Illinois state legislature. He also practiced law in Illinois during the 1830s and ’40s, and in that time he became one of the state’s most renowned lawyers. He first entered national politics in 1847 while serving a single term in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Congress-of-the-United-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Congress</a>. In 1858 he made a bid for the Senate in a much-publicized race which he ultimately lost but which transformed him into a nationally recognized political figure. In 1860 he was nominated at the Republican National Convention to be the party’s presidential candidate, and he embarked on a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1860" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">presidential campaign</a> that he would win. </p><div class="continue-reading"> Read more below: <a href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Early-political-career">Life: Early political career</a></div></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What were Abraham Lincoln’s chief goals in the American Civil War?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Abraham Lincoln’s chief goal in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">American Civil War</a> was to preserve the Union. At the outset of the war, he would have done so at any cost, including by allowing slavery to continue. But <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/abolitionism-European-and-American-social-movement" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">abolishing slavery</a> would become a nonnegotiable objective for him as the war progressed because of his own long-expressed abhorrence for the practice and because of the growing antislavery sentiment among his fellow Northerners. His intransigence on the subject scuttled possibilities of a peace conference between the Union and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confederate-States-of-America" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Confederacy</a> in 1864. By winning the war, he achieved both these objectives—reunion and abolition.</p><div class="continue-reading"> Read more below: <a href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Outbreak-of-the-U-S-Civil-War">The Lincoln Presidency: Outbreak of the U.S. Civil War</a></div></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="4"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What is Abraham Lincoln’s legacy?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>For many, Abraham Lincoln has gone down in history as something of a martyr for his country. That’s in part because of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/assassination-of-Abraham-Lincoln" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">his assassination by John Wilkes Booth</a>, which happened to occur on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Good-Friday" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Good Friday</a>—a connection that has been drawn time and again. But Lincoln had already begun to be mythicized during his lifetime, some of his contemporaries drawing parallels between him and figures like <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Washington" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">George Washington</a>. Lincoln had his critics as well, particularly in the South: there were those who regarded him as an opponent to the values of personal freedom and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/states-rights" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">states’ rights</a>.</p><div class="continue-reading"> Read more below: <a href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/Reputation-and-character">Reputation and character</a></div></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="5"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What was Abraham Lincoln’s personal life like?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in a backwoods cabin in Kentucky. His father was a pioneer and a farmer, and his mother was a deeply religious woman who died when Lincoln was young. His father’s second wife adored Lincoln and is said to have stoked his love of learning. Lincoln would go on to marry <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Todd-Lincoln" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mary Todd</a> and have four boys with her, only one of whom survived into adulthood.</p></div><div class="connections border-top mt-15"><a href="/biography/Mary-Todd-Lincoln" class="d-flex mt-15">Mary Todd Lincoln</a>Read more about Mary Todd Lincoln.</div></div></div><button class="show-more-button js-toggle-top-questions btn btn-unstyled font-14 d-flex pr-10 rounded-sm"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></button></div></div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/nyregion/flag-lincoln-coffin-auction.html" rel="nofollow">The Flag That Covered Lincoln’s Coffin Goes Up for Auction</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 22, 2024, 2:01 AM ET (New York Times) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/341682/e7c1cbdb9cf263060771c941e99f0e0b" rel="nofollow">Altogether fitting and proper? Trump repeatedly compares himself to Abraham Lincoln</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Oct. 25, 2024, 12:04 PM ET (AP) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="126872" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/34/78134-050-3AC7D4F8/Abraham-Lincoln-photograph-Mathew-Brady.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/341682/126872"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/34/78134-050-3AC7D4F8/Abraham-Lincoln-photograph-Mathew-Brady.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/34/78134-050-3AC7D4F8/Abraham-Lincoln-photograph-Mathew-Brady.jpg?w=300" alt="Abraham Lincoln" data-width="1230" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/34/78134-050-3AC7D4F8/Abraham-Lincoln-photograph-Mathew-Brady.jpg" data-href="/media/1/341682/126872">Abraham Lincoln</a><span>Abraham Lincoln, photograph by Anthony Berger of the Mathew Brady Studio, February 9, 1864.