Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

(1809-1865)

Early Life

• Abraham Lincoln was born near Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809.

• Lincoln moved to Indiana with his father and stepmother in 1816 and lived there for the rest of his youth.

• Lincoln stated he only had one year of formal education but learned from books and experiences.

Multiple Choice

True or False. Abraham Lincoln received years of formal education.

• True

• False

Family

• Lincoln married Mary Todd, who was one of the most educated women of her generation.

• Lincoln and Mary Todd had four children together.

• Only one of their four children survived into adulthood.

Early Political Career

• Lincoln began his political career in 1832 at age 23 with an unsuccessful campaign for the Illinois General Assembly as a member of the Whig Party.

• In 1834, Lincoln was elected to the Illinois state legislature as a member of the Whig Party.

• Lincoln then served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Multiple Choice

True or False. Abraham Lincoln's early political career was very successful.

• True

• False

Political Revival

• After the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, Lincoln joined the Republican party in 1856 with harsh moral obligations to slavery.

• The Supreme Court made a controversial decision in the Dred Scott case, which prompted Lincoln to challenge the sitting U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas for his seat.

Multiple Choice

What social issue was Abraham Lincoln opposed to?

• Sectionalism

• States' rights

• Slavery

Lincoln v. Douglas Debates

• The 1858 Senate campaign featured seven debates held in different cities all over Illinois.

• The debates focused on important issues, such as state's rights and western expansion, but the central issue was slavery.

• In the end, the state legislature elected Douglas but this kickstarted Lincoln's national career.

Multiple Choice

Why were the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas important?

• Lincoln won the Senate seat.

• The debates kickstarted Lincoln's national career.

• Douglas's political career was ruined.

• Lincoln won the presidency.

Election of 1860

• Lincoln came out on top in the general election over Stephen Douglas, John C. Breckenridge, and John Bell.

• Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth president of the United States.

• Before Lincoln's inauguration in 1861, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union and Fort Sumter was under siege.

Multiple Choice

Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860 with the support of

• The North

• The South

Multiple Choice

Abraham Lincoln was president during the

• Civil War

• American Revolution

• War of 1812

• Mexican-American War

Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

• Lincoln pledged in this address that there would be no war, unless the South started it.

• Lincoln's ultimate goal=to preserve the Union.

• Lincoln wanted to stop the spread of slavery, not necessarily abolish it.

Multiple Choice

True or False. At the beginning of Abraham Lincoln's presidency, he wanted to abolish slavery.

• True

• False

The Emancipation Proclamation (January 1863)

• With this proclamation, Lincoln freed the slaves in the Confederate states ONLY.

• Lincoln did not want to anger the slave owners that were still in the Union.

• Lincoln's goal with this proclamation was to weaken the South's ability to fight.

Multiple Choice

True or False. The Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves in America.

• True

• False

Gettysburg Address (November 1863)

• Lincoln came to the location of the Battle of Gettysburg to dedicate a cemetery to those killed in battle.

• His speech moved so many to continue fighting despite the devastation and casualties.

Multiple Choice

What was the Gettysburg Address?

• A song sang at the Appomattox Courthouse surrender

• A short speech given by President Lincoln at Gettysburg battlefield

• A time when two generals met in Pennsylvania

• 143 Gettysburg Ave

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (January 1865)

• General Sherman of the Union Army leads his destructive march across the South, helping Lincoln get reelected.

• Lincoln states that the war will not end until the guilt of slavery is paid for.

• When the war is over, the nation must come together in peace.

Open Ended

What do you think Lincoln meant when he said "the war will not end until the guilt of slavery is paid for?"

Lincoln's Assassination at Ford's Theater

• On April 14, 1865, Lincoln attended a play at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C.

• Actor John Wilkes Booth enters the president's box and shoots Abraham Lincoln in the head.

• Lincoln dies the next morning.

Multiple Choice

Who assassinated Abraham Lincoln?

• Jefferson Davis

• John Wilkes Booth

• General Robert E. Lee

• Lee Harvey Oswald