Abraham Lincoln :: essays research papers

Abraham capital of NebraskaAbraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was veryimportant to the past narration of our country. He helped to abolish thraldom inthis country and kept the American Union from splitting apart during the CivilWar.At 22, he move to New Salem, Illinois. With his gift for swappingstories and making friends, he became quite popular and was elected to theIllinois legislature in 1834. In his spare time, he taught himself law andbecame a lawyer. In 1847, he was elected to the U.S. Congress, but returned tohis law practice until 1858, when his guardianship about the spread of slaveryprompted him to return to communityal politics and wear for the U.S. Senate.Lincoln rose to greatness from a humble beginning. Born in 1809 in alog cabin in Kentucky, Lincoln fatigued most of his childhood working on the familyfarm. He had less than a year of school but managed to educate himself bystudying and instruction books on his own.He believed that slaver y and democracy were fundamentally incompatible.In an 1858 speech, he said What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty andindependance? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling ocean coats, ourarmy and our navy . . . Our defense is in the spirit which prized liberty as theheritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you aimplanted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourself withthe chains of duress and you prepare your own limbs to wear them (World BookEncyclopedia).He lost his safari for the Senate, but during the debates with hisopponent Stephen Douglas, he became well known for his opposotion to slavery.The southerly states, which believed they depended upon slavery to remainprosperous in the cotton, tobacco, and rice industries, threatened to secedefrom the nation if Lincoln won the election. Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4,1861, and by April 12, the southern states had formed the Confedrate States ofAmerica and the Civil War began.