Abraham Lincoln's wife was a restless, fearful, and extravagant woman. Mary became the victim of a cruel set of circumstances: she lost loved ones four times, and her only surviving son declared his mother insane, and after the murder of her husband she spent the rest of her days in poverty.
Of Lincoln's four children, only the eldest, Robert (1843-1926), achieved mature age. Three-year-old Edward died of tuberculosis in 1850, William died presumably of typhoid at the age of eleven in 1862, and Thomas (Ted) died of pleurisy and subsequent heart complications at eighteen.
Even when Mary was first lady and her husband tried to limit her, Lincoln's wife did not keep track of her money. Upon learning that she had overspent some $20,000 refurbishing the White House, Lincoln declared that he would rather pay the bills out of his own pocket than let the people of America know that they were "paying for all sorts of crap for that damned old house, while how the soldiers can’t get blankets.”
Unable to find a place for herself after the death of her husband in 1865, Mary constantly traveled and became interested in spiritualism. The inheritance was divided between her, Robert and Ted, but she bitterly complained that her share ($1,700) was too small to provide for a decent life, and tried to secretly sell off her wardrobe and jewelry. In October 1867, Robert told his fiancée that "in some respects mother is mentally incompetent."
Upon returning to the United States in 1871 after three years in Europe, she was shocked by Tad's death. By this time, Congress had voted to grant her a pension of 3,000 pounds, but she continued to complain about poverty. It was then that she began to develop auditory and visual hallucinations. After consulting with doctors, Robert turned to the Chicago court in 1875 with a request to consider the issue of her sanity. Stories about her unprecedented sprees, thousands of dollars hidden in her underwear, and a strange demeanor convinced the court to place her in a private hospital in the town of Batavia, PC. Illinois. That same evening, Mary tried to commit suicide by drinking what she believed was a tincture of opium. After four months of treatment, she was allowed to move to live with her sister in Springfield. Illinois, and in June 1876 a jury found that her sanity had returned.
Still at loggerheads with Robert, Mary once again went to Europe in 1879 and settled in the French resort town of Pau, near the border with Spain, where she began to lose excess weight. A diabetic, Mary was constantly thirsty and suffered from painful boils, blurred vision and back pain. Her spinal cord was damaged after she fell from a folding ladder while hanging a picture.
Lost to 100 pounds and half-blind from cataracts, Mary was returning to the United States on a ship in October 1880 when a high wave struck the ship and she rolled across the wet deck. Her traveling companion, actress Sarah Bernhardt, supported Mary and saved her from falling off the ramp. Bernard later wrote in her memoirs: “I did the only thing for this unfortunate woman that should not have been done - I saved her life.”
The president's widow had lived for the past year and a half with her sister's family in Springfield, in a dark room, surrounded by her chests and baskets. Mary always slept on one side of the bed, believing that Abraham was lying next to her. Twice she traveled to New York in the hope of being cured of partial paralysis. Congress increased her pension to $5,000 and paid a lump sum of $15,000. Towards the end of her life she reconciled with Robert. On July 15, 1882, Mary Lincoln suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. The next day she died.
Mary Lincoln's coffin was displayed in the hall in which she was married forty-one years ago, and friends came to say goodbye to her. At a service at Springfield Presbyterian Church, the Rev. James A. Reed said, “For one who led such a miserable existence, life became a protracted death... She died with Abraham Lincoln.”
Abraham Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln, February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) is one of the most famous presidents of the United States of America. He was the sixteenth in this post. Famous for his fight for the abolition of slavery and the rights of black people.
Childhood and youth
Abraham was born in 1809 into a family of poor and illiterate farmers. Their Sinking Spring farm brought in very little income, and the housing for people and animals was little different from each other. It is noteworthy that at one time Lincoln’s father was one of the wealthiest people in the area, but due to a legal error in paperwork, he lost all his property.
No one in those days thought about the happy and carefree childhood of their offspring. Everyone worked together to the best of their ability on the land. Abraham himself rarely had the opportunity to attend school. And after his mother died and the family began to move frequently, he had to give up his studies altogether.
However, this only pushed the boy to self-education. He enjoyed learning to read and write and constantly read books. At a very young age, he mastered the Bible, as well as Aesop's fables and The History of Benjamin Washington. To improve his writing and earn extra money at the same time, he regularly wrote letters for his illiterate neighbors.
