83-592: James Speed (March 11, 1812 – June 25, 1887) was an American lawyer, politician, and professor who was in 1864 appointed by Abraham Lincoln to be the United States Attorney General . Speed previously served in the Kentucky legislature and in local political offices. Speed was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky to Judge John Speed and his second wife, Lucy Gilmer Fry. He was a distant descendant of
166-475: A raconteur , but lacked the requisite formal education, powerful friends, and money, and lost the election. Lincoln finished eighth out of 13 candidates (the top four were elected), though he received 277 of the 300 votes cast in the New Salem precinct. Lincoln served as New Salem's postmaster and later as county surveyor, but continued his voracious reading and decided to become a lawyer. Rather than studying in
249-506: A compromise; the measure would allow the electorate of each territory to decide the status of slavery. The legislation alarmed many Northerners, who sought to prevent the spread of slavery that could result, but Douglas's Kansas–Nebraska Act narrowly passed Congress in May 1854. Lincoln did not comment on the act until months later in his " Peoria Speech " of October 1854. Lincoln then declared his opposition to slavery, which he repeated en route to
332-506: A condition now thought to be clinical depression . Later in life, Mary struggled with the stresses of losing her husband and sons, and in 1875 Robert committed her to an asylum. During 1831 and 1832, Lincoln worked at a general store in New Salem, Illinois . In 1832, he declared his candidacy for the Illinois House of Representatives , but interrupted his campaign to serve as a captain in
415-846: A contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from both the Democratic and Republican parties. His allies, the War Democrats and the Radical Republicans , demanded harsh treatment of the Southern Confederates. He managed the factions by exploiting their mutual enmity, carefully distributing political patronage, and by appealing to the American people. Anti-war Democrats (called " Copperheads ") despised Lincoln, and some irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements went so far as to plot his assassination. His Gettysburg Address became one of
498-486: A disciple of Henry Clay". Their party favored economic modernization in banking, tariffs to fund internal improvements including railroads, and urbanization. In 1843, Lincoln sought the Whig nomination for Illinois's 7th district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives ; he was defeated by John J. Hardin , though he prevailed with the party in limiting Hardin to one term. Lincoln not only pulled off his strategy of gaining
581-573: A federal court for his freedom. His petition was denied in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). In his opinion, Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote that black people were not citizens and derived no rights from the Constitution, and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional for infringing upon slave owners' "property" rights. While many Democrats hoped that Dred Scott would end
664-639: A formidable trial combatant during cross-examinations and closing arguments. He partnered several years with Stephen T. Logan , and in 1844, began his practice with William Herndon , "a studious young man". On January 27, 1838, Abraham Lincoln, then 28 years old, delivered his first major speech at the Lyceum in Springfield, Illinois , after the murder of newspaper editor Elijah Parish Lovejoy in Alton. Lincoln warned that no trans-Atlantic military giant could ever crush
747-718: A group largely loyal to Chase, Lincoln shrewdly made no reference to either of these Republican rivals for the nomination." In response to an inquiry about his ambitions, Lincoln said, "The taste is in my mouth a little". On May 9–10, 1860, the Illinois Republican State Convention was held in Decatur . Lincoln's followers organized a campaign team led by David Davis , Norman Judd , Leonard Swett , and Jesse DuBois, and Lincoln received his first endorsement. Exploiting his embellished frontier legend (clearing land and splitting fence rails), Lincoln's supporters adopted
830-438: A household including her father, nine-year-old Abraham, and Nancy's 19-year-old orphan cousin, Dennis Hanks. Ten years later, on January 20, 1828, Sarah died while giving birth to a stillborn son, devastating Lincoln. On December 2, 1819, Thomas married Sarah Bush Johnston , a widow from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with three children of her own. Abraham became close to his stepmother and called her "Mother". Dennis Hanks said he
913-692: A killing of American soldiers by Mexican cavalry patrol in disputed territory, and Polk insisted that Mexican soldiers had "invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil". Lincoln demanded that Polk show Congress the exact spot on which blood had been shed and prove that the spot was on American soil. The resolution was ignored in both Congress and the national papers, and it cost Lincoln political support in his district. One Illinois newspaper derisively nicknamed him "spotty Lincoln". Lincoln later regretted some of his statements, especially his attack on presidential war-making powers. Lincoln had pledged in 1846 to serve only one term in
