Abraham Lincoln Research Paper

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
The Sixteenth President of the United States

I chose Abraham Lincoln as a subject matter because he is the only American President I like. Of course, the rest of the world loves him very much as he is one of those big men who profoundly influenced their eras. He is not only an American President but also the president of common people. That is why his photograph was put on ‘'a penny''. In my paper there is a chronological order of important events from Abraham Lincoln's life. My paper starts with his family's settlement to Hingham, Massachusetts, continues with the birth of Abraham Lincoln and with simple events from his early childhood. After a brief explanation about Abraham's childhood and his
struggle for education against his father and miserable life conditions he lived in, comes his introduction to law affairs. Following these, some information is given about his unstable career in law and politics. Then, after a successful take off in politics, comes his accomplishments as the 16th President of the United States. His efforts to abolish slavery are highlighted. His Emancipation Proclamation and Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction for restoration of the Union are mentioned. Finally, his

assassination on the 14th of April, 1865 and his death on the 15th of April, 1865 are enlightened. I tried to underline the accomplishments of a very impressive man coming from a miserable background. Abraham Lincoln was born into very miserable conditions; he grew up in great poverty and didn't even get the chance to go to school regularly. Despite all these hardships he was in, he invented the power he needed to change this world and rejected to live in a world which was served to him. I tried to show what an important value-freedom- the slaves all around the world owe him. I did not mention his emotional affairs, inner world and daily life because I wanted to draw attention to his genius leadership and most importantly to his penny's implying message to the poor in despair. Settlement to England Samuel Lincoln from Hingham, England settled in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1637.Abraham's father Thomas Lincoln, descendant of Samuel, was born in Virginia in 1778.Thomas and his family moved to Kentucky in 1782.Abraham Lincoln was born in a one room log cabin on Nolin Creek in Kentucky. He was born on Sunday, February 12, 1809.He was the son of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln and he was named for his paternal grandfather. Thomas Lincoln was a carpenter and farmer. Both of his parents were members of a Baptist congregation which had separated from another church due to opposition to slavery.

-Five months before receiving his party's nomination for president, Lincoln sketched his life: `` I was born February 12, 1809 in Harding County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families –second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks…Indiana in my eighth year …It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up…Of course when I came of age I didn't know much. Still somehow I could read, write and chipper…but that was all. ´´ (www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html) Young Abraham attended a school house in 1815.Unfortunately he didn't have the chance to go to school steadily.
He briefly attended school in1816 and the same year in December, his family crossed the Ohio River and settled in the backwoods of Indiana. Abraham was seven years old when they moved to Southern Indiana. He had gone to school briefly in Kentucky and did so again in Indiana. Young Abraham was kicked in the head by a horse in 1818 and his family thought for a while that he was dead. Then, within the same year his mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of milk sickness on the 5th of October. It is a disease obtained from drinking the milk of cows which had grazed on poisonous white snakeroot. Abraham's father, Thomas, remarried the next year, and Abraham loved his new stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln. He briefly attended school in 1820.Then he gave a break of two years. He attended school for a few months in 1822.As he had to work on the farm he attended school in the fall and winter. As Abraham grew up, he loved to read and preferred learning to working in the fields. This led to a difficult relationship with his father who was just the opposite. As he could not afford to buy books for himself, he borrowed books from neighbours and read whenever possible. He made great efforts to attain knowledge while working on the farm. His married sister died while giving birth on January 20, 1828.He became a candidate for Illinois General Assembly in March, 1832. The Black Hawk War broke out the same year. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War. Consequently, he spent eight years in the Illinois legislature and rode the circuit of the courts for many years. In those years, his law partner said of him: ''His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest''. At the age of 24, Abraham was elected to the Illinois General Assembly as a member of the Whig Party on the 4th of August, 1834.Then he began to study law. He was re-elected to the Illinois General
Assembly on the 1st of August, 1836.Then he became the leader of the Whig Party. He received his law license on the 9th of September. He traveled through nine countries in central and eastern Illinois as a lawyer on the 8th Judicial Circuit. In December, the same year, he admitted to practice in United States Circuit Court. He argued his first case before Illinois Supreme Court in June, 1840.He was re-elected to the Illinois General Assembly in August. Within the same year, in fall, he became engaged to Mary Todd. He married Mary Todd on the fifth of November in Springfield in 1842. (Whitlock, Brand, 1930)

