Presidential Resources Online

Abraham Lincoln 1861 - 1865

Although one of America's greatest and most endeared presidents, Abraham Lincoln's life had very humble beginnings. Lincoln was born into a frontier family in Hardin County, Kentucky in 1809. As a young man he helped his family run a local store, split fence rails for extra income, and studied to become a lawyer. He fought in The Black Hawk war (1831-32), and afterward returned to Illinois to begin his law career. Lincoln served eight years in the Illinois legislature, and in 1846 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he served one term. He became a national figure in 1858 when he ran unsuccessfully for the Senate against Stephen Douglass. He was elected President in 1860 as the candidate for the Republican Party. After his election the Southern states began to secede, and the Civil War began. As President, Lincoln worked tirelessly to win the war. He refused to accept any compromise with the Southern states short of preservation of the Union. He is perhaps best known as author of The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the Southern Slaves in 1863. On April 14, 1865, as the last Southern armies were surrendering, Lincoln was assassinated while attending a play in Washington.

Online Lincoln Resources:

Abraham Lincoln Association - Contains Lincoln information and a fully searchable online archive of Lincoln's works.

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace - Website of Lincoln's birthplace which is a national historic site located in Kentucky.

Abraham Lincoln Forum - Message board and live chat dedicated to Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln Online - An extensive collection of Lincoln information including texts, biographical information, and links.

Abraham Lincoln Research Site - A site dedicated to Lincoln research which contains a large collection of material on his personal and professional life.

Abraham Lincoln's Website - A Lincoln information website by Abraham Lincoln, the President's cousin, which contains a wide variety of Lincoln facts.

Abraham Lincoln Genealogy Information - Contains the Lincoln family tree.

Abraham Lincoln from The History Place - A timeline of Lincoln's life and career.

The Life of Abraham Lincoln - An illustrated Lincoln timeline for young readers.

A Lincoln Bibliophile - A website dedicated to Abraham Lincoln books and bibliography.

Lincoln Documents in the Illinois State Archive - A list of documents in the archive, many of which are available online.

Lincoln Home National Historic Site - Website of Lincoln's home in Springfield, Illinois.

The Lincoln Legal Papers - Website dedicated to documenting the Lincoln law practice, which was active from 1846 - 1861.

The Lincoln Project - An extensive website dedicated to examining the life of Lincoln which will utilize extensive photos and multimedia, and will be available in 2001.

Lincoln/Net - A World Wide Web site devoted to bringing many of Illinois' Lincoln materials together for use by students and scholars.

Mr. Lincoln's Digital Library - A website that highlights two collections at the Library of Congress that illuminate the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. Lincoln's White House - A website which examines life at the White House during the Lincoln Administration.

Portrait of Young Abraham Lincoln - Website which displays a recently discovered portrait of Lincoln in his 30's and explains the process used to determine its authenticity.

President Abraham Lincoln - A collection of short articles about Lincoln and his family.

Selected Speeches of Abraham Lincoln - A collection of Lincoln speeches.

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