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#1732880367953996-559: A patent for a flotation device for the movement of boats in shallow water. The idea was never commercialized, but it made Lincoln the only president to hold a patent. Lincoln appeared before the Illinois Supreme Court in 175 cases; he was sole counsel in 51 cases, of which 31 were decided in his favor. From 1853 to 1860, one of his largest clients was the Illinois Central Railroad . His legal reputation gave rise to
1079-486: A success over a powerful Whig opponent. Then followed his four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives for Sangamon County . He championed construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal , and later was a Canal Commissioner. He voted to expand suffrage beyond white landowners to all white males, but adopted a "free soil" stance opposing both slavery and abolition . In 1837, he declared, "[The] Institution of slavery
1162-533: A total of fewer than 12 months in aggregate by age 15. Nonetheless, he remained an avid reader and retained a lifelong interest in learning. Family, neighbors, and schoolmates recalled that his readings included the King James Bible , Aesop's Fables , John Bunyan 's The Pilgrim's Progress , Daniel Defoe 's Robinson Crusoe , and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin . Despite being self-educated, Lincoln
1245-656: Is founded on both injustice and bad policy, but the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than abate its evils." He echoed Henry Clay 's support for the American Colonization Society which advocated a program of abolition in conjunction with settling freed slaves in Liberia . He was admitted to the Illinois bar on September 9, 1836, and moved to Springfield and began to practice law under John T. Stuart , Mary Todd's cousin. Lincoln emerged as
1328-404: Is the strong man of the party ... and if I beat him, my victory will be hardly won." The Senate campaign featured seven debates between Lincoln and Douglas. These were the most famous political debates in American history; they had an atmosphere akin to a prizefight and drew crowds in the thousands. The principals stood in stark contrast both physically and politically. Lincoln warned that
1411-762: The American Civil War , defending the nation as a constitutional union , defeating the Confederacy , playing a major role in the abolition of slavery , expanding the power of the federal government , and modernizing the U.S. economy . Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky and was raised on the frontier , mainly in Indiana . He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator , and U.S. representative from Illinois . In 1849, he returned to his successful law practice in Springfield, Illinois . In 1854, angered by
1494-524: The Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War . When Lincoln returned home from the Black Hawk War , he planned to become a blacksmith, but instead formed a partnership with 21-year-old William Berry, with whom he purchased a New Salem general store on credit. Because a license was required to sell customers beverages, Berry obtained bartending licenses for $ 7 each for Lincoln and himself, and in 1833
1577-596: The Kansas–Nebraska Act , which opened the territories to slavery, he re-entered politics. He soon became a leader of the new Republican Party . He reached a national audience in the 1858 Senate campaign debates against Stephen A. Douglas . Lincoln ran for president in 1860 , sweeping the North to gain victory. Pro-slavery elements in the South viewed his election as a threat to slavery, and Southern states began seceding from
1660-477: The Lincoln-Berry General Store became a tavern as well. As licensed bartenders, Lincoln and Berry were able to sell spirits, including liquor, for 12 cents a pint. They offered a wide range of alcoholic beverages as well as food, including takeout dinners. But Berry became an alcoholic, was often too drunk to work, and Lincoln ended up running the store by himself. Although the economy was booming,
1743-517: The Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States but the convention instead chose Schuyler Colfax . Speed also ran for U.S. Representative from Kentucky's 5th District in 1870, to succeed Democrat Asa Grover , who had been accused of disloyalty but was exonerated and finished his only term. However, voters instead selected Democrat Boyd Winchester to fill the seat. Speed also
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#17328803679531826-616: The Slave Power was threatening the values of republicanism, and he accused Douglas of distorting the Founding Fathers' premise that all men are created equal . In his Freeport Doctrine , Douglas argued that, despite the Dred Scott decision, which he claimed to support, local settlers, under the doctrine of popular sovereignty , should be free to choose whether to allow slavery within their territory, and he accused Lincoln of having joined
1909-612: The emancipation of American slaves. However, Kentucky voters did not share these views, and he failed to win election as delegate to the 1849 Kentucky Constitutional Convention. From 1851 to 1854, Speed served on the Louisville Board of Aldermen , including two years as its president. He taught as a professor in the Law Department of the University of Louisville from 1856 to 1858, and would later return to teach from 1872 to 1879. He
