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He was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky
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His mother died in his tenth year
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In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator
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He had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity In 1858.
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He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity In 1858.
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in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860.
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Dates of Presidency: 3/4/1861 - 4/15/1865
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On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.
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Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded an end to the war. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging Southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion
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On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who somehow thought he was helping the South. The opposite was the result, for with Lincoln's death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died.
