Maaveeran alexander biography of abraham lincoln

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Lincoln’s Tomb, in Oak Ridge Cemetery, has been the final resting place for Lincoln since 1901.

Significance

Abraham Lincoln was an important historical figure because he served as the sixteenth President of the United States (1861-1865) and was the leader of the country during the American Civil War. Lincoln is widely regarded as one of the country’s greatest presidents, and his legacy continues to shape American politics and culture.

In pursuing victory, 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. Not wishing to become a farmer, Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois, in July 1831. When Congress tried to impose much harsher terms on the South through the enactment of the Wade-Davis Bill in July 1864, Lincoln used the pocket veto to thwart his opponents.

On December 8, 1863, Lincoln announced his plan for the reunification of the nation, known as the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. Five months before receiving his party's nomination for President, he sketched his life:

"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. A little over one year later, Lincoln’s father married Sarah Bush Johnston on December 2, 1819.

That action had the unfortunate result of forcing states to choose sides, causing Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee to join the Confederacy. He is remembered for his efforts to preserve the Union, abolish slavery, and modernize the American economy. In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator. A bloody civil war then engulfed the nation as Lincoln vowed to preserve the Union, enforce the laws of the United States, and end the secession.

The government will not assail you.... On January 1, 1863, Lincoln used his war powers to issue an executive order abolishing slavery in the states at war with the Union. The war lasted for more than four years with a staggering loss of more than 600,000 Americans dead.

On December 20, 1860, delegates to a secession convention in South Carolina voted to secede from the Union because they viewed Lincoln’s hardline stance against the expansion of slavery as a threat to their way of life. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years.

Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. His election victory created a crisis for the nation, as many Southern Democrats feared that it would just be a matter of time before Lincoln would move to kill slavery in the South. In perhaps his most controversial move, Lincoln suspended the constitutionally guaranteed writ of habeas corpus on April 27, 1861.