1992-545: The 1858 election, newspapers frequently mentioned Lincoln as a potential Republican presidential candidate, rivaled by William H. Seward , Salmon P. Chase , Edward Bates , and Simon Cameron . While Lincoln was popular in the Midwest, he lacked support in the Northeast and was unsure whether to seek the office. In January 1860, Lincoln told a group of political allies that he would accept the presidential nomination if offered and, in
2075-792: The Cabinet in July 1866 and resumed the practice of law. Speed was a delegate to the National Union Convention in Philadelphia in 1866 and fellow delegates chose him as the convention's president. However, Speed's racial views were unpopular in Kentucky. Speed ran to become U.S. Senator from Kentucky in 1867, as President Johnson's ally Senator James Guthrie (a Unionist and former slaveholder) retired citing health issues. However, voters instead elected Democrat Thomas C. McCreery . In 1868, Speed ran for
2158-482: The Confederacy in Kentucky. In December 1864, United States President Abraham Lincoln appointed Speed Attorney General of the United States . After Lincoln's assassination, Speed became increasingly associated with the Radical Republicans and advocated allowing male African Americans to vote. Disillusioned with the increasingly conservative policies of former Democratic President Andrew Johnson , Speed resigned from
2241-658: The English cartographer John Speed and brother of Joshua Fry Speed . He graduated from St. Joseph's College in Bardstown, Kentucky , studied law at Transylvania University and was admitted to the bar at Louisville , in 1833. In 1841 Speed met fellow lawyer and future President Abraham Lincoln while Lincoln was staying at Farmington , the Speed family home in Louisville, while visiting James's brother, Joshua (whom he had befriended while
2324-583: The House. Realizing Clay was unlikely to win the presidency, he supported General Zachary Taylor for the Whig nomination in the 1848 presidential election . Taylor won and Lincoln hoped in vain to be appointed Commissioner of the United States General Land Office . The administration offered to appoint him secretary or governor of the Oregon Territory as consolation. This distant territory
2407-539: The Know-Nothings nominated former Whig President Millard Fillmore . Buchanan prevailed, while Republican William Henry Bissell won election as Governor of Illinois, and Lincoln became a leading Republican in Illinois. Dred Scott was a slave whose master took him from a slave state to a territory that was free as a result of the Missouri Compromise . After Scott was returned to the slave state, he petitioned
2490-569: The Moon was at a low angle, drastically reducing visibility. Armstrong was acquitted. In an 1859 murder case, leading up to his presidential campaign, Lincoln elevated his profile with his defense of Simeon Quinn "Peachy" Harrison, who was a third cousin; Harrison was also the grandson of Lincoln's political opponent, Rev. Peter Cartwright . Harrison was charged with the murder of Greek Crafton who, as he lay dying of his wounds, confessed to Cartwright that he had provoked Harrison. Lincoln angrily protested
2573-732: The New York Tribune, at that time wrote up an unflattering account of Lincoln's compromising position on slavery and his reluctance to challenge the court's Dred Scott ruling, which was promptly used against him by his political rivals. On February 27, 1860, powerful New York Republicans invited Lincoln to give a speech at Cooper Union , in which he argued that the Founding Fathers of the United States had little use for popular sovereignty and had repeatedly sought to restrict slavery. He insisted that morality required opposition to slavery and rejected any "groping for some middle ground between
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2656-511: The U.S. as a nation. "It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher", said Lincoln. Prior to that, on April 28, 1836, a black man, Francis McIntosh , was burned alive in St. Louis , Missouri . Zann Gill describes how these two murders set off a chain reaction that ultimately prompted Abraham Lincoln to run for President. True to his record, Lincoln professed to friends in 1861 to be "an old line Whig,
2739-639: The Union and abolish slavery. He is often ranked in both popular and scholarly polls as the greatest president in American history. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln , in a log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky . He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln , an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk , to its namesake, Hingham, Massachusetts , in 1638. The family through subsequent generations migrated west, passing through New Jersey , Pennsylvania , and Virginia . Lincoln
2822-399: The Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other." The speech created a stark image of the danger of disunion. The stage was then set for the election of the Illinois legislature which would, in turn, select Lincoln or Douglas. When informed of Lincoln's nomination, Douglas stated, "[Lincoln]
2905-529: The Whigs were irreparably split by the Kansas–Nebraska Act and other efforts to compromise on the slavery issue. Reflecting on the demise of his party, Lincoln wrote in 1855, "I think I am a Whig, but others say there are no Whigs, and that I am an abolitionist. ... I do no more than oppose the extension of slavery." The new Republican Party was formed as a northern party dedicated to antislavery, drawing from
