Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in Kentucky and grew up in a poor family, receiving very little formal schooling. He worked various jobs including store owner and surveyor before becoming a lawyer in Illinois in 1837. Lincoln was elected as the 16th US President in 1860 on the platform of stopping the expansion of slavery. During his presidency, 11 southern states seceded and the Civil War began in 1861. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, freeing all slaves in rebel states. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in 1865.