After another move, the Lincoln family ended up in New Orleans. Here, Abraham, who had already matured, saw something that could not be found in the northern states in which he had previously lived. A slave market with all the nightmares and mockeries of human nature opened before his eyes. This sight amazed him so much that it stuck in his brain for many years.
Thanks to his education, Lincoln could apply for a clean and well-paid job far from cattle and fields. He changed many occupations, worked as a clerk, postmaster, and was a member of the militia.
Carier start
At just 26 years old, Abraham Lincoln had already become a member of the Illinois Legislature. In this position, he had the opportunity to study the political world from the inside. A lot of things did not suit him and even seemed wrong. Therefore, the young man began to study law with renewed energy. He mastered the discipline perfectly, which he proved in 1836 by passing the exam brilliantly and receiving the title of lawyer.
Together with his like-minded person, Lincoln founded a law office. He quickly formed a whole line of wealthy clients. At the same time, he helped low-income people for free.
In 1856, Abraham Lincoln became a member of the newly formed Republican Party. Already in this role in 1856 he ran for the Senate. Despite the loss, it was this election campaign that opened him and his ideas to the citizens of the country. Lincoln's brilliant speech conveyed the message that America could no longer turn a blind eye to the existence of slavery.
President Lincoln
In 1860, Lincoln beat all his rivals and took the post of President of America. This event led to the beginning Civil War. However, it also became a powerful impetus for the development of the country.
The southern states, which had long prospered from the labor of slaves, came out sharply against the newly elected leader. They announced their separation. However, the President did not recognize their independence. On the contrary, he declared all slaves free. The southern states could not resist the power of the regular army. They lost the war.
New presidential term
In 1864, Lincoln was re-elected President. He understood perfectly well that the country after the Civil War needed restoration. The law on allocating land to all citizens was a significant step in this regard, but much remained to be done.
The President made bold plans for the future. He was convinced that a country that had thrown off the shackles of slavery would develop rapidly. Lincoln promised pardon to all participants in the rebellion, with the exception of particularly distinguished leaders.
Death
Unfortunately, he was not destined to make all this come true. In 1865, Lincoln went to Ford's Theater for his last performance.
One of the actors, J. W. Booth, fanatically loyal to the Southerners and hating the Northerners with all his heart, snuck into his box. No one expected that he brought a gun with him.
A shot to the head killed the great President. However, his ideas had already taken root on fertile soil, and there was no possibility of returning to the past.
The 16th President of the United States is buried in Oak Rog Cemetery.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln (02/12/1809 - 04/15/1865) - 16th President of the United States (1861-1865), who became the first president from the Republican Party, liberator of American slaves, national hero American people.
Biography of Abraham Lincoln - early years.
The biography of A. Lincoln is interesting and varied. He was born and raised in a poor farming family. I studied at school for no more than one year, because... Due to the poverty of the family, he was forced to help his parents, first he worked in the fields, then he worked part-time at the post office, and was a lumberjack, boatman, and land surveyor. He rejected fishing and hunting due to his moral convictions. Lincoln was a vegetarian. The desire for education was enormous: I read books by the light of a torch, walked 30 miles to court to listen to lawyers speak, and devoted a lot of time to self-education. At age 23, Abraham Lincoln ran for a seat in the Illinois State Assembly but was not elected. After which he tried to work in a trading store, but things did not go well. The year 1832 for the state of Illinois is associated with an uprising of Indians who did not want to leave their familiar places and move west. A. Lincoln's biography is connected with this uprising - he was appointed captain of the militia, but did not participate in hostilities. Further, A. Lincoln worked as a postmaster, thanks to which he had the opportunity to read political newspapers, and was a land surveyor. In 1835, Lincoln was already able to win elections to the Illinois State Legislature. A. Lincoln supported the ideas of the US President of that time - E. Jackson. Working in the Legislative Assembly prompted Lincoln to study law in more detail. Lincoln's enormous thirst for knowledge helped him study law; he was able to study it on his own and pass the bar exam. A. Lincoln, being a legislator and lawyer, quickly gained popularity and respect for himself. Lincoln is a deeply decent person; he could not even take money from the poor, whose interests he defended in court.