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref360279"></span>Abraham Lincoln</strong> (born February 12, 1809, near <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Hodgenville" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Hodgenville</a>, Kentucky, U.S.—died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.) was the 16th <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/president-government-official" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">president</a> of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">United States</a> (1861–65), who preserved the Union during the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">American Civil War</a> and brought about the emancipation of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/slavery-sociology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">enslaved people</a> in the United States.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="72187" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/98/78198-050-53DFB826/Pres-Abraham-Lincoln-cabinet-lithograph-Lieut-Gen-1866.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/341682/72187"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/98/78198-050-53DFB826/Pres-Abraham-Lincoln-cabinet-lithograph-Lieut-Gen-1866.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/98/78198-050-53DFB826/Pres-Abraham-Lincoln-cabinet-lithograph-Lieut-Gen-1866.jpg?w=300" alt="Lincoln and his cabinet" data-width="1600" data-height="1079" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/98/78198-050-53DFB826/Pres-Abraham-Lincoln-cabinet-lithograph-Lieut-Gen-1866.jpg" data-href="/media/1/341682/72187">Lincoln and his cabinet</a><span>U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln (seated center) and his cabinet, with Lieut. Gen. Winfield Scott, in the council chamber at the White House, lithograph, 1866.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="125761" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/84/129284-050-F7070311/Statue-Abraham-Lincoln-Memorial-Washington-DC.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/341682/125761"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/84/129284-050-F7070311/Statue-Abraham-Lincoln-Memorial-Washington-DC.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/84/129284-050-F7070311/Statue-Abraham-Lincoln-Memorial-Washington-DC.jpg?w=300" alt="Abraham Lincoln: statue at the Lincoln Memorial" data-width="503" data-height="800" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/84/129284-050-F7070311/Statue-Abraham-Lincoln-Memorial-Washington-DC.jpg" data-href="/media/1/341682/125761">Abraham Lincoln: statue at the Lincoln Memorial</a><span>Statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Among American heroes, Lincoln continues to have a unique appeal for his fellow compatriots and also for people of other lands. This charm derives from his remarkable life story—the rise from humble origins, the dramatic death—and from his distinctively human and humane personality as well as from his historical role as savior of the Union and emancipator of enslaved people. His relevance endures and grows especially because of his eloquence as a spokesman for <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="democracy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy" data-type="MW">democracy</a>. In his view, the Union was worth saving not only for its own sake but because it embodied an ideal, the ideal of self-<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/government" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">government</a>. In recent years, the political side to Lincoln’s character, and his racial views in particular, have come under close scrutiny, as scholars continue to find him a rich subject for research. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lincoln-Memorial-monument-Washington-DC" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lincoln Memorial</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Washington-DC" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Washington, D.C.</a>, was dedicated to him on May 30, 1922.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Assassinations-and-assassination-attempts-involving-U-S-presidents-and-presidential-candidates" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Read about assassination and attempts involving U.S. presidents and presidential candidates.</em></a></p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref8721"> <h2 class="h1">Life</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="190735" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="video" video-id="172711"><a data-id="172711" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/overview-Abraham-Lincoln/-190735"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/11/172711-138-832F5B65/overview-Abraham-Lincoln.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Abraham Lincoln: From a log cabin to the White House" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/CvGvI92e.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/11/172711-138-832F5B65/overview-Abraham-Lincoln.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/06sp2FkY", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/on5Q8Y6d.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="172711">Abraham Lincoln: From a log cabin to the White House</span><span>An overview of the life of Abraham Lincoln.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="6414" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/10209-050-B55830CF/Log-cabin-boyhood-home-Abraham-Lincoln-Knob.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/341682/6414"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/10209-050-B55830CF/Log-cabin-boyhood-home-Abraham-Lincoln-Knob.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/10209-050-B55830CF/Log-cabin-boyhood-home-Abraham-Lincoln-Knob.jpg?w=300" alt="Lincoln's boyhood home" data-width="738" data-height="800" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/10209-050-B55830CF/Log-cabin-boyhood-home-Abraham-Lincoln-Knob.jpg" data-href="/media/1/341682/6414">Lincoln's boyhood home</a><span>Log cabin, Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home, Knob Creek, Kentucky, originally built early 19th century.