2988-505: The abolitionists. Lincoln's argument assumed a moral tone, as he claimed that Douglas represented a conspiracy to promote slavery. Douglas's argument was more legal in nature, claiming that Lincoln was defying the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court as exercised in the Dred Scott decision. Though the Republican legislative candidates won more popular votes, the Democrats won more seats, and
3071-461: The antislavery wing of the Whig Party and combining Free Soil , Liberty , and antislavery Democratic Party members, Lincoln resisted early Republican entreaties, fearing that the new party would become a platform for extreme abolitionists. Lincoln held out hope for rejuvenating the Whigs, though he lamented his party's growing closeness with the nativist Know Nothing movement. In 1854, Lincoln
3154-461: The business struggled and went into debt, causing Lincoln to sell his share. In his first campaign speech after returning from his military service, Lincoln observed a supporter in the crowd under attack, grabbed the assailant by his "neck and the seat of his trousers", and tossed him. In the campaign, Lincoln advocated for navigational improvements on the Sangamon River . He could draw crowds as
3237-559: The dispute over slavery in the territories, the decision sparked further outrage in the North. Lincoln denounced it as the product of a conspiracy of Democrats to support the Slave Power . He argued the decision was at variance with the Declaration of Independence; he said that while the founding fathers did not believe all men equal in every respect, they believed all men were equal "in certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and
3320-417: The early 1830s, he met Mary Owens from Kentucky. Late in 1836, Lincoln agreed to a match with Owens if she returned to New Salem. Owens arrived that November and he courted her; however, they both had second thoughts. On August 16, 1837, he wrote Owens a letter saying he would not blame her if she ended the relationship, and she never replied. In 1839, Lincoln met Mary Todd in Springfield, Illinois , and
3403-741: The extended Lincoln family, including Abraham, moved west to Illinois, a free state, and settled in Macon County . Abraham then became increasingly distant from Thomas, in part, due to his father's lack of interest in education. In 1831, as Thomas and other family members prepared to move to a new homestead in Coles County, Illinois , Abraham struck out on his own. He made his home in New Salem, Illinois , for six years. Lincoln and some friends took goods, including live hogs, by flatboat to New Orleans, Louisiana , where he first witnessed slavery. Speculation persists that Lincoln's first romantic interest
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3486-538: The family moved to Indiana , where the land surveys and titles were more reliable. They settled in an "unbroken forest" in Hurricane Township, Perry County, Indiana . When the Lincolns moved to Indiana it "had just been admitted to the Union" as a "free" (non-slaveholding) state, except that, though "no new enslaved people were allowed, ... currently enslaved individuals remained so". In 1860, Lincoln noted that
3569-624: The family settled in Hardin County, Kentucky , in the early 1800s. Lincoln's mother Nancy Lincoln is widely assumed to be the daughter of Lucy Hanks. Thomas and Nancy married on June 12, 1806, in Washington County, and moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky . They had three children: Sarah , Abraham, and Thomas, who died as an infant. Thomas Lincoln bought multiple farms in Kentucky, but could not get clear property titles to any, losing hundreds of acres of land in property disputes. In 1816,
3652-829: The family's move to Indiana was "partly on account of slavery", but mainly due to land title difficulties. In Kentucky and Indiana, Thomas worked as a farmer, cabinetmaker, and carpenter. At various times he owned farms, livestock, and town lots, paid taxes, sat on juries, appraised estates, and served on county patrols. Thomas and Nancy were members of a Separate Baptist Church , which "condemned profanity, intoxication, gossip, horse racing, and dancing." Most of its members opposed slavery. Overcoming financial challenges, Thomas in 1827 obtained clear title to 80 acres (32 ha) in Indiana, an area that became known as Little Pigeon Creek Community . On October 5, 1818, Nancy Lincoln died from milk sickness , leaving 11-year-old Sarah in charge of
3735-411: The farm is substantially reduced in size, the house has been restored and has become a local event venue, and the focus of living history events. Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( / ˈ l ɪ ŋ k ən / LINK -ən ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States , serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through
3818-413: The first six rounds of voting, he was unable to obtain a majority. Lincoln instructed his backers to vote for Lyman Trumbull . Trumbull was an antislavery Democrat and had received few votes in the earlier ballots; his supporters, also antislavery Democrats, had vowed not to support any Whig. Lincoln's decision to withdraw enabled his Whig supporters and Trumbull's antislavery Democrats to combine and defeat