A. Lincoln's 1842 biography is related to his marriage to Mary Tod after two years of their acquaintance. They had four children, but all but one died in early age– when they were 4, 12, 18 years old.
Biography of Abraham Lincoln - his mature years.
Professional growth Lincoln continued, and from 1846 to 1949. Lincoln is a member of the House of Representatives from the Whig Party. Lincoln denied the necessity of the Mexican-American war at that time. Moreover, Lincoln considered this war an aggression on the part of the United States and openly criticized President Polk. This could not but affect his career, and he decided not to participate in re-election to the House of Representatives. In 1849, Lincoln was appointed Secretary of the State of Oregon, but he refused this position because... it would mean the end of his burgeoning career at Illinois. During these years, Lincoln retired from the political arena and began practicing law. In this field he became the best lawyer in Illinois. Throughout his legal career, he has been involved in 5,100 reported cases and has argued cases before the State Supreme Court more than 400 times.
Hostility to slavery runs through Lincoln's entire biography. In 1856, Lincoln joined the anti-slavery Republican Party. In 1858, Lincoln ran for a seat in the US Senate. His opponent was S. Douglas, with whom he entered into a debate over slavery and lost to him in the election. But, despite this, Lincoln gained the status of a freedom fighter.
In 1860, A. Lincoln was elected President of the United States from the Republican Party. Because Lincoln was an opponent of slavery, and his election victory split the American people. The southern states of the United States announced their secession from the United States. In 1861, the Confederate States of America was formed with Richmond as its capital. Lincoln tried to unite the American people, but the Civil War of 1861-1865 was inevitable. Lincoln was personally involved in directing the war effort. The war caused dissatisfaction with Lincoln's rule. The Republican Party put pressure on Lincoln, some party members were in favor of gradual emancipation from slavery, others demanded it immediately. But he managed to find a compromise, and the Republican Party was saved from splitting. Even during the years of the Civil War, freedom of speech existed in the country; there were no serious restrictions on the rights and freedoms of the American people.
Lincoln's biography is famous for the adoption of the Homestead Act in 1862. Under this act, every US citizen who had reached the age of 21 and had not participated in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy could receive a plot of land up to 65 hectares in size, and five years after the development of the land plot and the start of construction of buildings on the plot, acquired ownership of the land. This led to the development of farming, the development of new previously empty lands and solved agrarian problems. Under the Homestead Act, about 115 million hectares of land were given to the population.
Lincoln won the presidential election and a second term, although he had doubts, and the leaders of the Republican Party no longer supported him. His opponent in the election was McClellan, but on the eve of the election, Atlanta, the breadbasket of the Confederate south, was taken, and this led to the victory of Lincoln in the election of US President.
The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865 with the surrender of the Confederacy. And on April 14, 1865, Lincoln was shot in the head during a performance in the theater by a Southern supporter, John Booth. Although Lincoln received enormous criticism during his reign as President of the United States, his achievements cannot be overlooked. During his reign, the transcontinental railway was built Railway To Pacific Ocean, a new banking system was created, many agrarian problems were solved, and most importantly, slavery was abolished. Lincoln is remembered by the people as one of the best US presidents.
His memory is immortalized in a memorial in the US capital, Washington: a six-meter statue of Lincoln sits inside the building.
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© Biography of Abraham Lincoln. Biography of the 16th President of the United States. Biography of the US President who abolished slavery.
Abraham Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. His father was Thomas Lincoln, a respectable farmer, and his mother was Nancy Hanks, who moved to the state from West Virginia. Alas, young Abraham was not destined to grow up in a wealthy family: in 1816, his father lost most of his property during legal disputes, which was caused by a fateful legal error in the farmer’s property documents.
The bankrupt family moved to Indiana, hoping to try their luck in developing free new lands. Soon Nancy Hanks died, and she began to perform a number of her duties in caring for Lincoln Jr. elder sister Sarah. In 1819, Thomas Lincoln, recovering from his loss, married Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow who at that time had three children from her first marriage. The future president had a very good relationship with Sarah Bush. warm relations, and gradually she became a second mother to him.