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Lincoln was born in a backwoods cabin 3 miles (5 km) south of Hodgenville, Kentucky, and was taken to a farm in the neighboring valley of Knob Creek when he was two years old. His earliest memories were of this home and, in particular, of a flash flood that once washed away the corn and pumpkin seeds he had helped his father plant. His father, Thomas Lincoln, was the descendant of a weaver’s apprentice who had migrated from England to Massachusetts in 1637. Though much less prosperous than some of his Lincoln forebears, Thomas was a sturdy pioneer. On June 12, 1806, he married <span id="ref360281"></span>Nancy Hanks. The Hanks genealogy is difficult to trace, but Nancy appears to have been of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="illegitimate" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illegitimate" data-type="MW">illegitimate</a> birth. She has been described as “stoop-shouldered, thin-breasted, sad,” and fervently religious. Thomas and Nancy Lincoln had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who died in infancy.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <section data-level="2" id="ref8722"> <h2 class="h2">Childhood and youth</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="67736" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="video" video-id="73084"><a data-id="73084" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/Dramatization-aspects-childhood-Lincoln-Indiana-Kentucky/-67736"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/84/73084-138-DFA7C98D/Dramatization-aspects-childhood-Lincoln-Indiana-Kentucky.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Learn how Abraham Lincoln's frontier childhood and early appetite for reading shaped his character" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/vLinaAtT.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/84/73084-138-DFA7C98D/Dramatization-aspects-childhood-Lincoln-Indiana-Kentucky.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/6I4VMNcE", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/ZZsxtXoF.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="73084">Learn how Abraham Lincoln's frontier childhood and early appetite for reading shaped his character</span><span>Dramatization of aspects of Lincoln's childhood in Kentucky and Indiana.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/December" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">December</a> 1816, faced with a lawsuit challenging the title to his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kentucky" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kentucky</a> farm, Thomas Lincoln moved with his family to southwestern <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Indiana-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Indiana</a>. There, as a squatter on public land, he hastily put up a “half-faced camp”—a crude structure of logs and boughs with one side open to the weather—in which the family took shelter behind a blazing fire. Soon he built a permanent cabin, and later he bought the land on which it stood. Abraham helped to clear the fields and to take care of the crops but early <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="acquired" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/acquired" data-type="EB">acquired</a> a dislike for hunting and fishing. In afteryears he recalled the “panther’s scream,” the bears that “preyed on the swine,” and the poverty of Indiana frontier life, which was “pretty pinching at times.” The unhappiest period of his boyhood followed the death of his mother in the autumn of 1818. As a ragged nine-year-old, he saw her buried in the forest, then faced a winter without the warmth of a mother’s love. Fortunately, before the onset of a second winter, Thomas Lincoln married Sarah Bush Johnston, who moved from Kentucky to Indiana to make a family with Thomas Lincoln. A widow with two girls and a boy of her own, she had energy and affection to spare and ran the household with an even hand, treating both sets of children as if she had borne them all, but she became especially fond of Abraham, and he of her. He afterward referred to his stepmother as his “angel mother.”</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/us-presidents-and-their-years-in-office-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/44/164744-131-7A6008A3/Richard-M-Nixon-campaign-stop-crowd-gesture-1968.jpg" alt="Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon during a 1968 campaign stop. President Nixon" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="251109" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="video" video-id="220272"><a data-id="220272" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/pop-culture-Abraham-Lincoln/-251109"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/72/220272-138-7355553C/pop-culture-Abraham-Lincoln.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Debunking pop culture myths about Abraham Lincoln" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/xWFbljmr.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/72/220272-138-7355553C/pop-culture-Abraham-Lincoln.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/18CF1Oxl", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/UqoLxWCS.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="220272">Debunking pop culture myths about Abraham Lincoln</span><span>Learn about the creative license moviemakers have taken in films about Abraham Lincoln.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="211214" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="video" video-id="185940"><a data-id="185940" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/Abraham-Lincoln-address-King-James-Bible-William/-211214"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/185940-138-C1847210/Abraham-Lincoln-address-King-James-Bible-William.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Learn how reading Shakespeare and the King James Bible helped Abraham Lincoln compose his best-remembered address in American history" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/S8Pc45U5.