3901-453: The first time, Illinois Republicans held a convention to agree upon a Senate candidate, and Lincoln won the nomination with little opposition. Lincoln accepted the nomination with great enthusiasm and zeal. After his nomination he delivered his House Divided Speech , with the biblical reference Mark 3:25 , "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect
3984-480: The following months, several local papers endorsed his candidacy. Over the coming months Lincoln was tireless, making nearly fifty speeches along the campaign trail. By the quality and simplicity of his rhetoric, he quickly became the champion of the Republican party. However, despite his overwhelming support in the Midwestern United States , he was less appreciated in the east. Horace Greeley , editor of
4067-507: The following year they became engaged. She was the daughter of Robert Smith Todd , a wealthy lawyer and businessman in Lexington, Kentucky . Their wedding, which was set for January 1, 1841, was canceled because Lincoln did not appear, but they reconciled and married on November 4, 1842, in the Springfield home of Mary's sister. While anxiously preparing for the nuptials, he was asked where he
4150-469: The judge's initial decision to exclude Cartwright's testimony about the confession as inadmissible hearsay . Lincoln argued that the testimony involved a dying declaration and was not subject to the hearsay rule. Instead of holding Lincoln in contempt of court as expected, the judge, a Democrat, reversed his ruling and admitted the testimony into evidence, resulting in Harrison's acquittal. The debate over
4233-412: The label of "The Rail Candidate". In 1860, Lincoln described himself: "I am in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and gray eyes." Michael Martinez wrote about the effective imaging of Lincoln by his campaign. At times he was presented as the plain-talking "Rail Splitter" and at other times he
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#17328803679534316-563: The law department of the University of Louisville , Kentucky, in 1857 and commenced practice in Louisville, Kentucky . Winchester was a member of the Kentucky Senate in 1867 and 1868 when he resigned. He was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-first and Forty-second Congresses (March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1873) but was not a candidate for renomination in 1872. After leaving Congress, he resumed
4399-448: The law office. Their father, it seemed, was often too absorbed in his work to notice his children's behavior. Herndon recounted, "I have felt many and many a time that I wanted to wring their little necks, and yet out of respect for Lincoln I kept my mouth shut. Lincoln did not note what his children were doing or had done." The deaths of their sons Eddie and Willie had profound effects on both parents. Lincoln suffered from " melancholy ",
4482-523: The legislature re-elected Douglas. However, Lincoln's articulation of the issues had given him a national political presence. In May 1859, Lincoln purchased the Illinois Staats-Anzeiger , a German-language newspaper that was consistently supportive; most of the state's 130,000 German Americans voted for Democrats, but the German-language paper mobilized Republican support. In the aftermath of
4565-677: The mainstream Democratic candidate, Joel Aldrich Matteson . Violent political confrontations in Kansas continued, and opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act remained strong throughout the North. As the 1856 elections approached, Lincoln joined the Republicans and attended the Bloomington Convention , which formally established the Illinois Republican Party . The convention platform endorsed Congress's right to regulate slavery in
4648-474: The midst of the nation's western expansion, particularly river barge conflicts under the many new railroad bridges. As a riverboat man, Lincoln initially favored those interests, but ultimately represented whoever hired him. He later represented a bridge company against a riverboat company in Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company , a landmark case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge. In 1849 he received
4731-623: The most famous speeches in American history. Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the war effort, including the selection of generals, and implemented a naval blockade of the South's trade. He suspended habeas corpus in Maryland and elsewhere , and he averted war with Britain by defusing the Trent Affair . In 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation , which declared
4814-405: The nation . They formed the Confederate States of America, which began seizing federal military bases in the South. A little over one month after Lincoln assumed the presidency, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter , a U.S. fort in South Carolina. Following the bombardment, Lincoln mobilized forces to suppress the rebellion and restore the union. Lincoln, a moderate Republican , had to navigate
4897-410: The nickname "Honest Abe". In an 1858 criminal trial, Lincoln represented William "Duff" Armstrong, who was on trial for the murder of James Preston Metzker. The case is famous for Lincoln's use of a fact established by judicial notice to challenge the credibility of an eyewitness. After an opposing witness testified to seeing the crime in the moonlight, Lincoln produced a Farmers' Almanac showing