Young Abraham had to take on any part-time job to help his family make ends meet. The exception was fishing and hunting: young Lincoln never took on such work, since it did not correspond to his moral principles.
Abraham became the first in his family to learn to count and write, and also became extremely fond of reading. It is interesting that during all his young years the young man attended school for a total of no more than a year. He was forced to work to help his family, but his tireless thirst for knowledge helped him become a literate person.
When Abraham Lincoln turned 21, his large family decided to move. At the same time, a stately, intelligent young man, whose height was 193 cm, and whose level of erudition was not inferior to the knowledge of any peer who had undergone full-fledged schooling, decided to start an independent life. Until then, he worked regularly for the benefit of his family and gave all his income to his parents, but such activities did not suit him in the context of his life as a whole.
It is worth noting that the success story of Abraham Lincoln is a story not only of inspiring victories, but also of resounding slaps in the face from fate, which the politician always knew how to withstand with true dignity. So, in 1832, he tried to be elected to the Illinois Legislative Assembly, but failed. Then Lincoln began to study the sciences even more seriously than before (he was especially interested in law).
At the same time, the young man and his friend tried to make money at a trading post, but the business of the young entrepreneurs was going very badly. Abraham, forced to count every penny, was saved only by reading a lot and constantly dreaming. Around the same time, Lincoln formed his negative attitude towards slavery.
Subsequently, young Abraham managed to get the position of postmaster in the town of New Salem, and after some time he took the post of surveyor. While living in New Salem, Lincoln acquired one of his most widely known nicknames: "Honest Abe."
Money was still tight for the politician, so he often had to borrow from his friends. But he always repaid his debts on time to the last penny, for which he received such a nickname.
Beginning of a political career
In 1835, Abraham Lincoln again tried to be elected to the Illinois State Legislature, and this time he was successful. In 1836, the politician successfully passed the examination for the official title of lawyer, having studied all areas of the law on his own. Subsequently, he worked in the legal field for quite a long time, including taking on complex cases and refusing to receive payment from low-income citizens who needed his help. In his speeches, Abraham always emphasized democratic values.
In 1846, Honest Abe entered the House of Representatives. As in the elections to the Illinois Legislature, he was elected from the Whig party. Lincoln condemned the aggressive actions of the United States in the Mexican-American War, supported the desire of women to gain suffrage, and spoke out for the gradual ridding of the country from the slave system.
After some time, Abraham had to step away from politics for a while, since his negative attitude towards the Mexican-American War, which was then very popular among the masses, became the reason for the politician’s rejection by his home state. Without covering his head with ashes because of this failure, Lincoln began to devote a lot of time to legal practice.
In 1854, the US Republican Party was created, advocating the abolition of slavery, and in 1856 the politician became part of a new political force. It is worth noting that at that time many former followers of the Whig Party joined the Republican Party.
A few years later, he, along with Democratic Representative Stephen Douglas, ran for the US Senate. During the debates, Lincoln once again expressed his negative attitude towards slavery, which allowed him to create a good reputation, although he lost the election.
President of the U.S.A
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was nominated as the Republican Party candidate for President of the United States. He was known for his hard work, high moral principles, and had the reputation of “a man of the people.” Interesting Facts politics were read with interest from the pages of newspapers, and his photographs were invariably associated with honesty and valor. As a result, the politician won the elections, gaining more than 80% of the votes.
As President However, the newly elected president also had many opponents. His policy, which excluded the possibility of the expansion of slavery, caused several states to declare secession from the United States. The president's statements that the abolition of slavery in those states where it already operates is not planned in the near future could not resolve the irreconcilable contradictions between supporters of the slave system and its opponents.
American Civil War
The war between 15 slave states and 20 states where slavery did not exist began in 1861 and lasted until 1865, becoming a serious test for the newly elected president. In this war, many more American citizens met their premature death than in any other armed conflict in which the United States participated.
The war included a lot of small and large battles and ended with the surrender of the Confederacy, which united the states that supported the legality of the slave system. The country had to undergo the difficult process of integrating the freed black population into American society.
During the war, the president's primary interest was democracy. He made every effort to ensure that, even during the Civil War, the two-party system functioned successfully in the country, elections were organized, freedom of speech and other civil liberties of US residents were preserved.
