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f the letter a denote various vowels in x sampa capital a denotes the open back unrounded vowel and lowercase a denotes the open front unrounded vowel a also is the english indefinite article extended to an before a vowel codes for computing in unicode the capital a is codepoint u zero zero four one and the lowercase a is u zero zero six one in hex a is the character used to represent decimal one zero or in binary zero one zero one zero the ascii code for capital a is six five and for lowercase a is nine seven or in binary zero one zero zero zero zero zero one and zero one one zero zero zero zero one correspondingly the ebcdic code for capital a is one nine three and for lowercase a is one two nine the numeric character references in html and xml are six five and nine seven for upper and lower case respectively meanings for a as a word see a an in american major league baseball the oakland athletics are often simply referred to as the a s in astronomy a stands for a january one through one five discovery in t |
he provisional designation of a comet e g c one seven six zero a one the great comet of one seven six zero or asteroid e g a is often used to denote the semi major axis of an orbit in biochemistry a is the symbol for alanine and adenosine brassiere cup size a in calendars a is often an abbreviation for the months april and august in computing is the html element for an anchor tag in windows ctrl a and mac os command a selects all the text in the document or all the pixels of an image a sometimes represents the set of all alphabetic characters within string patterns a is the conventional address of the first floppy disk drive in cp m based operating systems such as dos a is a security division verified protection in the tcsec in education a grade of a typically represents the highest score that students can achieve this is sometimes coupled with a plus minus sign as in a or a or a number as in a one it is occasionally a grade one level below a pronounced a star in electronics a is a standard size of battery a |
refers to the anode or filament component of a vacuum tube in english the word a is an indefinite article see a an in esperanto a is the adjectival attributive ending a is commonly an abbreviation meaning english language in fiction the letter worn by hester prynne marking her as an adultress in the nathaniel hawthorne novel the scarlet letter was an a in film a is an italian film made in one nine six nine see a film in finance a is the u s ticker symbol for agilent technologies in games the letter a is used to mark each of the aces in a deck of playing cards in greek a is a prefix alpha privativum meaning not or devoid of used in many borrowed words in english german and romance languages in india a is movie rating given to those intended to be seen only by adults in international licence plate codes a stands for austria in international paper sizes a is a series of sizes with an aspect ratio of roughly seven zero width to height with a four being an example popular size in logic the letter a is used as a sy |
mbol for the universal affirmative proposition in the general form all x is y the letters i e and o are used respectively for the particular affirmative some x is y the universal negative no x is y and the particular negative some x is not y the use of these letters is generally derived from the vowels of the two latin verbs affirmo or aio i assert and nego i deny the use of the symbols dates from the one three th century though some authorities trace their origin to the greek logicians in symbolic logic the symbol an inverted letter a is the universal quantifier in mathematics a is often used as a digit meaning ten in hexadecimal and other positional numeral systems with a radix of one one or greater blackboard bold mathbb in unicode sometimes represents the algebraic numbers in the on line encyclopedia of integer sequences each sequence has an id consisting of the letter a and six base one zero digits in medicine a also a or a is one of the human blood types in music a is a pitch class or note see a musical |
note a or side a refers to the top or first side of a vinyl record a is a british rock band see a band a is an album by jethro tull see a album in nutrition a is a vitamin in photography most slr cameras use a to signify aperture priority mode where the user sets the aperture and the camera determines the shutter speed in poetry a is the major work of influential two zero th century author louis zukofsky in political theory a circumscribed a is an anarchist symbol as the first letter of a postal code in canada a stands for newfoundland and labrador on the serial numbers of united states dollars a identifies the federal reserve bank of boston in the si system of units a is the symbol for the ampere or amp the si base unit of electric current a atto is the si prefix meaning one zero one eight a is the symbol for the are a unit of surface area equal to one zero zero square metres as a timezone a is the military designation for coordinated universal time one also known as cet or central european time see also al |
pha cyrillic a ae aa latin letters vowels alabama cities and urban areas sprawl alabama is a state located in the southern united states history main article history of alabama the memory of the native american presence is particularly strong in alabama among native american people once living in present alabama were alabama alibamu cherokee chickasaw choctaw creek koasati and mobile trade with the northeast via the ohio river began during the burial mound period one zero zero zero bc a d seven zero zero and continued until european contact meso american influence is evident in the agrarian mississippian culture that followed the french established the first european settlement in the state with the establishment of mobile in one seven zero two southern alabama was french from one seven zero two one seven six three part of british west florida from one seven six three one seven eight zero and part of spanish west florida from one seven eight zero one eight one four northern and central alabama was part of bri |
tish georgia from one seven six three one seven eight three and part of the american mississippi territory thereafter its statehood delayed by the lack of a coastline rectified when andrew jackson captured spanish mobile in one eight one four alabama became the two two nd state in one eight one nine the state of alabama seceded from the union on january one one one eight six one and became the alabama republic and on february one eight one eight six one became a confederate state while not many battles were fought in the state it contributed about one two zero zero zero zero soldiers to the civil war after the war a provisional government was set up in one eight six five and alabama was officially readmitted to the union on july one four one eight six eight the cradle of the confederacy during the civil war alabama was at stage center in the civil rights movement of the one nine five zero s and one nine six zero s law and government main article law and government of alabama local solid south a one party syst |
em in which the democratic party became essentially the only political party in every southern state for nearly one zero zero years local and state elections in alabama were decided in the democratic party primary with generally no republican challenger running from one eight seven six through one nine five six alabama supported only democratic presidential candidates by margins as high as seven three percentage points in one nine six zero alabama gave most of its electoral votes to harry f byrd as a protest in one nine six four the national republican party began to win more votes in the south by following a southern strategy which emphasized states rights and the increasing liberalism of the national democratic party the first such candidate was conservative barry goldwater who became the first republican candidate supported by alabama in one nine six eight alabama supported native son and american independent party candidate george wallace the last democratic candidate to win alabama s votes in a president |
ial election was southerner jimmy carter in one nine seven six today the republican party has become increasingly dominant in conservative alabama politics however in local politics democrats still control many offices including majorities in both houses of the legislature and registered democrats outnumber republicans in the state in two zero zero four george w bush won alabama s nine electoral votes by a margin of two five percentage points with six two five of the vote the only one one counties voting democratic were black belt counties where african americans are in the majority alabama is located in the bible belt and its educational policies reflect this according to the alan guttmacher institute alabama requires sex education classes to emphasize that homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense under the laws of the state while the mandate is not typically enforced in alabama classrooms it is unclear whether or not the official re |
quirements have changed since the supreme court s ruling in lawrence v texas according to the united states census bureau in two zero zero zero alabama was home to four five six one same sex male couples and four one six seven same sex female couples u s presidential election two zero zero four in alabama geography main article geography of alabama alabama is the three zero th largest state in the united states with one three five seven seven five km two five two four two three mi two of total area three one nine of that is water making alabama two three rd in the amount of surface water also giving it the second largest inland waterway system in the united states about three fifths of the land area is a gentle plain with a general incline towards the mississippi river and the gulf of mexico the north alabama region is mostly mountainous with the tennessee river cutting a large valley creating numerous creeks streams rivers mountains and lakes the lowest point east of the mississippi river lies in dekalb coun |
