Abraham Lincoln Research Paper

Lincoln once said, “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and part with him when he goes wrong” (Lincoln). Abraham Lincoln is a very important and well-known historical figure. Although Abraham Lincoln grew up in the Kentucky frontier, he also had an interesting political background and became the sixteenth president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln’s childhood was on the frontier. Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 to Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Lincoln had to live in a log cabin with a dirt floor. His jobs were carrying water, collecting firewood, planting crops, …show more content…
When Lincoln was twenty-two years old, he moved to New Salem, Illinois. Everyone in the town thought he was weird because of his high-pitched voice and bad grammar from little schooling. He got a job as a clerk and got fifteen dollars per month. The Black Hawk War was in 1832 between America and Native Americans. A group of volunteers elected Lincoln as their captain. Doing this, he made important political connections. In 1832, Lincoln ran for state office and lost. After the loss, he part-owned a general store in New Salem. His shop closed, making him $1,100 in debt. Lincoln worked hard for fifteen years and finally repaid the debt. In 1834, Lincoln wanted to run for state legislature again. The farmers in New Salem thought he was a town fellow who could not work in the fields, so Lincoln did not have their vote. Knowing this, Lincoln helped out the farmers in the harvest. He won their vote and the position. He served four two-year terms and earned three dollars per day. Lincoln read newspapers and became interested in politics. He argued on issues and took every chance he could to learn about social matters. Lincoln would go to meetings at the court. The Justice of the Peace would ask his opinions. His opinions were always funny and intelligent. People began coming to Lincoln for his legal advice. Lincoln wanted to be a lawyer. He studied law books for three years. After passing his law exam, …show more content…
After the election, Lincoln took a two week long train trip to Washington. When he stopped in Baltimore, word was spread that Lincoln was going to be murdered because of his view on slavery. Lincoln immediately took a different train and headed straight to Washington. He arrived into the capitol unannounced right after morning. On his arrival, Lincoln was wearing a hat, a heavy coat, and a scarf. Critics made fun of Lincoln for the way he was dressed. After Lincoln won the election, South Carolina and five other states seceded from the Union, forming the Confederacy. Lincoln had no intentions of war against the Confederacy. After the Confederacy fired at Fort Sumter, the Civil War began on April 12, 1861. Lincoln acted fast and asked for 75,000 people to join the army. The Union thought that the war would be over fast since the Confederacy had half the amount of people as the Union. Most of the battles in the war were in the South, so the Confederacy had an advantage. The first battle of the Civil War was in Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Lincoln lost, so he checked out books from the library on war strategy. Lincoln had three goals to complete in the war. First, he would blockade the South, so they cannot sell or get supplies. Second, he would divide the Confederacy into different sections. Third, he wanted to attack the capitol of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia. Many citizens in the