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/40/185940-138-C1847210/Abraham-Lincoln-address-King-James-Bible-William.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/vorq29FD", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/7vFbOViT.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="185940">Learn how reading Shakespeare and the King James Bible helped Abraham Lincoln compose his best-remembered address in American history</span><span>Learn how Abraham Lincoln's studying of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible helped him to compose perhaps the best-remembered address in American history.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/biography/Abraham-Lincoln/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">His stepmother doubtless encouraged Lincoln’s taste for reading, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="yet" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/yet" data-type="EB">yet</a> the original source of his desire to learn remains something of a mystery. Both his parents were almost completely illiterate, and he himself received little formal education. He once said that, as a boy, he had gone to school “by littles”—a little now and a little then—and his entire schooling amounted to no more than one year’s attendance. His neighbors later recalled how he used to trudge for miles to borrow a book. According to his own statement, however, his early surroundings provided “absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three; but that was all.” Apparently the young Lincoln did not read a large number of books but thoroughly absorbed the few that he did read. These included <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mason-Locke-Weems" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Parson Weems’s</a> <em>Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington</em> (with its story of the little hatchet and the cherry tree), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Defoe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Daniel Defoe</a>’s <em>Robinson Crusoe</em>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Bunyan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">John Bunyan</a>’s <em>Pilgrim’s Progress</em>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aesop" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Aesop</a>’s <em>Fables</em>. From his earliest days he must have had some familiarity with the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bible" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bible</a>, for it doubtless was the only book his family owned.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/March-month" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">March</a> 1830 the Lincoln family undertook a second migration, this time to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Illinois-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Illinois</a>, with Lincoln himself driving the team of oxen. Having just reached the age of 21, he was about to begin life on his own. Six feet four inches tall, he was rawboned and lanky but muscular and physically powerful. He was especially noted for the skill and strength with which he could <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="wield" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/wield" data-type="EB">wield</a> an ax. He spoke with a backwoods twang and walked in the long-striding, flat-footed, cautious manner of a plowman. Good-natured though somewhat moody, talented as a mimic and storyteller, he readily attracted friends. But he was yet to demonstrate whatever other abilities he possessed.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=black-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">After his arrival in Illinois, having no desire to be a farmer, Lincoln tried his hand at a variety of occupations. As a rail-splitter, he helped to clear and fence his father’s new farm. As a flatboatman, he made a voyage down the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mississippi-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mississippi River</a> to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Orleans-Louisiana" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">New Orleans</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Louisiana-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louisiana</a>. (This was his second visit to that city, his first having been made in 1828, while he still lived in Indiana.) Upon his return to Illinois he settled in New Salem, a village of about 25 families on the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sangamon-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sangamon River</a>. There he worked from time to time as storekeeper, postmaster, and surveyor. With the coming of the <span id="ref360282"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Hawk-War" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Black Hawk War</a> (1832), he enlisted as a volunteer and was elected captain of his company. Afterward he joked that he had seen no “live, fighting Indians” during the war but had had “a good many bloody struggles with the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/mosquito-insect" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mosquitoes</a>.” Meanwhile, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="aspiring" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/aspiring" data-type="EB">aspiring</a> to be a legislator, he was defeated in his first try and then repeatedly reelected to the state assembly. He considered blacksmithing as a trade but finally decided in favor of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/law" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">law</a>. Already having taught himself grammar and mathematics, he began to study law books. In 1836, having passed the bar examination, he began to practice law.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> </section> </section><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":11,"pageId":341682,"pageLength":1187,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Abraham Lincoln | Biography, Childhood, Quotes, Death, & Facts | Britannica