ty along a creek cutting tower ridges and creating buck s pocket state park another natural wonder is land bridge the longest natural bridge span east of the mississippi river alabama generally ranges in elevation from sea level at mobile bay to a little more than one eight zero zero feet or five five zero meters in the appalachian mountains in the northeast the highest point is mount cheaha economy greetings from alabama according to the bureau of economic analysis the two zero zero three total gross state product was one three two billion the per capita income for the state was two six five zero five in two zero zero three alabama s agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs cattle plant nursery items peanuts cotton grains such as corn and sorgum vegetables milk soybeans and peaches even though neighboring georgia is called the peach state alabama produces twice as many peaches annually its industrial outputs include iron and steel products including cast iron and steel pipe paper lumber and wood product |
s mining mostly coal and plastic products cars and trucks and apparel also alabama produces aerospace and electronic products mostly in the huntsville area home of the nasa george c marshall space flight center and the us army missile command headquartered at redstone arsenal also the city of mobile is a busy seaport on the gulf of mexico and with inland waterway access to the midwest via the tennessee tombigbee waterway demographics alabama population density map race and ancestry the racial makeup of the state and comparison to the prior census the largest reported ancestry groups in alabama american one seven zero english seven eight irish seven seven german five seven and scotch irish two zero american includes those reported as native american or african american religion the major religions of alabama christian nine two protestant seven nine baptist four nine methodist one zero presbyterian three episcopalian two church of god two church of christ two pentecostal two lutheran two other protestant seven |
catholic one three other religions one non religious seven colleges and universities incomplete culture and interests famous alabamians alabama jubilee hot air balloon classic music of alabama alabama public television state wide public tv network list of television stations in alabama alabama shakespeare festival alabama sports festival spirit of america festival u s space the phrase the heart of dixie is required by state law to be included on standard state vehicle license plates but has recently been reduced to a very small size and eclipsed by the phrase stars fell on alabama alabama states of the united states one eight one nine establishments for other uses see achilles disambiguation the wrath of achilles by l on benouvillein greek mythology transliterated to akhilleus or achilleus in roman letters latinized from this ancient greek to achilles appearing in etruscan as achle was a hero ancient greek heros defender of the trojan war the greatest and the most central character of homer s iliad name the v |
ery first two lines of the iliad read transliterated m nin aeide thea p l iade akhil os oulomen n h muri akhaiois alge eth ken translated sing muse the wrath of achilles the son of peleus the destructive wrath that brought countless griefs upon the achaeans statue of achillesin these lines we see the name akhilleus peleides which is a praenomen and a patronymic the latter being formed from peleus with the suffix ides producing achilles the son of peleus the system is similar to the names used by scandinavians before modern times such as leif erikson achilles name can be analyzed as a combination of akhos grief and laos a people tribe nation etc in other words achilles is an embodiment of the grief of the people grief being a theme raised numerous times in the iliad frequently by achilles achilles role as the hero of grief forms an ironic juxtaposition with the conventional view of achilles as the hero of kleos glory usually glory in war laos has been construed by gregory nagy following leonard palmer to mean |
a corps of soldiers with this derivation the name would have a double meaning in the poem when the hero is functioning rightly his men bring grief to the enemy but when wrongly his men get the grief the poem is in part about the misdirection of anger on the part of leadership birth achilles was the son of the mortal peleus king of the myrmidons in phthia southeast thessaly and the sea nymph thetis zeus and poseidon had been rivals for the hand of thetis until prometheus the fire bringer prophesized that thetis would bear a son greater than his father for this reason the two gods withdrew their pursuit and had her wed to peleus when achilles was born according to the most common version of the myth thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river styx but she forgot to wet the heel she held him by leaving him vulnerable at that spot see achilles tendon in an earlier and less popular version of the story thetis anointed the boy in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire to burn away the mortal parts |
of his body she was interrupted by peleus and abandoned both father and son in a rage homer does not make reference to this invulnerability in the iliad to the contrary he mentions achilles being wounded although not seriously peleus gave him together with his young friend or lover patroclus to chiron the centaur on mt pelion to be raised achilles in the trojan war telephus when the greeks left for the trojan war they accidentally stopped in mysia ruled by king telephus in the resulting battle achilles gave telephus a wound that would not heal telephus consulted an oracle who stated that he that wounded shall heal according to other reports in euripides lost play about telephus he went to aulis pretending to be a beggar and asked achilles to heal his wound achilles refused claiming to have no medical knowledge alternatively telephus held orestes for ransom the ransom being achilles aid in healing the wound odysseus reasoned that the spear had inflicted the wound therefore the spear must be able to heal it pie |
ces of the spear were scraped off onto the wound and telephus was healed this is an example of sympathetic magic during the trojan war the rage of achilles by giovanni battista tiepolo in homer s iliad achilles is the only mortal to experience consuming rage menon his anger is at some times wavering at other times absolute the humanization of achilles by the events of the war is an important theme of the iliad achilles charioteer s name was automedon troilus according to dares phrygius account of the destruction of troy while troilus the youngest son of priam and hecuba whom some say was fathered by apollo was watering his horses at the lion fountain outside the walls of troy achilles saw him and fell in love with his beauty whose loveliness of form was described by ibycus as being like gold thrice refined the youth rejected his advances and took refuge inside the temple of apollo achilles pursued him into the sanctuary and decapitated him on the god s own altar tzetzes scholiast on lycophron at the time troi |
lus was said to be a year short of his twentieth birthday and the legend goes that if troilus had lived to be twenty troy would have been invincible first vatican mythographer agamemnon and the death of patroclus patroclus and achilles achilles bandages the arm of his friend patroclus the latter turns his head aside to avoid the sight of blood and of achilles noticing his pain grimaces the scene has been interpreted as an act of welfare and comradeship or as a scene with sexual overtones ancient greek culture often held the two to be lovers achilles took two three towns outside troy including lyrnessos where he captured briseis to keep as a concubine meanwhile agamemnon took a woman named chryseis and taunted her father chryses a priest of apollo when he attempted to buy her back apollo sent a plague through the greek armies and agamemnon was forced to give chryseis back to her father however he took briseis away from achilles as compensation for his loss this action sparked the central plot of the iliad achi |
lles becomes enraged and refuses to fight for the greeks any further the war goes badly through the influence of zeus and the greeks offer handsome reparations to their greatest warrior after the greeks are pushed back to the ships which are just starting to be set on fire by the trojan hero hector achilles is visited by odysseus ajax and phoenix who attempt to persuade him to return to battle achilles still refuses to fight but agrees to allow patroclus to fight in his place wearing his armor the next day patroclus is killed and stripped of the armor by hector who mistakes him for achilles achilles is overwhelmed with grief for his beloved friend and the rage he once harbored toward agamemnon begins shifting to hector thetis his mother rises from the sea floor and sympathizes with his grief she obtains magnificent new armor for him from hephaestus the goddess athena provides him with the aegis of zeus when he goes to the battlefield the entire trojan army flees behind the walls of troy achilles wrath is terr |
