Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865. He was born in Kentucky in 1809 and spent most of his life there before moving to Illinois in 1830. Abraham was a self-educated man who earned money as a laborer on railroads, but eventually became a successful lawyer.
Lincoln was elected president in 1860 at a time when America was divided over slavery. During his presidency, he oversaw the Civil War and led efforts to preserve the Union and end slavery in America.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in American history. It was delivered by President Abraham Lincoln during a dedication ceremony at Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. The speech gave an account of one of the most important battles in American history, which took place three months earlier on July 1-3, 1863 near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, just days after the surrender of General Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S Grant at Appomattox Court House.
In addition to being a great politician, Lincoln was also an avid reader who enjoyed poetry and classics like Shakespeare’s plays. His favorite book was Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man; he even read it aloud to his cabinet when they were having trouble with their own books!
