all slaves in Confederate-held territory were to be set free. It signaled a significant shift in the goals of the Civil War and laid the groundwork for the abolition of slavery.

Lincoln was dedicated to maintaining the unity of the United States during the Civil War.

Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, a speech that emphasized the principles of equality and democracy. He stated that the nation was dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States, was born near Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. to parents Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln in rural Hodgenville, Kentucky. His family moved to Indiana when he was seven and he grew up on the edge of the frontier.

: He had very little formal education, but read voraciously when not working on his father’s farm.

In December 1819, just over a year after his mother’s death, Lincoln’s father Thomas married Sarah Bush Johnston, a Kentucky widow with three children of her own. She was a strong and affectionate woman with whom Lincoln quickly bonded.

Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act, which facilitated the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

When Lincoln was 9 years old, his 34-year-old mother died of tremetol, more commonly known as milk sickness, on October 5, 1818. The event was devastating to the young boy, who grew more alienated from his father and quietly resented the hard work placed on him at an early age.

Lincoln was an affectionate husband and father of four sons, though his work regularly kept him away from home. The oldest, Robert Todd Lincoln, Edward Baker Lincoln, Lincoln's third son, "Willie" Lincoln and the youngest, Thomas "Tad" Lincoln

Lincoln played a key role in establishing the National Banking System, which created a system of nationally chartered banks and provided a uniform currency.

Lincoln advocated for the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery in the United States.

Preceded by James Buchanan

Abraham Lincoln never saw combat during his tour but was elected captain of his first company. He was also present in the aftermath of two of the war's battles, where he helped to bury the militia dead.

In 1854, Lincoln was elected to the Illinois legislature but declined to take his seat.

Lincoln sought the Whig nomination for Illinois's 7th district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives; he was defeated by John J. Hardin,