ible and he slays many trojan warriors and allies including priam s son lycaon whom achilles had previously captured and sold into slavery but who had been returned to troy eventually hector comes out of the walls to defend the honour of troy he asked achilles to agree that the body of the loser would be returned for proper burial by the winner achilles rejected this arrangement saying though twenty ransoms and thy weight in gold were offered i would refuse it all stories tell that hector ran about troy seven times and achilles followed him however seeing that achilles would not be outrun hector stood his ground and fought other versions of the tale say that achilles chased after hector two times and one time he was delivered by the gods however on their second encounter achilles trapped hector and challenged him after a legendary fight achilles kills hector influenced by his anger he drags the body of hector behind his chariot round the walls of troy three times and refuses to allow it to receive funeral rit |
es much to the dismay of achilles the body of hector miraculously heals and will not decay as normally expected aphrodite the goddess of love who sided with troy throughout the whole conflict put a protective barrier over hector which kept him looking like he did before he was viciously killed by achilles when priam the king of troy and hector s father comes secretly into the greek camp to plead for the body achilles finally relents in one of the most moving scenes of the iliad he receives priam graciously and allows him to take the body away the scene is intensely moving because priam the king of one of the greatest cities in the known world kneels down old and frail as he is and kisses the hands of the man who killed his son the greatness of achilles lies in not just being the greatest greek fighter ever but in knowing the choice provided to him by destiny his mother thetis had prophesied to him that if he pulled out of the trojan war he would enjoy a long and a happy life if achilles fought however he woul |
d die before the walls of troy but assure an everlasting glory surpassing that of all other heroes he had made the choice and coming face to face with it showed his greatness xanthos during the trojan war xanthos one of achilles horses was rebuked by achilles for allowing patroclus to be killed xanthos responded by saying hera temporarily gave him voice to do so that a god and a mortal had killed patroclus and a god and a mortal would soon kill achilles too memnon cycnus penthesilea and the death of achilles thetis rising from the sea to comfort achilles book one eight by thomas banks english one seven seven eight victoria and albert museum shortly after the death of hector achilles defeated memnon of ethiopia cycnus of colonae and the amazonian warrior penthesilia with whom achilles also had an affair in some versions as predicted by hector with his dying breath achilles was thereafter killed by paris either by an arrow to the heel which may have subsequently become fatally infected and is said to have been |
guided by apollo or in an older version by a knife to the back while visiting polyxena a princess of troy both versions conspicuously deny the killer any sort of valor and achilles remains undefeated on the battlefield paris was later killed by philoctetes using the enormous bow of heracles his bones are mingled with those of patroclus and funeral games are held like ajax he is represented although not by homer as living after his death in the island of leuke at the mouth of the danube the fate of achilles armor achilles armor was the object of a feud between odysseus and ajax the greater achilles older cousin they competed for it and odysseus won ajax went mad with grief and vowed to kill his comrades he started killing cattle thinking they were greek soldiers and then himself other stories about achilles some post homeric sources claim that in order to keep achilles safe from the war thetis or in some versions peleus hid the young man at the court of lycomedes king of skyros there achilles was disguised as |
a girl and lived among lycomedes daughters under the name pyrrha the red haired girl with lycomedes daughter deidamia achilles fathered a son neoptolemus also called pyrrhus after his father s alias according to this story odysseus learned from the prophet calchas that the achaeans would be unable to capture troy without achilles aid he went to skyros in the guise of a peddler selling women s clothes and jewelry but placed a shield and spear among his goods when achilles instantly took up the spear odysseus saw through his disguise and convinced him to join the trojan campaign in another version of the story odysseus arranged for a trumpet alarm to be sounded while he was with lycomedes women while the women fled in panic achilles prepared to defend the court thus giving his identity away the story about achilles in drag is not found in homer in homer s odyssey there is a passage in which odysseus sails to the underworld and converses with the shades one of these is achilles who when greeted as blessed in lif |
e blessed in death responds that he would rather be a slave than be dead this has been interpreted as a rejection of his warrior life but also as indignity to his martyrdom being slighted the kings of epirus claimed to be descended from achilles through his son alexander the great son of the epiran princess olympias could therefore also claim this descent and in many ways strove to be like his great ancestor he is said to have visited his tomb while passing troy achilles was worshipped as a sea god in many of the greek colonies on the black sea the homosexual relationship between achilles and patroclus is something much explored in post homeric literature by the fifth and fourth centuries the deep and arguably ambiguous friendship portrayed in homer blossomed into an unequivocal love affair in the works of aeschylus plato and aeschines and seems to have inspired the enigmatic verses in lycophron s third century alexandra that claim achilles slayed troilus in a matter of unrequited love achilles fought and kil |
led the amazon helene some also said he married medea and that after both their deaths they were united in the elysian fields of hades as hera promised thetis in apollonius argonautica achilles in lost plays in the early one nine nine zero s a lost play by aeschylus was discovered in the wrappings of a mummy in egypt the play achilles was part of a trilogy about the trojan war it was known to exist due to mentions in ancient sources but had been lost for over two zero zero zero years another lost play by aeschylus the myrmidons focussed on the relationship between achilles and patroclus only a few lines survive today there is another lost play with achilles as the main character the lovers of achilles by sophocles spoken word myths audio achilles in music achilles has frequently been mentioned in music achilles agony by manowar from the album the triumph of steel one nine nine two atlantic records achilles last stand by led zeppelin from the album presence one nine seven six atlantic records achilles revenge |
is a song by warlord achilles heel is an album by the indie rock band pedro the lion achilles and his heel are referenced in the song special k by the rock band placebo achilles is referred to in bob dylan s song temporary like achilles achilles heel is a song by the uk band toploader achilles is a song by the colorado based power metal band jag panzer from the album casting the stones achilles is referenced in the indigo girls song ghost achilles in film the role of achilles has been played by stanley baker in helen of troy one nine five six arturo dominici in la guerra di troia one nine six two derek jacobi voice in achilles channel four television one nine nine five steve davislim in la belle h l ne tv one nine nine six joe montana in helen of troy tv two zero zero three brad pitt in troy two zero zero four namesakes the royal new zealand navy gave the name hmnzs achilles to an a class destroyer which served in world war ii references homer iliad homer odyssey xi four six seven five four zero apollodorus b |
ibliotheca iii xiii five eight apollodorus epitome iii one four v seven ovid metamorphoses xi two one seven two six five xii five eight zero xiii three nine eight ovid heroides iii apollonius rhodius argonautica iv seven eight three eight seven nine dante the divine comedy inferno v bibliography ileana chirassi colombo heros achilleus theos apollon in il mito greco d bruno gentili anthony edwards achilles in the underworld iliad odyssey and thiopis greek roman and byzantine studies two six one nine eight five pp two one five two two seven achilles in the odyssey ideologies of heroism in the homeric epic beitrage zur klassischen philologie one seven one meisenheim one nine eight five kleos aphthiton and oral theory classical quarterly three eight one nine eight eight pp two five three zero h l ne monsacr les larmes d achille le h ros la femme et la souffrance dans la po sie d hom re paris albin michel one nine eight four gregory nagy the best of the acheans concepts of the hero in archaic greek poetry johns ho |
pkins university one nine nine nine rev edition the name of achilles questions of etymology and folk etymology illinois classical studies one nine one nine nine four dale s sinos the entry of achilles into greek epic ph d thesis johns hopkins university johansson warren achilles encyclopedia of homosexuality dynes wayne r ed garland publishing one nine nine zero p eight external links the story of achilles and patroclus trojan war resources people who fought in the trojan war anti heroes pederastic heroes and deities for other uses of the name abraham lincoln see abraham lincoln disambiguation abraham lincoln february one two one eight zero nine april one five one eight six five sometimes called abe lincoln and nicknamed honest abe the rail splitter and the great emancipator was the one six th president of the united states one eight six one to one eight six five and the first president from the republican party lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery and oversaw the union war effort during the american civi |
