PO0976

Photograph of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He was elected in 1860 and assassinated in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. Born on February 12th, 1809 in Kentucky Lincoln got involved in politics at the age of twenty-one. He won the Illinois state legislature in 1834 under the Whig Party. In 1846 he won the election for a position in the House of Representatives for Illinois and served a second term after. A month after Lincoln was inaugurated the Civil War began. He showed a strong knowledge of military strategies and was considered a capable leader. In 1863 he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed all slaves from states that were currently rebelling against the United States. He won a second term for president but was assassinated a month into in on April 14th, 1865.