Abraham Lincoln

Historical Milestone: Preserved the American Union during the Civil War (1861–1865); issued the Emancipation Proclamation (1863); delivered the Gettysburg Address; championed the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery Self-Taught Frontier Lawyer: Born in a one-room log cabin to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln (died 1818 when Abraham was nine). Received less than 12 months of formal classroom schooling total, educating himself by candlelight reading the King James Bible, *Aesop's Fables*, William Shakespeare, and William Blackstone's *Commentaries on the Laws of England*. Served in the Illinois Black Hawk War (1832), Illinois State Legislature (1834–1842), and US House of Representatives (1847–1849), earning admission to the Illinois Bar in 1836 as a premier railroad and corporate trial lawyer. Presidency & Emancipation: Rose to national prominence through the 1858 Lincoln–Douglas debates. Elected 16th President in November 1860 as the first Republican president, triggering the secession of Southern slave states. Issued the Emancipation Proclamation on 1 January 1863, freeing enslaved persons in Confederate states. Delivered the 272-word Gettysburg Address on 19 November 1863. Secured passage of the 13th Amendment abolishing chattel slavery permanently before his assassination five days after General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Married Mary Todd Lincoln in 1842; four sons (only Robert Todd Lincoln reached adulthood).