l war he selected the generals and approved their strategy selected senior civilian officials supervised diplomacy patronage and party affairs rallied public opinion through messages and speeches such as the gettysburg address and took personal charge of plans for the abolition of slavery and the reconstruction of the union he was assassinated as the war ended by john wilkes booth role in history president lincoln was opposed to what he saw as the slave power and staunchly opposed its efforts to expand slavery into federal territories his victory in the one eight six zero presidential election further polarized an already divided nation before his inauguration in march of one eight six one seven southern states seceded from the united states formed the confederate states of america and took control of u s forts and other properties within their boundaries these events soon led to the american civil war lincoln is often praised for his work as a wartime leader who proved adept at balancing competing considerat |
ions and at getting rival groups to work together toward a common goal lincoln had to negotiate between radical and moderate republican leaders who were often far apart on the issues while attempting to win support from war democrats and loyalists in the seceding states he personally directed the war effort in close cooperation one eight six four six five with general ulysses s grant which ultimately led the union forces to victory over the confederacy his leadership qualities were evident in his diplomatic handling of the border slave states at the beginning of the fighting in his defeat of a congressional attempt to reorganize his cabinet in one eight six two in his many speeches and writings which helped mobilize and inspire the north and in his defusing of the peace issue in the one eight six four presidential campaign copperheads vehemently criticized him for violating the constitution overstepping the bounds of executive power refusing to compromise on slavery declaring martial law suspending habeas cor |
pus ordering the arrest of thousands of public officials and a number of newspaper publishers and killing hundreds of thousands of young men radical republicans criticized him for going too slow on abolition of slavery and not being ruthless enough toward the conquered south lincoln is most famous for his roles in preserving the union and ending slavery in the united states with the emancipation proclamation and the thirteenth amendment to the united states constitution however some abolitionists criticized him for only freeing the slaves under the confederacy in one eight six three and waiting until one eight six five to free slaves held in the union historians have argued that lincoln had a lasting influence on u s political and social institutions importantly setting a precedent for greater centralization of powers in the federal government and the weakening of the powers of the individual state governments lincoln spent most of his attention on military matters and politics but with his strong support his |
administration established the current system of national banks with the national bank act he increased the tariff to raise revenue and encourage factories imposed the first income tax issued hundreds of millions of dollars of bonds and greenbacks encouraged immigration from europe built the transcontinental railroad set up the department of agriculture encouraged farm ownership with the homestead act of one eight six two and set up the modern system of state universities with the morrill land grant colleges act during the war his treasury department effectively controlled all cotton trade in the occupied south the most dramatic incursion of federal controls on the economy during his administration west virginia and nevada were admitted as states lincoln is usually ranked as one of the greatest presidents because of his roles in destroying slavery redefining national values and saving the union his assassination made him a martyr to millions of americans however others considered him an unconstitutional tyra |
nt for declaring martial law suspending civil liberties habeas corpus and the first amendment and ordering the arrest of thousands of public officials and newspaper publishers early life abraham lincoln was born on february one two one eight zero nine in a one room log cabin on the three four eight acre one four km sinking spring farm in the southeast part of hardin county kentucky then considered the frontier now part of larue co in nolin creek three miles five km south of hodgenville to thomas lincoln and nancy hanks lincoln was named after his deceased grandfather who was scalped in one seven eight six in an indian raid he had no middle name lincoln s parents were uneducated illiterate farmers when lincoln became famous reporters and storytellers often exaggerated the poverty and obscurity of his birth however lincoln s father thomas was a respected and relatively affluent citizen of the kentucky backcountry he had purchased the sinking spring farm in december one eight zero eight for two zero zero cash an |
d assumption of a debt his parents belonged to a baptist church that had pulled away from a larger church because they refused to support slavery from a very young age lincoln was exposed to anti slavery sentiment however he never joined his parents church or any other church and as a youth ridiculed religion three years after purchasing the property a prior land claim filed in hardin circuit court forced the lincolns to move thomas continued legal action until he lost the case in one eight one five legal expenses contributed to family difficulties in one eight one one they were able to lease three zero acres zero one km of a two three zero acre zero nine km farm on knob creek a few miles away where they then moved in a valley of the rolling fork river this was some of the best farmland in the area at this time lincoln s father was a respected community member and a successful farmer and carpenter lincoln s earliest recollections are from this farm in one eight one five another claimant sought to eject the fa |
mily from the knob creek farm frustrated with litigation and lack of security provided by kentucky courts thomas decided to move to indiana which had been surveyed by the federal government making land titles more secure it is possible that these episodes motivated abraham to later learn surveying and become an attorney in one eight one six when lincoln was seven years old he and his parents moved to spencer county indiana he would state partly on account of slavery and partly because of economic difficulties in kentucky in one eight one eight lincoln s mother died of milk sickness at age thirty four when abe was nine soon afterwards lincoln s father remarried to sarah bush johnston sarah lincoln raised young lincoln like one of her own children years later she compared lincoln to her own son saying both were good boys but i must say both now being dead that abe was the best boy i ever saw or ever expect to see lincoln by david herbert donald one nine nine five in one eight three zero after more economic and |
land title difficulties in indiana the family settled on government land on a site selected by lincoln s father in macon county illinois the following winter was especially brutal and the family nearly moved back to indiana when his father relocated the family to a nearby site the following year the two two year old lincoln struck out on his own canoeing down the sangamon to sangamon county illinois now in menard county in the village of new salem later that year hired by new salem businessman denton offutt and accompanied by friends he took goods from new salem to new orleans via flatboat on the sangamon illinois and mississippi rivers while in new orleans he may have witnessed a slave auction that left an indelible impression on him for the rest of his life whether he actually witnessed a slave auction at that time or not living in a country with a considerable slave presence he probably saw similar atrocities from time to time his formal education consisted of perhaps one eight months of schooling from iti |
nerant teachers in effect he was self educated studying every book he could borrow he mastered the bible shakespeare english history and american history and developed a plain style that puzzled audiences more used to orotund oratory he avoided hunting and fishing because he did not like killing animals even for food and though unusually tall and strong spent so much time reading that some neighbors thought he must be doing it to avoid strenuous manual labor he was skilled with an axe they called him the rail splitter and a good wrestler young abraham lincoln early career lincoln began his political career in one eight three two at the age of two three with a campaign for the illinois general assembly as a member of the whig party the centerpiece of his platform was the undertaking of navigational improvements on the sangamon river in the hopes of attracting steamboat traffic to the river which would allow sparsely populated poor areas along and near the river to grow and prosper he served as a captain in a c |
ompany of the illinois militia drawn from new salem during the black hawk war although he never saw combat he wrote after being elected by his peers that he had not had any such success in life which gave him so much satisfaction he later tried and failed at several small time business ventures he held an illinois state liquor license and sold whiskey finally after coming across the second volume of sir william blackstone s four volume commentaries on the laws of england he taught himself the law and was admitted to the illinois bar in one eight three seven that same year he moved to springfield illinois and began to practice law with stephen t logan he became one of the most respected and successful lawyers in the prairie state and grew steadily more prosperous lincoln served four successive terms in the illinois house of representatives as a representative from sangamon county beginning in one eight three four he became a leader of the whig party in the legislature in one eight three seven he made his first |