4980-446: The nomination in 1846, but also won the election. He was the only Whig in the Illinois delegation, but as dutiful as any participated in almost all votes and made speeches that toed the party line. He was assigned to the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads and the Committee on Expenditures in the War Department . Lincoln teamed with Joshua R. Giddings on a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia with compensation for
5063-401: The office of an established attorney, as was the custom, Lincoln borrowed legal texts from attorneys John Todd Stuart and Thomas Drummond , purchased books including Blackstone 's Commentaries and Chitty 's Pleadings , and read law on his own. He later said of his legal education that "I studied with nobody." Lincoln's second state house campaign in 1834, this time as a Whig , was
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#17328803679535146-580: The owners, enforcement to capture fugitive slaves, and a popular vote on the matter. He dropped the bill when it eluded Whig support. On foreign and military policy, Lincoln spoke against the Mexican–American War , which he imputed President James K. Polk 's desire for "military glory — that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood". He supported the Wilmot Proviso , a failed proposal to ban slavery in any U.S. territory won from Mexico. Lincoln emphasized his opposition to Polk by drafting and introducing his Spot Resolutions . The war had begun with
5229-435: The practice of law in Louisville, Kentucky and was the president of an insurance company from 1875 to 1877. Winchester was president of the Democratic State Convention in 1884. He was also appointed Minister Resident and consul general to Switzerland and served from 1885 to 1889. Building on the experience and observations made during his tenure, he wrote the book "The Swiss Republic", the publication of which coincided with
5312-416: The presidency. He said the Kansas Act had a " declared indifference, but as I must think, a covert real zeal for the spread of slavery. I cannot but hate it. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world...." Lincoln's attacks on the Kansas–Nebraska Act marked his return to political life. Nationally
5395-478: The pursuit of happiness". In 1858, Douglas was up for re-election in the U.S. Senate, and Lincoln hoped to defeat him. Many in the party felt that a former Whig should be nominated in 1858, and Lincoln's 1856 campaigning and support of Trumbull had earned him a favor. Some eastern Republicans supported Douglas for his opposition to the Lecompton Constitution and admission of Kansas as a slave state . Many Illinois Republicans resented this eastern interference. For
5478-474: The right and the wrong". Many in the audience thought he appeared awkward and even ugly. But Lincoln demonstrated intellectual leadership, which brought him into contention. Journalist Noah Brooks reported, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience". Historian David Herbert Donald described the speech as "a superb political move for an unannounced presidential aspirant. Appearing in Seward's home state, sponsored by
5561-467: The slaves in the states "in rebellion" to be free. It also directed the Army and Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons" and to receive them "into the armed service of the United States." Lincoln pressured border states to outlaw slavery, and he promoted the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution , which abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime. Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign . He sought to heal
5644-541: The status of slavery in the territories failed to alleviate tensions between the slave-holding South and the free North, with the failure of the Compromise of 1850 , a legislative package designed to address the issue. In his 1852 eulogy for Clay, Lincoln highlighted the latter's support for gradual emancipation and opposition to "both extremes" on the slavery issue. As the slavery debate in the Nebraska and Kansas territories became particularly acrimonious, Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed popular sovereignty as
5727-478: The territories and backed the admission of Kansas as a free state. Lincoln gave the final speech of the convention supporting the party platform and called for the preservation of the Union. At the June 1856 Republican National Convention , though Lincoln received support to run as vice president, John C. Frémont and William Dayton were on the ticket, which Lincoln supported throughout Illinois. The Democrats nominated former Secretary of State James Buchanan and
5810-418: The two lived in Springfield, Illinois ). During Lincoln's stay, the two lawyers met almost daily to discuss legal matters of the day. James Speed lent Lincoln books from his law library. Unlike his brother Joshua, James Speed opposed slavery and was active in the Whig Party . In 1847 Speed was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives . At this early point in his career, Speed was already agitating for
5893-405: The war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just five days after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox , he was attending a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Mary , when he was fatally shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth . Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and a national hero for his wartime leadership and for his efforts to preserve
