Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, grew up on the frontier and taught himself law in Illinois, where he served in the legislature as a Whig and one term in Congress. He returned to politics in the 1850s to oppose the spread of slavery into the territories, debated Stephen Douglas in 1858 and won the presidency in 1860 as the first Republican president. He led the Union through the Civil War, issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and supported the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery. He was assassinated in April 1865, days after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox.

Lincoln is consistently ranked by historians among the most consequential U.S. presidents, and admirers credit him with preserving the Union, ending slavery and articulating a democratic creed in the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural. Both major U.S. parties have claimed him, Republicans as their first president and others for his use of national power to expand opportunity. Critics take several positions. Contemporary Democrats and later civil-libertarian writers condemned his suspension of habeas corpus and arrests of civilians. Some historians argue that he moved too slowly on emancipation, noting his early support for colonization and his willingness in 1861 to accept an amendment protecting slavery where it existed. Defenders of states' rights, then and now, criticize his use of force to prevent secession. His racial views also changed over time, from public statements opposing social equality in 1858 to support for limited Black suffrage in 1865.