protest against slavery in the illinois house stating that the institution was founded on both injustice and bad policy lincoln shared a bed with joshua fry speed from one eight three seven to one eight four one in springfield while many historians claim it was not uncommon in the mid one nine th century for men to share a bed just as two men today may share a house or an apartment gay activist c a tripp generated controversy with his two zero zero five book the intimate world of abraham lincoln which suggested their relationship may also have been sexual in one eight four one lincoln entered law practice with william herndon a fellow whig in one eight five six both men joined the fledgling republican party following lincoln s assassination herndon began collecting stories about lincoln from those who knew him in central illinois eventually publishing a book herndon s lincoln lincoln never joined an antislavery society and denied he supported the abolitionists he married into a prominent slave owning family |
from kentucky and allowed his children to spend time there surrounded by slaves several of his in laws became confederate officers he greatly admired the science that flourished in new england and was perhaps the only father in illinois at the time to send his son robert todd lincoln to elite eastern schools phillips exeter academy and harvard college marriage on november four one eight four two at the age of three three lincoln married mary todd the couple had four sons robert todd lincoln b august one one eight four three in springfield illinois d july two six one nine two six in manchester vermont edward baker lincoln b march one zero one eight four six in springfield illinois d february one one eight five zero in springfield illinois william wallace lincoln b december two one one eight five zero in springfield illinois d february two zero one eight six two in washington d c thomas tad lincoln b april four one eight five three in springfield illinois d july one six one eight seven one in chicago illinois o |
nly robert survived into adulthood of robert s three children only jessie lincoln had any children two mary lincoln beckwith and robert todd lincoln beckwith neither robert beckwith nor mary beckwith had any children so abraham lincoln s bloodline ended when robert beckwith lincoln s great grandson died on december two four one nine eight five illinois politics lincoln in one eight four six or one eight four seven in one eight four six lincoln was elected to one term in the u s house of representatives a staunch whig lincoln often referred to party leader henry clay as his political idol as a freshman house member lincoln was not a particularly powerful or influential figure in congress he used his office as an opportunity to speak out against the war with mexico which he attributed to president polk s desire for military glory that attractive rainbow that rises in showers of blood lincoln was a key early supporter of zachary taylor s candidacy for the one eight four eight whig presidential nomination when li |
ncoln s term ended the incoming taylor administration offered him the governorship of remote oregon territory acceptance would end his career in the fast growing state of illinois so he declined returning instead to springfield illinois he turned most of his energies to making a living at the bar which involved extensive travel on horseback from county to county prairie lawyer by the mid one eight five zero s lincoln faced competing transportation interests both the river barges and the railroads in one eight four nine he received a patent related to buoying vessels lincoln represented the alton duff armstrong who was on trial for the murder of james preston metzker the case is famous for lincoln s use of judicial notice a rare tactic at that time to show an eyewitness had lied on the stand claiming he witnessed the crime in the moonlight lincoln produced a farmer s almanac to show that the moon on that date was at such a low angle it could not have produced enough illumination to see anything clearly based u |
pon this evidence armstrong was acquitted republican politics one eight five four one eight six zero the kansas nebraska act of one eight five four which expressly repealed the limits on slavery s spread that had been part of the missouri compromise of one eight two zero drew lincoln back into politics illinois democrat stephen a douglas the most powerful man in the senate proposed popular sovereignty as the solution to the slavery impasse incorporating it into the kansas nebraska act douglas argued that in a democracy the people of a territory should decide whether to allow slavery or not and not have a decision imposed on them by congress it was a speech against kansas nebraska on october one six one eight five four in peoria that caused lincoln to stand out among the other free soil orators of the day he helped form the new republican party drawing on remnants of the old whig free soil liberty and democratic parties in a stirring campaign the republicans carried illinois in one eight five four and elected |
a senator lincoln was the obvious choice but to keep party unity he allowed the election to go to his colleague lyman trumbull in one eight five seven five eight douglas broke with president buchanan leading to a terrific fight for control of the democratic party some eastern republicans even favored the reelection of douglas in one eight five eight since he led the opposition to the administration s push for the lecompton constitution which would have admitted kansas as a slave state accepting the republican nomination for the senate in one eight five eight lincoln delivered a famous speech in which he stated a house divided against itself cannot stand i believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free i do not expect the union to be dissolved i do not expect the house to fall but i do expect it will cease to be divided it will become all one thing or all the other the speech created a lasting image of the danger of disunion due to slavery and rallied republicans across the north th |
e one eight five eight campaign featured the lincoln douglas debates a nationally noticed discussion on the issues that threatened to split the nation in two lincoln forced douglas to propose his freeport doctrine which lost him further support among slave holders and speeded the division of the democratic party though the republican legislative candidates won more popular votes the democrats won more seats and the legislature reelected douglas to the senate nevertheless lincoln s eloquence transformed him into a national political star during the debates of one eight five eight the issue of race was often discussed during a time period when racial egalitarianism was considered politically incorrect stephen douglas would inform the crowds if you desire negro citizenship if you desire them to vote on an equality with yourselves then support mr lincoln and the black republican party who are in favor of the citizenship of the negro official records of debate on the defensive lincoln countered that he was not in |
favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races official records of debate historians generally remained mixed on what lincoln s actual views were on race however many tend to doubt that the highly political nature of these debates offer reliable evidence about his personal views team of rivals by doris kearns goodwin two zero zero five lincoln in text and context by donald fehrenbacher one nine eight seven as fredrick douglass observed lincoln was the first great man that i talked with in the united states freely who in no single instance reminded me of the difference between himself and myself of the difference of color life and times of fredrick douglass by fredrick douglass one eight nine five lincoln s opposition to slavery was opposition to the slave power and he was not an abolitionist in one eight five eight but the civil war changed everything and changed lincoln s beliefs in race relations as well election of one eight six zero the rail candidate pol |
itical cartoon one eight six zero entering the presidential nomination process as a distinct underdog lincoln was eventually chosen as the republican candidate for the one eight six zero election for several reasons his expressed views on slavery were seen as more moderate than rivals william h seward and salmon chase his western origins also appealed to the newer states other contenders especially those with more governmental experience had acquired enemies within the party specifically seward who had run afoul of newspaperman horace greeley during the campaign lincoln was dubbed the rail splitter by republicans to emphasize the power of free labor whereby a common farm boy could work his way to the top by his own efforts on november six one eight six zero lincoln was elected the one six th president of the united states beating democrat douglas john c breckenridge of the southern democrats and john c bell of the new constitutional union party lincoln was the first republican president he won entirely on the |
strength of his support in the north he was not even on the ballot in nine states in the south and won only two of nine nine six counties there lincoln gained one eight six five nine zero eight votes three nine nine of the total for one eight zero electoral votes douglas one three eight zero two zero two two nine five for one two electoral votes breckenridge eight four eight zero one nine one eight one for seven two electoral votes and bell five nine zero nine zero one one two five for three nine electoral votes there were fusion tickets in some states but even if his opponents had combined in every state lincoln had a majority vote in all but two of the states in which he won the electoral votes and would still have won the electoral college and the election secession winter one eight six zero six one as lincoln s election became more and more probable secessionists made it clear that their states would leave the union south carolina took the lead followed by six other cotton growing states georgia florida |
