Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) was the sixteenth president of the United States. Born on a small farm in Kentucky, he was primarily self-educated. In 1834, Lincoln won election to the Illinois state legislature, and in 1837, he moved to Springfield, Illinois to practice law. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, but served just one two-year term. After two unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Senate, Lincoln was elected president in 1860. Throughout his political career, Lincoln was outspoken in his opposition to the expansion of slavery, and as president, he led the United States through the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation and promoted the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery. Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865.