Second term and murder
During the war years, Abraham Lincoln made many enemies. However, the president was benefited by the abolition of the transfer of arrested citizens to the court, thanks to which all deserters, as well as the most ardent admirers of the slave system, could be immediately imprisoned.
The people also liked the Homestead Act, according to which a settler who began to cultivate the land on a certain plot and erected buildings on it became its full owner.
All this allowed Lincoln to be re-elected to a second term, but, alas, he did not have to govern his native country for long. On April 14, 1865, five days after the official end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theater by actor John Wilkes Booth, who had fought for the Southern cause. It is noteworthy that many similarities were subsequently discovered between the circumstances of Lincoln's death and how he was assassinated about a century later.
Today, Lincoln is considered one of the most worthy US presidents, who prevented the collapse of the nation and made a lot of efforts for the liberation of African Americans. A statue of the president was erected in Washington as a sign of the gratitude of all the American people. Quotes from the 16th President of the United States became part of folk wisdom Americans.
Personal life
Honest Abe most likely suffered from a condition called Marfan syndrome. In addition, depression was a frequent companion of Abraham: they say that in his youth the young man even tried to commit suicide several times.
In 1840, the future president met Mary Todd, and in 1842 the couple married. The wife always supported her husband in all his endeavors, and soon after his death she lost her mind.
Four sons were born into the family, but, alas, many of the children of the Lincoln couple died in infancy or young age. The only child of Mary and Abraham who survived adolescence and died in old age - the eldest son Robert Todd Lincoln.
Russians, filled with skepticism towards their own homeland, among the many claims to the domestic world order, sometimes put forward the following: in Russia, they say, it is accepted historical figures place them on a pedestal and build a cult around their names, erasing inconvenient or dubious facts from their biographies in every possible way.
In fact, this phenomenon is by no means unique to Russia - they are elevated to the cult of their own heroes, crossing out their minor sins and shortcomings almost everywhere.
16th US President Abraham Lincoln in modern America he is considered one of the greatest figures in the history of the country. Bringing up the sins and shortcomings of “Honest Abe” is a sign of bad taste.
Abraham Lincoln. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
The real Lincoln was far from ideal, not without flaws and criticized from all sides. And who knows how Americans would have treated him now if not for the tragic death of the president.
The Farmer's Son Who Loved Reading
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky, into a family of farmers. The newborn was named in honor of his grandfather, who once moved the family to Kentucky from Virginia. The grandfather of the future president died in a skirmish with the Indians, whom respectable farmers, in a very civilized manner, drove from their homes by force of arms.
Father of Abraham Thomas Lincoln, was an uneducated man. Perhaps that is why he was unable to run a stable household. When Abraham was born, his father was one of richest people in the district, and after seven years he lost almost everything in litigation with more competent competitors.
The family moved to free lands in Indiana. At the age of 9, Abraham lost his mother, who was soon replaced by his stepmother.
Her relationship with her stepson was quite warm. Under the influence of his stepmother, Abraham, who had previously avoided all kinds of housework, got involved and began to help his family. Young Lincoln loved chopping wood most of all.
Abraham attended school for only one year - he did not have the opportunity to do more due to the need to help his family. But this year was enough for Lincoln to learn to read and write - he became the first in the family to succeed.
Those who knew Lincoln in his youth later recalled that he spent all his free time reading. This hobby began to alienate Abraham from his father, because Thomas Lincoln I saw my son as a farmer and considered reading books a waste of time.
Debts must be repaid
But Abraham did not limit himself to reading. He honed his writing skills by helping his neighbors write messages to their relatives, and became familiar with oratory by listening to lawyers speak in court.
In 1830, Thomas Lincoln and his family moved again to a new place, and 21-year-old Abraham began an independent life. After getting a job, he visited New Orleans on a business trip, where he saw the slave market for the first time. The spectacle seemed so disgusting to him that for the rest of his life he retained a negative attitude towards slavery.
In 1832 he ran for legislature Illinois, but suffered a natural defeat. The young man, who had not yet achieved anything in life, looked too frivolous.
Abraham eventually obtained a position as a land surveyor, while studying law and dreaming of a career as a lawyer. In the village of New Salem, where he lived at that time, perhaps his most famous nickname was “Honest Abe.”