Abraham Lincoln was granted U.S.Patent No: 6.469 on May 22, 1849.He was the only president ever granted a patent. Abraham re-entered politics opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854.He was elected to Illinois legislature, but declined the seat in order to try to become U.S Senator. He didn't get chosen by the Illinois legislature to be U.S Senator, in 1855.He helped organize the new Republican Party of Illinois on the 29th May, 1856.At the first Republican convention he got 110 votes for the vice-presidential nomination. This brought him national attention. Illinois legislature chose Douglas for the U.S Senate over Lincoln by a vote of 54 to 46 in 1859. (www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html) Lincoln's Presidency Abraham Lincoln was elected as 16th U.S President on the 6th of November, 1860.He was the first Republican. He received 180 of 303 possible votes and 40 percent of the popular vote. After Lincoln's election, many southern states, fearing Republican control in the government, seceded from the Union. December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Within two months, it was followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. Lincoln faced the great internal crisis of any U.S President. After the fall of Ft.Sumter, he raised an army and decided to fight to save the Union from falling apart. Initially, he anticipated a short conflict. He called for 75.000 volunteers to serve for three months. Despite enormous pressures, loss of life, battlefield setbacks, generals who weren't ready to fight, assassination threats, Lincoln stuck this Pro-Union policy for 4 long years of Civil War. He thought secession illegal, and was willing to defend Federal law and the Union. (Abraham Lincoln Research Site) Emancipation Proclamation He signed a law freeing slaves being used by the Confederates in their war effort on the 6th of August,1861.He signed an Act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia on the 16th of April,1862.The same year on the 19th of June, he approved a law prohibiting the slavery in territories. Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves on the 22nd of September, 1862.On January 1, 1863; the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. This was Lincoln's declaration of freedom for all slaves in the areas of the Confederacy not under Union control. The final Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863.Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction for Restoration of the Union, on the 8th of December,1863.On the 8th of November ,1864 ,Abraham Lincoln was re-elected president ,defeating Democrat George B.McClellan. He got 212 of 213 electoral votes and 55 percent of the popular vote. Lincoln assumed extralegal powers over the press, declared martial law in areas where no military action justified it, quelled draft riots with armed soldiers, and drafted soldiers to fight for the Union cause. (Neely, Mark E., 1993) "No president in history had ever exerted so much executive authority, but he did so not for personal power but in order to preserve the Union. In 1864, as an example of his limited personal ambitions, Lincoln refused to call off national elections, preferring to hold the election even if he lost the vote rather than destroy the democratic basis upon which he rested his authority. With the electoral support of Union soldiers ,many of whom were given short leaves to return home to vote, and thanks to the spectacular victory of Union troops in General Sherman's capture of Atlanta, Lincoln was decisively re-elected.'' (www.americanpresident.org) Lincoln's Assassination Abraham Lincoln made his last speech on the 11 April, 1865, focusing on the problems of reconstruction. On Good Friday, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth. It was on the 14th of April, 1865 that Lincoln and his wife Mary saw the play ‘'Our American Cousin'' at Ford's theatre. During the performance Booth arrived at the theatre and entered the State Box from the rear. About 10:13 p.m., during the third act of the play, John Wilkes Booth shot the President in the back of his head. Doctors attended to the President in the theater. Then Lincoln was carried across the street to the Petersen House. He never regained consciousness. Abraham Lincoln died at 07:22 in the morning on the 15th of April, 1865. John Wilkes Booth, who somehow thought Lincoln was helping the South, was an actor. He was a racist who hated everything the President stood for. John Wilkes Booth was shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia on the 26th of April, 1865.

This was the first presidential assassination in American history. "Lincoln's death resulted from deep divisions and hatreds of the times". Lincoln's body was taken to the Springfield by train, and he was buried in the Lincoln Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery on May 4, 1865.Because of his assassination, Reconstruction took place without Lincoln's guidance and leadership. (www.harlingen.isd.edu) Abraham Lincoln is remembered for his vital role as the leader in preserving the Union during the Civil War and beginning the process that led to the end of slavery in the United States. "Lincoln never let the world forget that the Civil War involved an even larger issue. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, Shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.'' (www.whitehouse.gov) "The spirit that guided him was clearly that of his Second Inaugural Address, now inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, District of Columbia. : "With malice toward none ;with charity for all; with firmness in the right ,as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds…'' He is also remembered for his character, his speeches and letters, and "as a man of humble origins whose determination and perseverance led him to the nation's highest office". The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, was finally ratified on December 6, 1865.Slavery is abolished. (www.whitehouse.gov) The Lincoln Penny The Lincoln Penny was first issued in 1909 to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's 100th birthday. It was the first American coin to bear a president's image on its face. Lincoln is facing to the right because that was the direction he was facing in the photograph Victor David Brener used to make his bas-relief for the penny. (Note: The photograph of Lincoln is from the Library of Congress and was taken February 9, 1864, in Matthew Brady's Washington studio. The actual photographer was Anthony Berger. This is the profile Brenner chose for the penny. His choice was approved by President Theodore Roosevelt.)