alabama mississippi louisiana and texas the upper south delaware maryland virginia north carolina tennessee kentucky missouri and arkansas listened to and rejected the secessionist appeal they decided to stay in the union though warning lincoln they would not support an invasion through their territory the seven confederate states seceded before lincoln took office declaring themselves an entirely new nation the confederate states of america president buchanan and president elect lincoln refused to recognize the confederacy president elect lincoln survived an assassination threat in baltimore and on february two three one eight six one arrived in disguise in washington at lincoln s inauguration on march four one eight six one the turners formed lincoln s bodyguard and a sizable garrison of federal troops was also present ready to protect the capital from confederate invasion or insurrection from confederates in the capital city photograph showing march four one eight six one inauguration of abraham lincoln in |
front of u s capitol in his first inaugural address lincoln declared i hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the constitution the union of these states is perpetual perpetuity is implied if not expressed in the fundamental law of all national governments arguing further that the purpose of the united states constitution was to form a more perfect union than the articles of confederation which were explicitly perpetual and thus the constitution too was perpetual he asked rhetorically that even were the constitution a simple contract would it not require the agreement of all parties to rescind it also in his inaugural address in a final attempt to unite the union and prevent the looming war lincoln supported the proposed corwin amendment to the constitution of which he had been a driving force it would have explicitly protected slavery in those states in which it already existed and had already passed both houses lincoln adamantly opposed the crittenden compromise however which would have permitte |
d slavery in the territories renewing the boundary set by the missouri compromise and extending it to california despite support for this compromise among some republicans lincoln declared that were the crittenden compromise accepted it would amount to a perpetual covenant of war against every people tribe and state owning a foot of land between here and tierra del fuego because opposition to slavery expansion was the key issue uniting the republican party at the time lincoln is sometimes criticized for putting politics ahead of the national interest in refusing any compromise allowing the expansion of slavery supporters of lincoln however point out that he did not oppose slavery because he was a republican but became a republican because of his opposition to the expansion of slavery that he opposed several other republicans who were in favor of compromise and that he clearly thought his course of action was in the national interest by the time lincoln took office the confederacy was an established fact and n |
ot a single leader of that country ever proposed rejoining the union on any terms no compromise was found because no compromise was possible lincoln perhaps could have allowed the southern states to secede and some republicans recommended that however conservative democratic nationalists such as jeremiah s black joseph holt and edwin m stanton had taken control of buchanan s cabinet around january one one eight six one and refused to accept secession lincoln and nearly all republican leaders adopted this nationalistic position by march one eight six one the union could not be broken war begins one eight six one one eight six two after union troops at fort sumter were fired on and forced to surrender in april lincoln called on governors of every state to send seven five zero zero zero troops to recapture forts protect the capital and preserve the union which in his view still existed intact despite the actions of the seceding states virginia which had repeatedly warned lincoln it would not allow an invasion of |
its territory or join an attack on another state then seceded along with north carolina tennessee and arkansas the slave states of missouri kentucky maryland and delaware did not secede and lincoln urgently negotiated with state leaders there promising not to interfere with slavery in loyal states emancipation proclamation lincoln met with his cabinet for the first reading of the emancipation proclamation draft on july two two one eight six two congress in july one eight six two moved to free the slaves by passing the second confiscation act it provided that if any person shall hereafter incite set on foot assist or engage in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the united states or the laws thereof or shall give aid or comfort thereto or shall engage in or give aid and comfort to any such existing rebellion or insurrection and be convicted thereof such person shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars and by the li |
beration of all his slaves if any he have or by both of said punishments at the discretion of the court sec nine and be it further enacted that all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the government of the united states or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army and all slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them and coming under the control of the government of the united states and all slaves of such person found on or being within any place occupied by rebel forces and afterwards occupied by the forces of the united states shall be deemed captives of war and shall be forever free of their servitude and not again held as slaves thus everyone who six zero days after july one seven one eight six two supported the rebellion was to be punished by having all their slaves freed the goal was to weaken the rebellion which was led and controlled by slave owners this did not abolish the legal |
institution of slavery the xiii amendment did that but it shows lincoln had the support of and was even somewhat pushed by congress in liberating the slaves owned by rebels lincoln implemented the new law by his emancipation proclamation lincoln is well known for ending slavery in the united states and he personally opposed slavery as a profound moral evil not in accord with the principle of equality asserted in the declaration of independence yet lincoln s views of the role of the federal government on the subject of slavery are more complicated before the confederate states seceded lincoln had campaigned against the expansion of slavery into the territories where congress did have authority however he maintained that the federal government could not constitutionally bar slavery in states where it already existed during his presidency lincoln made it clear that the north was fighting the war to preserve the union not to abolish slavery freeing the slaves was a war measure to weaken the rebellion by destroyi |
ng the economic base of its leadership class lincoln was criticized both at home and abroad for his refusal to take a stand for the complete abolition of slavery on august two two one eight six two a few weeks before signing the proclamation and after it had already been drafted lincoln responded by letter to an editorial by horace greeley of the new york tribune which had urged abolition i would save the union i would save it the shortest way under the constitution the sooner the national authority can be restored the nearer the union will be the union as it was if there be those who would not save the union unless they could at the same time save slavery i do not agree with them if there be those who would not save the union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery i do not agree with them my paramount object in this struggle is to save the union and is not either to save or to destroy slavery if i could save the union without freeing any slave i would do it and if i could save it by freeing all t |
he slaves i would do it and if i could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone i would also do that what i do about slavery and the colored race i do because i believe it helps to save the union and what i forbear i forbear because i do not believe it would help to save the union i shall do less whenever i shall believe what i am doing hurts the cause and i shall do more whenever i shall believe doing more will help the cause i shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors and i shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views i have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty and i intend no modification of my oft expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free with the emancipation proclamation issued in two parts on september two two one eight six two and january one one eight six three lincoln made the abolition of slavery a goal of the war lincoln addresses the issue of his consistency or lack thereof between his earlier position and his la |
ter position on emancipation in an one eight six four letter to albert g hodges lincoln is often credited with freeing enslaved african americans with the emancipation proclamation however border states that still allowed slavery but were under union control were exempt from the emancipation because they were not covered under any war measures the proclamation on its first day january one one eight six three freed only a few escaped slaves but as union armies advanced south more and more slaves were liberated until hundreds of thousands were freed exactly how many is unknown lincoln signed the proclamation as a wartime measure insisting that only the outbreak of war gave constitutional power to the president to free slaves in states where it already existed he later said i never in my life felt more certain that i was doing right than i do in signing this paper the proclamation made abolishing slavery in the rebel states an official war goal and it became the impetus for the enactment of the one three th amen |
