Abraham Lincoln Project

1. Abraham Lincoln
By: Jaxson Madison
Period 2

2. Abraham Lincoln’s Early Years
• Born on February 12, 1809 in Nolin Creek,
Kentucky
• His house was a one room log cabin
• Family was extremely poor
• Father - Thomas Lincoln
• Mother - Nancy Hanks
• Had one older sister Sarah and younger
brother Thomas

3. Family Life
• The Lincoln family moved many times and In
March, 1830, the family moved again, this time to
Macon County, Illinois. Then again to Coles
County
• Abraham Lincoln left the family to go work on his
own, making a living in manual labor
• He worked in a series of jobs, which helped him
with his social skills
• When the Black Hawk War broke out, the people
in Lincoln’s region elected him to be their captain

4. Early Political and Law Career
• After the Black Hawk War, Lincoln began his
political career and was elected to the Illinois
legislature, in 1834
• He supported the Whig Party, which made
him start to see slavery as a good thing
• Lincoln decided to be a lawyer and in 1837 he
moved to Springfield, Illinois, and started to
practice in the John T. Stuart law firm

5. Entering Politics
• Lincoln served a single term in the U.S. House
of Representatives from 1847 to 1849
• Lincoln served as a lobbyist for the Illinois
Central Railroad as its company attorney
• Success in several court cases brought other
business clients as well—banks, insurance
companies and manufacturing firms

6. Elected President
• Lincoln decided to challenge sitting U.S. Senator Stephen
Douglas for his seat
• In his nomination acceptance speech, he criticized Douglas,
the Supreme Court, and President Buchanan for promoting
slavery and declared "a house divided cannot stand.”
• In the end, the state legislature elected Douglas, but the
exposure vaulted Lincoln into national politics
• In 1860, political operatives in Illinois organized a campaign
to support Abraham Lincoln for the presidency
• Lincoln received not quite 40 percent of the popular vote,
but carried 180 of 303 Electoral votes.

7. Civil War
• The Union Army's first year and a half of battlefield
defeats made it especially difficult to keep up morale
• Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on
January 1, 1863, which stated that all individuals who
were held as slaves in rebellious states "henceforward
shall be free.”
• The action was more symbolic than effective because
the North didn’t control any states in rebel territory
and the proclamation didn’t apply to Border States
• On April 9, 1856, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his
forces to Union General Grant and the war ended

8. Assassination
• Lincoln was confronted by a radical group of
Republicans in the Senate and House that
wanted complete allegiance and repentance
from former Confederates
• Before a political battle had a chance to firmly
develop, Lincoln was assassinated on April 14,
1865
• Lincoln was assassinated by well known actor,
John Wilkes Booth

9. Determination
• Lincoln showed determination by not giving
up and being discouraged when people didn’t
like him during his first term in the house of
representatives
• He kept on going when people said he was
doing the wrong thing
• Did everything he could to help the people in
the south

10. Fun Facts
• Lincoln is the tallest president, at 6 feet and 4
inches
• He grew a beard at the suggestion of an
eleven year old girl
• He only had one year of proper education
• Stored important items in his stovepipe hat
• Had a scar over when eye from fighting with a
gang of thieves

11. Bibliography
• Davis, Kenneth, Don’t Know Much About The
Presidents. U.S.A: HarperCollins, 2002
• Krull, Kathleen, and Kathryn Hewitt. Lives of the
Presidents. San Diego, 2011
• Grimm, Laura. ”Abraham Lincoln Biography,”
Biography.com. 2015. Bio.
http://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-
9382540
• Alchin, Linda. “Abraham Lincoln Timeline,” Cookie
Policy. March 2015.
http://www.datesandevents.org/people-timelines/01-
abraham-lincoln-timeline.htm