Lincoln: A Photobiography Summary

“Lincoln: A Photobiography” is a book that recounts the entire life of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States. This biography was awarded the John Newbery Medal and was written by Russell Freedman. Freedman seems to have a very positive attitude towards Lincoln because he writes of Lincoln in a good light. The book was also written in a neutral tone because Freedman never criticizes nor complements Lincoln out rightly. Ultimately, “Lincoln: A Photobiography” provides a comprehensive retelling of Lincoln’s life with thorough research, interesting stories, and unknown facts. The book begins with a brief description of Lincoln based off of personal accounts from journalists and colleagues. Lincoln was described as an incredibly …show more content…
He worked hard and paid off all of his debt while eyeing a seat in congress. Consequentially, in 1846, Lincoln’s hard work paid off and he won his party’s nomination. Following a vigorous campaign, Lincoln was elected to the House of Representatives and moved to Washington the next year with Mary, Robert, and Eddie. However, Mary found Washington to be boring after three months and moved with the boys back to Kentucky. Lincoln felt lonely and faced issues during his term, such as the spread of slavery and the Mexican war. As his two-year term ended, Lincoln struggled politically and returned to practicing law. Suddenly, Lincoln was presented more tragedy as his son, Eddie, fell ill and died after suffering two months of sickness. Mary isolated herself and Lincoln drowned himself in work to ignore the pain. Now in his forties, Lincoln’s firm had become immensely popular and he worked a plethora of cases before traveling through the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Though it was hard work, Lincoln felt happy working on the …show more content…
Grant. Lincoln went on to win his reelection and successfully push for a constitutional amendment that would abolish slavery nationwide. With the thirteenth amendment in place, slavery was officially prohibited from the United States. The Confederate general, Lee, surrendered on April 6th and after approximately 4 years and 600,000 lives later the American Civil War had finally ended. Five days later, in a joyous mood, Lincoln visited Ford’s theatre in the evening with Mary to see “Our American Cousin.” It was here that Actor John Wilkes Booth murdered Abraham Lincoln with a small derringer pistol. Booth was caught twelve days later and Lincoln’s funeral left the nation