dment to the united states constitution which abolished slavery lincoln was one of the main promoters of that amendment although some northern conservatives recoiled at the notion that the war was now being fought for the slaves instead of for preserving the union in the end the emancipation proclamation did much to help the northern cause politically lincoln s strong abolitionist stand finally convinced the united kingdom of great britain and ireland and other foreign countries that they could not support the confederate states of america this move remains one of the great seizures of private property by the federal government restoring the ownership of the blacks to themselves lincoln had for some time been working on plans to set up colonies in africa and south america for the nearly four million newly freed slaves he remarked upon colonization favorably in the emancipation proclamation but all attempts at such a massive undertaking failed important domestic measures of lincoln s first term while lincoln i |
s usually portrayed bearded he first grew a beard in one eight six one at the suggestion of one one year old grace bedell lincoln believed in the whig theory of the presidency which left congress to write the laws he was anti vescovian he signed them vetoing only bills that threatened his war powers thus he signed the homestead act in one eight six two making available millions of acres of government held land in the west for purchase at very low cost the morrill land grant colleges act also signed in one eight six two provided government grants for agricultural universities in each state lincoln also signed the pacific railway acts of one eight six two and one eight six four which granted federal support to the construction of the united states first transcontinental railroad which was completed in one eight six nine the most important legislation involved money matters including the first income tax and higher tariffs most important was the creation of the system of national banks by the national banking ac |
ts of one eight six three one eight six four and one eight six five which allowed the creation of a strong national financial system lincoln sent a senior general to put down the sioux uprising of august one eight six two in minnesota presented with three zero three death warrants for convicted santee dakota who had massacred innocent farmers lincoln affirmed three nine of these for execution one was later reprieved one eight six four election and second inauguration after union victories at gettysburg vicksburg and chattanooga in one eight six three many in the north believed that victory was soon to come after lincoln appointed u s grant general in chief on march one two one eight six four although no president since andrew jackson had been elected to a second term and none since van buren had been re nominated lincoln s re election was considered a certainty however when the spring campaigns east and west all turned into bloody stalemates northern morale dipped and lincoln seemed less likely to be re nomin |
ated treasury secretary salmon p chase strongly desired the republican nomination and was working hard to win it while john fremont was nominated by a breakoff group of radical republicans potentially taking away crucial votes in the november elections fearing he might lose the election lincoln wrote out and signed the following pledge but did not show it to his cabinet asking them each to sign the sealed envelope lincoln wrote this morning as for some days past it seems exceedingly probable that this administration will not be re elected then it will be my duty to so co operate with the president elect as to save the union between the election and the inauguration as he will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly save it afterwards the democrats hoping to make setbacks in the war a top campaign issue waited until late summer to nominate a candidate their platform was heavily influenced by the peace wing of the party calling the war a failure but their candidate former general georg |
e mcclellan was a war democrat determined to prosecute the war until the union was restored although willing to compromise on all other issues including slavery mcclellan s candidacy was soon undercut as on september one just two days after the convention atlanta was abandoned by the confederate army coming on the heels of david farragut s capture of mobile bay and followed by phil sheridan s crushing victory over jubal early s army at cedar creek it was now apparent that the tide had turned in favor of the union and that lincoln may be reelected despite the costs of the war still lincoln believed that he would win the electoral vote by only a slim margin failing to give him the mandate he d need if he was to push his lenient reconstruction plan to his surprise lincoln ended up winning all but two states capturing two one two of two three three electoral votes after lincoln s election on march four one eight six five he delivered his second inaugural address which was his favorite of all his speeches at this |
time a victory over the rebels was within sight slavery had effectively ended and lincoln was looking to the future fondly do we hope fervently do we pray that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away yet if god wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bond man s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said the judgments of the lord are true and righteous altogether with malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as god gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation s wounds to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations civil war and reconstruction conducting the war effort the war was a source of constant fru |
stration for the president and it occupied nearly all of his time lincoln had a contentious relationship with general george b mcclellan who became general in chief of all the union armies in the wake of the embarrassing union defeat at the first battle of bull run and after the retirement of winfield scott in late one eight six one lincoln wished to take an active part in planning the war strategy despite his inexperience in military affairs lincoln s strategic priorities were two fold first to ensure that washington d c was well defended and second to conduct an aggressive war effort in hopes of ending the war quickly and appeasing the northern public and press who pushed for an offensive war mcclellan a youthful west point graduate and railroad executive called back to military service took a more cautious approach mcclellan took several months to plan and execute his peninsula campaign which involved capturing richmond by moving the army of the potomac by boat to the peninsula between the james and york r |
ivers mcclellan s delay irritated lincoln as did mcclellan s insistence that no troops were needed to defend washington d c lincoln insisted on holding some of mcclellan s troops to defend the capital a decision mcclellan blamed for the ultimate failure of his peninsula campaign mcclellan a lifelong democrat who was temperamentally conservative was relieved as general in chief after releasing his harrison s landing letter where he offered unsolicited political advice to lincoln urging caution in the war effort mcclellan s letter incensed radical republicans who successfully pressured lincoln to appoint fellow republican john pope as head of the new army of virginia pope complied with lincoln s strategic desire for the union to move towards richmond from the north thus guarding washington d c however pope was soundly defeated at the second battle of bull run during the summer of one eight six two forcing the army of the potomac back into the defenses of washington for a second time pope was sent to minnesota t |
o fight the sioux panicked by confederate general robert e lee s invasion of maryland lincoln restored mcclellan to command of all forces around washington in time for the battle of antietam in september one eight six two it was the union victory in that battle that allowed lincoln to release his emancipation proclamation lincoln relieved mcclellan of command shortly after the one eight six two midterm elections and appointed republican ambrose burnside to head the army of the potomac who promised to follow through on lincoln s strategic vision for an aggressive offensive against lee and richmond after burnside was stunningly defeated at fredericksburg joseph hooker was given command despite his idle talk about becoming a military strong man hooker was routed by lee at chancellorsville in may one eight six three and also relieved of command after the union victory at gettysburg meade s failure to pursue lee and months of inactivity for the army of the potomac lincoln decided to bring in a western general gene |
ral ulysses s grant he had a solid string of victories in the western theater including vicksburg and chattanooga earlier reacting to criticism of grant lincoln was quoted as saying i cannot spare this man he fights grant waged his bloody overland campaign in one eight six four using a strategy of a war of attrition characterized by high union losses at battles such as the wilderness and cold harbor but by proportionately higher losses in the confederate army grant s aggressive campaign would eventually bottle up lee in the siege of petersburg and result in the union taking richmond and bringing the war to a close in the spring of one eight six five lincoln authorized grant to use a scorched earth approach to destroy the south s morale and economic ability to continue the war this allowed generals william tecumseh sherman and philip sheridan to destroy farms and towns in the shenandoah valley georgia and south carolina the damage in sherman s march to the sea through georgia totaled in excess of one zero zero |
