Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He was in office from 4 March 1861 until 15 April 1865.
Born on 12 February 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky, of humble beginnings, Lincoln was largely self-taught and was an avid reader and proficient writer.
Before entering the political arena in 1858, Lincoln was a lawyer noted for his wit and powerfully persuasive arguments.
As President, Lincoln led the United States through one of the most tumultuous times in their history – the American Civil War (the ‘Union’ or the Northern states against the ‘Confederate States of America’ or Southern slave states). Some saw the cause of the war as the need to preserve the Union, others as abolishing slavery. Lincoln’s anti-slavery stance was not welcomed by the Southern slave states who seceded the Union. Lincoln opposed slavery in the territories and argued that the preservation of the House depended on it being unified on the slavery issue. A compromise could not be reached and hostilities began. In 1863 the rebel slave states were faced with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Initially, this applied only to the rebel states, but was later amended to the entire United States. A symbol of equality and social justice, it paved the way for the total abolition of slavery.
During Lincoln’s presidency, in 1863, the National Banking Act was passed. This established a national banking system and a standardized national currency.
Lincoln was the first President of the United States to be assassinated, shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., on 14 April 1965 by the stage actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Booth believed that by killing Lincoln he would be doing a service to his race and to the nation.
Lincoln is buried at Lincoln’s Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois.