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Abraham Lincoln

✨ 1809–1865, 16th US President

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) was the 16th president of the United States and led the country through the Civil War, fought from 1861 to 1865. Born in Kentucky to a farming family, he grew up in a rural environment and had little formal schooling, but developed a strong interest in reading and taught himself much of what he knew.

Before entering national politics, Lincoln worked as a store clerk, surveyor, and lawyer and served in the Illinois legislature. He was elected president in 1860 as a Republican, at a time when slavery was dividing the country. His election was followed by the secession of eleven Southern states and the formation of the Confederacy, leading to war.

As president, Lincoln sought to preserve the Union while the conflict increasingly became a struggle over slavery and freedom. In 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared enslaved people in the states then in rebellion to be free, although it did not immediately abolish slavery throughout the United States.

The same year, his Gettysburg Address emphasized equality and government by the people. Lincoln supported the constitutional amendment that became the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery throughout the United States in 1865. He was re-elected in 1864, but was assassinated in April 1865, shortly after the Confederacy's defeat.

💡 Did you know?

Do you know why Lincoln was called 'Honest Abe'? When he was young and working in a store, he once realized he had given a customer a few cents too little change. As soon as the store closed, he walked several miles in the cold to bring her the change! It was this exemplary honesty that made him famous throughout the country.

Lincoln was very tall and always wore a huge black hat called a top hat. Did you know he used it as a mobile office? He slipped his important letters, notes, and even future speeches inside his hat so he would never lose them. When he walked down the street, his hat literally contained his big ideas for America!

Lincoln's most famous speech, at Gettysburg, lasted less than three minutes! While other politicians spoke for hours, Lincoln knew how to say such strong and simple things in a very short time that everyone remembered it. It's proof that you don't need to speak for a long time to say something truly important.