5976-485: Was Ann Rutledge , whom he met when he moved to New Salem. However, witness testimony, given decades afterward, showed a lack of any specific recollection of a romance between the two. Rutledge died on August 25, 1835, most likely of typhoid fever ; Lincoln took the death very hard, saying that he could not bear the idea of rain falling on Ann's grave. Lincoln sank into a serious episode of depression, and this gave rise to speculation that he had been in love with her. In
6059-511: Was "Honest Abe", unpolished but trustworthy. Boyd Winchester Boyd Winchester (September 23, 1836 – May 18, 1923) was a United States representative from Kentucky . He was born in Ascension Parish, Louisiana . He pursued preparatory studies and then attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Virginia . He graduated from
6142-498: Was a Democratic stronghold, and acceptance of the post would have disrupted his legal and political career in Illinois, so he declined and resumed his law practice. In his Springfield practice, Lincoln handled "every kind of business that could come before a prairie lawyer". Twice a year he appeared for 10 consecutive weeks in county seats in the Midstate county courts; this continued for 16 years. Lincoln handled transportation cases in
6225-660: Was a delegate to Republican National Convention from Kentucky in 1872. He was elected a 3rd class companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States in recognition of his service to the Union during the Civil War. Speed died in Louisville in 1887, and is interred at Cave Hill Cemetery in that city. His family's estate, Farmington , is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places , and while
6308-538: Was also a descendant of the Harrison family of Virginia ; his paternal grandfather and namesake, Captain Abraham Lincoln and wife Bathsheba (née Herring) moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Kentucky . The captain was killed in an Indian raid in 1786. His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, Abraham's father, witnessed the attack. Thomas then worked at odd jobs in Kentucky and Tennessee before
6391-513: Was also a member of the Louisville law firm Stites & Harbison . As the coming Civil War was increasing in likelihood , Speed worked to keep Kentucky in the Union . He also became a commander of the Louisville Home Guard . Elected to the Kentucky Senate in 1861, Speed became the leader of the pro-Union forces. In 1862 he introduced a bill to "confiscate the property" of those supporting
6474-514: Was born on December 21, 1850, and died of a fever at the White House on February 20, 1862. The youngest, Thomas "Tad" Lincoln , was born on April 4, 1853, and survived his father, but died of heart failure at age 18 on July 16, 1871. Lincoln "was remarkably fond of children" and the Lincolns were not considered to be strict with their own. In fact, Lincoln's law partner William H. Herndon would grow irritated when Lincoln brought his children to
6557-464: Was elected to the Illinois legislature, but before the term began in January he declined to take his seat so that he would be eligible to be a candidate in the upcoming U.S. Senate election. The year's elections showed the strong opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act, and in the aftermath Lincoln sought election to the U.S. Senate. At that time, senators were elected by state legislatures. After leading in
6640-529: Was going and replied, "To hell, I suppose". In 1844, the couple bought a house in Springfield near his law office. Mary kept house with the help of a hired servant and a relative. Lincoln was an affectionate husband and father of four sons, though his work regularly kept him away from home. The eldest, Robert Todd Lincoln , was born in 1843, and was the only child to live to maturity. Edward Baker Lincoln (Eddie), born in 1846, died February 1, 1850, probably of tuberculosis. Lincoln's third son, "Willie" Lincoln
6723-434: Was lazy, for all his "reading—scribbling—writing—ciphering—writing poetry". His stepmother acknowledged he did not enjoy "physical labor" but loved to read. Lincoln was largely self-educated. His formal schooling was from itinerant teachers . It included two short stints in Kentucky, where he learned to read, but probably not to write. In Indiana at age seven, due to farm chores, he attended school only sporadically, for
6806-528: Was tall, strong, and athletic, and became adept at using an ax. He was an active wrestler during his youth and trained in the rough catch-as-catch-can style (also known as catch wrestling). He became county wrestling champion at the age of 21. He gained a reputation for his strength and audacity after winning a wrestling match with the renowned leader of ruffians known as the Clary's Grove boys. In March 1830, fearing another milk sickness outbreak, several members of
6889-482: Was the recipient of honorary degrees later in life, including an honorary Doctor of Laws from Columbia University in June 1861. When Lincoln was a teen, his "father grew more and more to depend on him for the 'farming, grubbing, hoeing, making fences' necessary to keep the family afloat. He also regularly hired his son out to work ... and by law, he was entitled to everything the boy earned until he came of age". Lincoln
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