Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States of America. He guided the United States through the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which freed slaves in the Confederate States. The Emancipation Proclamation led to the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution which abolished slavery throughout the U.S.

President Lincoln came from humble beginnings. He was born on February 12, 1809 and though Abraham had no formal schooling, he loved to read. Abraham’s passion was in government and law so he studied law informally and passed the bar examination in 1836.

Lincoln first ran for public office in the Illinois State Legislature in 1832, but was defeated. He persevered and ran again in 1834. He served four consecutive terms in the State Legislature before practicing law full-time. In 1846, he re-entered politics and was elected to U.S. House of Representatives. After losing his re-election, Lincoln practiced law until he ran for the U.S. Senate in 1854 and lost. Lincoln lost again in 1855 for a different Senate seat. However he gained national recognition and was nominated to run for President in 1860.

President Lincoln was elected but before he took the oath of office on March 4, 1861, several southern states seceded from the United States. He raised an army following the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter and fought to save the United States as a union. President Lincoln was re-elected in 1864 and oversaw the Confederate States surrender on April 9, 1865. He proposed a speedy reunion between the Northern and Southern States, but was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14 at Ford’s Theatre. President Lincoln died the morning of April 15, 1865.