Todd m hofacker biography of abraham lincoln

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He chose Maine's Hannibal Hamlin as his vice president.

Voters elected Lincoln in November 1860. Five months before receiving his party's nomination for President, he sketched his life:

"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. The cause of death was likely typhoid fever. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy but four remained within the Union.

Born on February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln faced numerous hardships in his early life, including the death of his mother and the family's struggles with poverty. His legacy remains just as influential as it was in the post-Civil War era following his untimely death. About 600 invited guests attended a funeral in the East Room of the White House on April 19, though an inconsolable Mary Todd Lincoln wasn’t present.

A month later, General Robert E. Lee, head of the Confederate forces, conceded defeat, and the war was over. The essence of Lincoln's legacy lies in this transformative act, as it laid the groundwork for the eventual passage of the 13th Amendment, which formally ended slavery in the United States.

The family moved to Macon County, Ill., in 1830 when Abraham was 21 years of age. The Civil War, Lincoln said, was the ultimate test of the preservation of the Union created in 1776, and the people who died at Gettysburg fought to uphold this cause. 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."

Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded an end to the war.

He grew his trademark beard after his election.

Dive Deeper

Lincoln’s Cabinet

Following his election to the presidency in 1860, Lincoln selected a strong cabinet composed of many of his political rivals, including William Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Edwin Stanton. Soon thereafter, Abe won a seat in the United States Congress as a representative for Illinois.

Initially engaged in 1840, their engagement was briefly broken before they reunited, overcoming the doubts of friends and family about their compatibility. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging Southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion. His parents, Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, had moved into the one-room log cabin just two months before Abraham's birth.

His salary, while significant, was largely supplemented by his previous earnings as a lawyer, where he had built a respectable reputation and income. When he assumed office in 1861, his annual salary was set at $25,000, a substantial amount for that era but still reflective of a relatively humble lifestyle. His commitment to public service meant that he often put the needs of the country ahead of his own financial interests, further illustrating his character as a leader willing to make sacrifices for the greater good.