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Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln rose from humble frontier roots to become America’s 16th president during one of the most tumultuous periods in the nation’s history. A self-taught lawyer, legislator and outspoken opponent of slavery, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history—revered for preserving the Union during the bitter U.S. Civil War and for ending slavery through his Emancipation Proclamation. 

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Portrait Of President Lincoln Portrait of American President Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) (painted by George P. Healy, mid-late 1800s), Washington, DC, 1969. The portriat was one of three painted by Healy (sometimes spelled as Healey). (Photo by Katherine Young/Getty Images)

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Election of 1860

Lincoln’s Political History Abraham Lincoln’s political ambitions began in 1832 when he was just 23 years old and ran for the Illinois House of Representatives. While he lost that election, two years later, he was elected to the state legislature as a member of the Whig party, where he publicly announced his disdain for slavery. […]

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2:05 minTV-PG

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most moving and infamous speeches in U.S. History in this scene from “Bloodbath.”

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First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln.

Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln’s Early Life  Born Mary Ann Todd on December 13, 1818, in Lexington, Kentucky. Born to a prominent slaveholding family, Mary Todd Lincoln was raised primarily by her strict stepmother. The well-to-do Mary Todd had many suitors (including Abraham Lincoln’s future political rival, Stephen Douglas). In 1839, she left home to be near […]

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Group of Freed Slaves Along HarborGroup of Freed Slaves Along Harbor

13th Amendment

Founding Fathers and Slavery  Despite the long history of slavery in the British colonies in North America, and the continued existence of slavery in America until 1865, the amendment was the first explicit mention of the institution of slavery in the U.S. Constitution. While America’s founding fathers enshrined the importance of liberty and equality in […]

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President Abraham Lincoln

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Abraham Lincoln’s Uneasy Relationship With Native Americans

Lincoln signed laws that gave away millions of acres of tribal land. And he approved the mass execution of 38 Dakota Sioux warriors.

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10 Little-Known Facts About the Lincoln Memorial

10 Things You May Not Know About the Lincoln Memorial

Rejected designs include an Egyptian-style pyramid. And his hand gestures have symbolic meaning.

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How a Female Pinkerton Detective Helped Save Abraham Lincoln's Life

How a Female Pinkerton Detective Helped Save Abraham Lincoln’s Life

In 1861, Kate Warne kept the president-elect safe from an assassination plot on his train journey to Washington.

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When Abraham Lincoln Tried to Resettle Free Black Americans in the Caribbean

Lincoln wanted to end slavery—but wasn’t keen on integrating African Americans into US society. His first attempt to send them offshore proved disastrous.

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2:05 minTV-PG
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Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most moving and infamous speeches in U.S. History in this scene from “Bloodbath.”

Watch nowWatch now video about Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
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