Henny garfunkel biography of abraham lincoln

Crushing the rebellion would be difficult under any circumstances, but the Civil War, after decades of white-hot partisan politics, was especially onerous. From all directions, Lincoln faced disparagement and defiance. He was often at odds with his generals, his cabinet, his party, and a majority of the American people. Emancipation Proclamation On January 1, , Lincoln delivered his official Emancipation Proclamation , reshaping the cause of the Civil War from saving the Union to abolishing slavery.

And the Union victory at Antietam on September 22, , while by no means conclusive, was hopeful. It gave Lincoln the confidence to officially change the goals of the war. On that same day, he issued a preliminary proclamation that slaves in states rebelling against the Union would be free as of January 1. In the far reaches of western Texas, that day finally came on June 19, —more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect.

For decades, many Black Americans have celebrated this anniversary, known as Juneteenth or Emancipation Day, and in , President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a national holiday. It permitted Black Americans to serve in the Union Army for the first time, which contributed to the eventual Union victory. The historic declaration also paved the way for the passage of the 13th Amendment that ended legal slavery in the United States.

On November 19, , Lincoln delivered what would become his most famous speech and one of the most important speeches in American history: the Gettysburg Address. Addressing a crowd of around 15, people, Lincoln delivered his word speech at one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Civil War, the Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania.

The Civil War, Lincoln said, was the ultimate test of the preservation of the Union created in , and the people who died at Gettysburg fought to uphold this cause. His nemesis George B. Lincoln received 55 percent of the popular vote and of electoral votes. On April 9, , General Robert E. The Civil War was for all intents and purposes over.

More about Union General Ulysses S. He was confronted by a radical group of Republicans in Congress that wanted complete allegiance and repentance from former Confederates. Before a political debate had any chance to firmly develop, Lincoln was killed. Lincoln was taken to the Petersen House across the street and laid in a coma for nine hours before dying the next morning.

Edward Baker Lincoln Eddie , born in , died February 1, , probably of tuberculosis. Lincoln's third son, "Willie" Lincoln , was born on December 21, , and died of a fever at the White House on February 20, The youngest, Thomas "Tad" Lincoln , was born on April 4, , and survived his father, but died of heart failure at age 18 on July 16, Herndon would grow irritated when Lincoln brought his children to the law office.

Their father, it seemed, was often too absorbed in his work to notice his children's behavior. Herndon recounted, "I have felt many and many a time that I wanted to wring their little necks, and yet out of respect for Lincoln I kept my mouth shut. Lincoln did not note what his children were doing or had done. Lincoln suffered from " melancholy ", a condition now thought to be clinical depression.

For the first time, a president had won the election because of the large support he got from the states in the North. He used his tall hat to store papers and documents when he was traveling. Later, four more states Arkansas, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina joined the Confederacy for a total of eleven. In his whole period as president, he had to rebuild the Union with military force and many bloody battles.

He also had to stop the "border states", like Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland, from leaving the Union and joining the Confederacy. Lincoln was not a general, and had only been in the army for a short time during the Black Hawk War. His plan was to cut off the South by surrounding it with ships, control the Mississippi River , and take Richmond, the Confederate capital.

He often clashed with generals in the field, especially George B. McClellan , and fired generals who lost battles or were not aggressive enough. Eventually, he made Ulysses S. Grant the top general in the army. Emancipation Proclamation [ change change source ] With the Emancipation Proclamation begun on January 1, , Lincoln ordered the freedom of all slaves in those states still in rebellion during the American Civil War.

It did not actually immediately free all those slaves however, since those areas were still controlled by the rebelling states of the Confederacy. Only a small number of slaves already behind Union lines were immediately freed. As the Union army advanced, nearly all four million slaves were effectively freed. Some former slaves joined the Union army after The Proclamation also did not free slaves in the slave states that had remained loyal to the Union the federal government of the US.

Neither did it apply to areas where Union forces had already regained control, as in Tennessee. In the effort to win the war, Lincoln assumed more power than any president before him, declaring martial law and suspending legal rights. He had difficulty finding effective generals to lead the Union armies until the appointment of Ulysses S Grant as overall commander in On 19 November , Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address at the dedication of a cemetery at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, a decisive Union victory that had taken place earlier in the year.

In , Lincoln stood for re-election and won. In his second inaugural address, he was conciliatory towards the southern states.