The fact is that Lincoln very often needed money, which he borrowed from anyone who was willing to help him. At the same time, Abraham always returned what he borrowed exactly on time, for which he was called “Honest Abe.”
Everything is not so clear...
In 1835, 26-year-old Abraham Lincoln ran again for the Illinois Legislature, this time successfully. A year later, he successfully passes the bar exam and is very successful in his new profession.
In 1842, Lincoln married Mary Todd, thus arranging his personal life.
The young lawyer and politician are being talked about more and more often. They note his honesty, outstanding oratory skills, and willingness to help both rich and poor.
In 1846, Lincoln was elected to the US House of Representatives from the Whig Party. And here his contradictory character begins to appear. The war with Mexico that broke out at that time was greeted positively by American society, but Lincoln considered it unjustified aggression and opposed it. At the same time, he supported the allocation of new appropriations to help troops and provide material support for disabled soldiers.
As already mentioned, Lincoln was hostile to slavery. At the same time, he was opposed to extreme measures and even more so to the armed struggle against slavery, considering it necessary to respect the rights of slave owners.
Such views eventually forced him to abandon his re-election to Congress and focus on his legal practice, which was very successful.
Abraham Lincoln. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Compromise figure
Lincoln returned to politics in 1856, joining the newly created Republican Party along with some of his fellow Whigs.
The debate about slavery became increasingly intense in the country. The industrial North of the United States spoke about the need to abolish it; the plantation South, whose economy was based on the slave labor of blacks, was categorically against it.
In 1858, Lincoln was nominated for the Senate by the Republican Party, and his opponent was Democrat Stephen Douglas. Lincoln lost, but his fiery speeches, condemning slavery from a moral point of view and denying the further possibility of the country existing in a state of “half-slavery and half-freedom,” thundered throughout the country.
At the same time, Lincoln remained on a moderate position - speaking out against slavery, he believed that its forced abolition in the southern states was impossible, since this would violate the rights of planters and could lead to a split in the state.
By the presidential election of 1860, the confrontation between the South and the North had reached its climax. The stumbling block was the question of the possibility of slavery in the new US territories. The northern states were sharply against it, and the southerners threatened to secede from the United States if they failed to defend this position.
Abraham Lincoln was not the brightest or most popular US politician, but the Republican Party nominated him as a presidential candidate in the hope that his moderate position would make him a compromise figure that would suit the majority.
Victory and split
Lincoln's moderate views seem far right from today's point of view - the politician, for example, was opposed to granting voting rights to blacks, and also opposed interracial marriage, believing that "the superiority of the white race will always be obvious."
Lincoln's trump card in the eyes of voters was his impeccable reputation and origins from the “common people.”
And yet, Lincoln might not have been able to tip the scales in his favor if not for the split in the Democratic Party, which put up not one, but two candidates for the election.
As a result, about 40 percent of voters voted for Lincoln, and 29.5 percent voted for his closest competitor, the same Stephen Douglas, to whom Lincoln lost the election to the Senate. The gap in electoral votes was much more significant - Lincoln secured the support of 180 electoral votes out of 303, while Douglas had only 12.
So 51-year-old Abraham Lincoln became President of the United States. To many at that moment it seemed like the last president. As soon as Lincoln's victory became known, South Carolina announced its secession from the United States, followed by six other states. Then other southern states joined them.
In February 1861, even before Lincoln's inauguration, southerners proclaimed the creation of the Confederate States of America and elected President Jefferson Davis and declared Richmond the capital of the new country.
On March 4, 1861, Lincoln took office, declaring that he did not recognize the secession of the southern states and called for a peaceful solution to the conflict.
“If I could save the union without freeing a single slave, I would do it.”
But by that time it was already clear that it would not be possible to settle the matter peacefully. Southerners left almost all federal agencies. The Confederacy was preparing for military conflict.
The new president, a supporter of moderation and compromise, had to make a difficult choice.
On April 12, 1861, the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, forcing its surrender after hours of bombardment.
Lincoln declared the South in a state of rebellion, began calling for volunteers into the army, and ordered a naval blockade of the Confederacy.