Some of the arguments this coin evoked among Americans are mentioned below: 1-"Certain people felt a man of Lincoln's importance deserved to be on a higher domination then a penny. The counter to this was that Lincoln was the common people's president; therefore the penny was the appropriate choice.'' (www.members.aol.com)

Lincoln penny bears a message for poor people in despair. It reminds them the importance of determination and perseverance. These two elements led a man of humble origins such as Abraham Lincoln to the nation's highest office. If this message was intended to be on a higher domination then a penny, how many people would get the chance to own that money and get the message? Moreover it would mean nothing to poor people –exactly to whom the message was intended to be delivered- as they never get the chance to earn much money. In fact they often even can't feed themselves but such a low domination as a penny can be owned even if not by earning but by finding on the road. What I mean is exactly that even the poorest person in the country can have a penny and get a message from it. That is why a penny is so suitable to deliver this message and it is so important. Today, how many people are aware of its message, I don't know but it is a very smart idea to deliver that message via a penny. Abraham Lincoln witnessed great tragedies during his short life. He died at the of 56.His brother Thomas died in 1812 .His mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln died six years later , in 1818.Ten years later , his sister Sarah died while giving birth in 1828.Then, his son Edward died in 1850. The next year his father died in 1851.His son Willie died at the age of twelve in 1862.His wife was emotionally devastated and never fully recovered. In the chaos of such tragedies Abraham Lincoln did not give up. While the war raged, he also suffered great personal anguish over the death of his beloved son and the depressed mental condition of his wife, Mary. The pain of war and personal loss affected him deeply. Lincoln penny is the symbol and evidence of success through a troublesome pathway. It tells people not to give up even in the worst conditions. While delivering this message it takes great support from the Lincoln's experiences.

2-"Some citizens, including many Southerners were disturbed that putting the features of a president on a coin was too reminiscent of European monarchies. It did not "fit'' with their idea of U.S. democracy. (www.members.aol.com)

3-Criticism was directed at the replacement of the Indian Head cents. These had been in circulation since 1859 and were one of the most famous of all United States coins. (See above)

4-There was a major outcry of the placement of Victor David Brenner's initials (V.D.B.) on the back side of the coin. Brenner was Lincoln penny's designer. The protest was so loud that President William H.Taft's Secretary of the Treasury ordered all initials except the ‘'B'' removed within one week of the original issue. Still, over 28.000.000 of the ‘'V.D.B.'' pennies were struck. Later, Brenner‘s initials were moved from the rear of the coin where they had been clearly visible, and which was what started the protest, and placed below the ‘'bevel'' of the bust, slightly to the left of center when looking at the coin, in letters so small you need a very strong magnifier and an almost new penny to see them. But they are there, on every penny minted from 1919 to the present day. (See above)

Almost all historians judge Abraham Lincoln as the greatest president in American history because of the way he exercised leadership during the war and because of the impact of that leadership on the moral and political character of the nation. He conceived of his presidential role as unique under the Constitution in times of crisis. Abraham Lincoln was convinced that within the branches of government, the presidency alone was empowered not only to uphold the Constitution, but also to preserve, protect and defend it. In the end, however, Lincoln is measured by his most lasting accomplishments: the preservation of the Union, the vindication of democracy, and the death of slavery—accomplishments achieved by acting ‘'with malice towards none'' in the pursuit of a more perfect and equal union.

A Note on Sources
1. Brand Whitlock, Abraham Lincoln, page15-23, 1930
2. Ida M. Tarbell, The Life of Abraham Lincoln
3. Herbert Agar, Makers of History- Abraham Lincoln, 1965
4. Lord Charnwood, Abraham Lincoln 5. Macmillan Dictionary 6. Metro Collins Cobuild Dictionary 7. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
8. Abraham Lincoln Research Site
9. Google
10. Lincoln Time Line 11. www.harlingen.isd.edu
12. www.historyplace.com/lincoln/ 13. www.members.aol.com 14. www.whitehouse.gov