Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln’s first love was Ann Rutledge, whom he had met while relocating to New Orleans. The two shared a cordial relationship which ended abruptly following her death on August 25, 1835 from typhoid and fever.

He was involved with Mary Owens from Kentucky. Their relationship was blissful and cordial but until a time after which the two separated, as both had developed second thoughts about their relationship.

Lincoln met Mary Todd in December 1839. Hailing from a wealthy slave-holding family in Lexington, Kentucky, the two shared a great chemistry which led to their engagement the following year. However, Lincoln broke off the engagement only to marry her a year later on November 4, 1842.

Born to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Lincoln, in a log-cabin in Hardin County Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln was the second of the three children of the couple. He had an elder sister Sarah and a younger brother Thomas who died in infancy.

Senior Lincoln was a hardworking man. Through his relentless efforts, he became one the richest men in the country. He was respected and honoured by one and all. However, the blissfulness did not last long as Thomas Lincoln lost all what he had, which led to the family shifting base to the present Spencer County, Indiana.

Religiously, the Lincolns attended Separate Baptists church and had opposing views regarding alcohol, dancing and slavery. They completely believed in restrictive moral standards.

In 1818, tragedy struck the family as Nancy Lincoln left for the heavenly abode, after suffering from milk sickness. The death of his mother had devastating effect on young Lincoln who grew alienated from his father. However, the gap was abridged by his stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston whom he grew close to.

Billed as lazy and indolent by most due to his dislike for the hard labor associated with frontier life, Lincoln wronged all as he grew up to be responsible and dedicated. He completed all the chores expected of a boy from a household and became an adept axe-man in his work, building rail fences. He also dutifully submitted all his earning to his father.

In 1832, Lincoln shifted to New Orleans, where, along with a friend, he bought a small general store. However, since the venture did not turn out to be profitable, he sold his shares and instead, tried his hand at politics. He started campaigning for a seat at the Illinois General Assembly.

Though Lincoln had gained popularity through his skilled storytelling ability, his lack of proper formal education, money and powerful friends lead to his loss. Meanwhile, while taking part in the assembly, Lincoln also served in the Black Hawk War as a captain in the Illinois Militia.

After working as a postmaster and county surveyor, Lincoln’s gave in to his wish to become a lawyer. He started reading law books to equip himself with the knowledge required in the field. Lincoln’s social skills and antics at story-telling were honed during this phase of life.

In 1834, his second campaign turned out to be successful as he won election to the state legislature and ran as a Whig.

In 1836, Lincoln moved to Springfield Illinois where he enrolled himself to the bar and started practicing law under John T. Stuart.

While the northern states of US had banned slavery and were against suppression of people belonging to the lower class or caste, the southern states and the newer territories in the West still did not think of same as morally unethical. As such, to cast a similar influence, Lincoln switched back to his political career by the 1850s and strongly opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

According to the Act, Douglas had permitted the settlers to determine whether or not they wanted to allow slavery in the new territory. He even argued that the national Congress had no role to play in the matter that he adjudged as only locally important.

Lincoln’s stand against slavery was prominently visible in his ‘Peoria speech’ which he gave on October 16, 1854. According to it, he strongly hated slavery due to the monstrous injustice that it represented and also the deprival of equality of rights among men.

Lincoln ran for the seat at the US Senate from Illinois in 1854. Though he was comfortably leading ahead of others in the first six rounds, it was his strong opposition for the Kansas–Nebraska Act that lead to his downfall as there was a split amongst the Whigs.

It was his take on anti-slavery along with an appeal for ‘Free Soil’, ‘Liberty’ that shaped the new Republican Party. At the 1856 Republican National Convention, Lincoln was second in the contest to become the party's candidate for vice president.