Abraham Lincoln might not have become president except for a few lucky turns.
Why was Abraham Lincoln president?
- Vernon Area Public Library write away
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, is legendary for his insistence on abolishing slavery during the Civil War.
Even before he was elected president, he proposed unpopular legislation that called for emancipation - freedom for slaves.
A giant among men and a legend across history, Lincoln had simple beginnings. His parents settled on the Indiana frontier in the 1800s. There weren't any schools, so his formal education was piecemeal. But education was important and his parents encouraged his learning.
He was an avid reader and high achiever. He found work in sales, piloting a flatbed boat and sailed to market loaded with produce, bought a grocery store and even worked as postmaster in New Salem, Illinois.
Many of Lincoln's fellow townspeople were illiterate, so he read for them. They encouraged him to run for state government. There, Lincoln was inspired to study law and take the bar exam.
Lincoln had a strong sense of justice and an interest in helping people. Perhaps he felt the people who enthusiastically supported him needed better access to government, and that may have motivated him to continue to seek higher office.
Lincoln was no fan of war. In an unpopular move, Lincoln disagreed with President James Polk's mobilization for the Mexican-American war, which he thought was unprovoked.
After he was elected to U.S. Congress, Lincoln tried to frame the war as unconstitutional based on the spot where the war began, giving him the nickname "Spotty" Lincoln.
It was his famous debates against Stephen Douglas during his unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate where his passion for abolishing slavery became known beyond his home state of Illinois.
Lincoln might not have become president except for a few lucky turns. The political parties in the 1860 election were in turmoil. The dominant Democratic Party split over the issue of slavery and supported two candidates - Stephen A. Douglas and John C. Breckinridge. Lincoln had just joined the new Republican Party and was only the second presidential candidate it backed. A third party, the Constitutional Union Party, supported John Bell for president, further eroding the chances for any one candidate.
Going against him was the fact his party had no presence in the South and his name was missing from 10 of the 11 Southern state ballots. Democrats wanted to hold on to slavery and even extend the practice into the country's new territories west of the Mississippi.
Against all odds, Lincoln won.
"It's important to remember that the president is elected by the Electoral College, not the popular vote," said James M. Cornelius, curator of the Lincoln Collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, explaining the surprising results. "Only 39.6 percent of the public voted for him in 1860. But the other three candidates split the other 60.4 percent, and Lincoln clearly won the Electoral College. It has happened 19 times out of 58 elections that the winner won less than 50 percent of the vote, so it's the Electoral College that settles the winner."
Only six weeks after the election, the war began. Lincoln emancipated the slaves during his first term on Jan. 1, 1863. In 1864, Lincoln was re-elected, this time gaining 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 Electoral College votes to his opponent's 21. No Southern states voted.
At the start of Lincoln's second term, the war came to an end, on April 9, 1865. Only a few days later, Lincoln was assassinated by a Southern supporter.
Check it out
The Vernon Area Library in Lincolnshire suggests these titles on Abraham Lincoln:
• "Abraham," by Frank Keating
• "Abraham Lincoln: From Pioneer to President," by Ellen Blue Phillips
• "Abraham Lincoln for Kids: His Life and Times With 21 Activities," by Janis Herbert
• "The Abraham Lincoln You Never Knew," by James Lincoln Collier
• "The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary," by Candace Fleming