But the southerners to the war in her initial stage were much better prepared, despite the industrial potential of the North. The federal army suffered a series of defeats, and there were many generals within it who avoided large-scale actions and were inclined to conclude an agreement with the southerners.
The war dragged on, human casualties and economic losses grew, and ferment began in the Republican Party. With great difficulty, Lincoln managed to avoid a split among his comrades.
By the summer of 1862, the issue of abolishing slavery had not been resolved. Lincoln told reporters that he was much more concerned about preserving the Union. “If I could save the union without freeing a single slave, I would do it,” the president said.
Cross the Rubicon
But the longer the war went on, the more clearly Lincoln understood that compromises and half-measures alone could not win it. The President was able to win over the masses to his side with the Homestead Act passed in May 1862, according to which every citizen of the United States who had reached the age of 21 and had not fought on the side of the Confederacy could receive from the lands of the public fund a plot of land of no more than 160 acres (65 hectares) after payment of a registration fee of $10. The law came into force on January 1, 1863.
Under the Homestead Act, Americans received 2 million plots of land, which made it possible to solve the agrarian problem and populate desert lands. Lincoln's popularity among the people skyrocketed.
Towards the end of 1862, President Lincoln “crossed the Rubicon” by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared blacks living in territories in a state of rebellion against the United States to be “now and forever” free.
This was not yet the complete and final abolition of slavery in the United States, but the Proclamation correctly placed the emphasis in the war. The North, which publicly announced that it was fighting against slavery, won world public opinion to its side. In addition, this decision gave an influx of black volunteers into the federal army, whose number soon exceeded 150 thousand.
In March 1863, Abraham Lincoln introduced conscription into the country, which increased the size of the federal army.
“They don’t change horses midstream”
Despite all this, in 1863 the war continued with varying degrees of success. Fatigue with the conflict grew, and even among Lincoln's circles they increasingly talked about a compromise agreement. The President, however, was determined to complete what he started.
In December 1863, Lincoln promised amnesty to all rebels who took the oath of allegiance to the United States and agreed to the abolition of slavery.
At the beginning of 1864, the President appoints commander of the federal army Ulysses Grant, who was given the task of defeating the southerners with a series of blows, weakening their potential and forcing them to surrender.
Lincoln had little time - looming ahead presidential elections 1864, in which defeat was predicted for him. In the eyes of many southerners, and even northerners, it was he who was the main culprit of the bloody war. Even the Republicans were ready to replace Lincoln with another figure, but the president still ran for a second term. His election slogan was the phrase “Don’t change horses in midstream.”
Lincoln's main opponent was a Democrat George McClellan, former commander of the federal army, removed by Lincoln for indecisiveness and inaction. McClellan called for negotiations and an immediate end to the war.
The outcome of the election was unclear, but on September 2, 1864, troops General Sherman took Atlanta, the food center of the Confederacy. This success tipped the scales in favor of Lincoln, who was elected to a second term.
atoning sacrifice
The war was rapidly coming to an end. On January 31, 1865, Abraham Lincoln achieved the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which abolished slavery throughout the country.
In his speeches, Lincoln, who spoke about the need to reconstruct the South, simultaneously called for mercy, application, and restoration of the unity of the nation.
The Confederate capital, Richmond, fell on April 2, 1865. A week later, the Confederacy finally capitulated.
The war ended, but the problems did not decrease. Blacks were given freedom, but they were still far from being recognized as full citizens. The life of the American South was about to change radically, and contrary to the opinions of its inhabitants.
For supporters of the abolition of slavery and residents of the American North, Lincoln became a cult figure, but for southerners he was a murderer, a ruiner, a monster who ruined their lives.
The vengeance that the latter dreamed of took place five days after the fall of the Confederacy, on April 14, 1865. Lincoln came to Ford's Theater in Washington for the play My American Cousin. During the performance, a supporter of the southerners entered his box, actor John Wilkes Booth, who mortally wounded the president with a pistol shot.
Abraham Lincoln died the next morning.
This death outweighed a lot. In the eyes of the majority, the 16th President of the United States became a man who sacrificed his life in the name of preserving the country and eliminating slavery.
Errors, miscalculations, weaknesses remained in the shadows, and only specialist historians argue about them. And for modern Americans he is simply “Honest Abe,” the conscience of the nation.