million lincoln had a star crossed record as a military leader possessing a keen understanding of strategic points such as the mississippi river and the fortress city of vicksburg and the importance of defeating the enemy s army rather than simply capturing cities however he had little success in his efforts to motivate his generals to adopt his strategies eventually he found in grant a man who shared his vision of the war and was able to bring that vision to reality with his relentless pursuit of coordinated offensives in multiple theaters of war lincoln perhaps reflecting his lack of military experience developed a keen curiosity with military campaigning during the war he spent hours at the war department telegraph office reading dispatches from his generals through many a night he frequently visited battle sites and seemed fascinated by watching scenes of war during jubal a early s raid into washington d c in one eight six four lincoln had to be told to duck his head to avoid being shot while observing t |
he scenes of battle homefront lincoln was more successful in giving the war meaning to northern civilians through his oratorical skills despite his meager education and backwoods upbringing lincoln possessed an extraordinary command of the english language as evidenced by the gettysburg address a speech dedicating a cemetery of union soldiers from the battle of gettysburg that he delivered on november one nine one eight six three while the featured speaker orator edward everett spoke for two hours lincoln s few choice words resonated across the nation and across history defying lincoln s own prediction that the world will little note nor long remember what we say here lincoln s second inaugural address is also greatly admired and often quoted in these speeches lincoln articulated better than any of his contemporaries the rationale behind the union effort during the civil war lincoln exercised powers no previous president had wielded he proclaimed a blockade suspended the writ of habeas corpus spent money with |
out congressional authorization and imprisoned thousands of accused confederate sympathizers without trial there is a fragment of uncorraborated evidence that lincoln made contingency plans to arrest chief justice roger brooke taney though the allegation remains unresolved and controversial see the taney arrest warrant controversy the long war and the issue of emancipation appeared to be severely hampering his prospects and pessimists warned that defeat appeared likely lincoln ran under the union party banner composed of war democrats and republicans general grant was facing severe criticism for his conduct of the bloody overland campaign that summer and the seemingly endless siege of petersburg however the union capture of the key railroad center of atlanta by sherman s forces in september changed the situation dramatically and lincoln was reelected reconstruction the reconstruction of the union weighed heavy on the president s mind throughout the war effort he was determined to take a course that would not |
permanently alienate the former confederate states and throughout the war lincoln urged speedy elections under generous terms in areas behind union lines this irritated congressional republicans who urged a more stringent reconstruction policy one of lincoln s few vetoes during his term was of the wade davis bill an effort by congressional republicans to impose harsher reconstruction terms on the confederate areas republicans in congress retaliated by refusing to seat representatives elected from louisiana arkansas and tennessee during the war under lincoln s generous terms let em up easy he told his assembled military leaders gen ulysses s grant a future president gen william t sherman and adm david dixon porter in an one eight six five meeting on the steamer river queen when richmond the confederate capital was at long last captured lincoln went there to make a public gesture of sitting at jefferson davis s own desk symbolically saying to the nation that the president of the united states held authority ove |
r the entire land he was greeted at the city as a conquering hero by freed slaves whose sentiments were epitomized by one admirer s quote i know i am free for i have seen the face of father abraham and have felt him on april nine one eight six five confederate general robert e lee surrendered at appomattox court house in virginia this left only joseph johnston s forces in the east to deal with weeks later johnston would defy jefferson davis and surrender his forces to sherman of course lincoln would not survive to see the surrender of all confederate forces just five days after lee surrendered lincoln was assassinated he was the first president to be assassinated and the third to die in office assassination the assassination of abraham lincoln from left to right henry rathbone clara harris mary todd lincoln lincoln and booth lincoln had met frequently with lt gen ulysses s grant as the war drew to a close the two men planned matters of reconstruction and it was evident to all that they held each other in high |
regard during their last meeting on april one four one eight six five good friday lincoln invited grant to a social engagement that evening grant declined grant s wife julia dent grant is said to have strongly disliked mary todd lincoln the president s eldest son robert todd lincoln also turned down the invitation john wilkes booth a well known actor and southern sympathizer from maryland heard that the president and mrs lincoln along with the grants would be attending ford s theatre having failed in a plot to kidnap lincoln earlier booth informed his co conspirators of his intention to kill lincoln others were assigned to assassinate vice president andrew johnson and secretary of state william seward without his bodyguard ward hill lamon to whom he related his famous dream of his own assassination the lincolns left to attend the play at ford s theater the play our american cousin was a musical comedy by the british writer tom taylor as lincoln sat in his state box in the balcony booth crept up behind the pr |
esident s box and waited for the funniest line of the play hoping the laughter would cover the gunshot noise on stage actor harry hawk said the last words lincoln would ever hear well i guess i know enough to turn you inside out old gal you sockdologizing old man trap when the laughter came booth jumped into the box the president was in and aimed a single shot round slug four four caliber deringer at his head firing at point blank range the bullet entered behind lincoln s left ear and lodged behind his right eyeball major henry rathbone who was present in the presidential box momentarily grappled with booth but was severely stabbed and slashed by the assassin it was believed that booth then shouted sic semper tyrannis latin thus always to tyrants the state motto of virginia some accounts say he added the south is avenged and jumped from the balcony to the stage below breaking his leg despite his injury booth managed to limp to his horse and make his escape as booth fled from the theater a young physician dr c |
harles leale made his way through the audience to lincoln s box leale quickly assessed the wound as mortal the president was taken across the street from the theater to the petersen house where he lay in a coma for nine hours before he expired several physicians attended lincoln including u s army surgeon general joseph k barnes of the army medical museum using a probe barnes located some fragments of lincoln s skull and the ball lodged six inches inside his brain lincoln who never regained consciousness was officially pronounced dead at seven two two a m the next morning april one five one eight six five upon his death secretary of war edwin stanton lamented now he belongs to the ages after lincoln s body was returned to the white house his body was prepared for his lying in state in the east room the army medical museum now named the national museum of health and medicine has retained in its collection since the time of lincoln s death several artifacts relating to the assassination currently on display in |
the museum are the bullet that was fired from the deringer pistol ending lincoln s life the probe used by barnes pieces of his skull and hair and the surgeon s cuff stained with lincoln s blood the museum can be found at www hmhm washingtondc museum lincoln s funeral train carried his remains as well as three zero zero mourners and the casket of his son william one six five four miles to illinois lincoln s body was carried by train in a grand funeral procession through several states on its way back to illinois the nation mourned a man whom many viewed as the savior of the united states he was buried in oak ridge cemetery in springfield where a one seven seven foot five four m tall granite tomb surmounted with several bronze statues of lincoln was constructed by one eight seven four to prevent repeated attempts to steal lincoln s body and hold it for ransom robert todd lincoln had lincoln exhumed and reinterred in concrete several feet thick on september two six one nine zero one presidential appointments adm |
inistration and cabinet lincoln was known for appointing his enemies and political rivals to high positions in his cabinet not only did he use great political skill in reducing potential political opposition but he felt he was appointing the best qualified person for the good of the country supreme court lincoln appointed the following justices to the supreme court of the united states noah haynes swayne one eight six two samuel freeman miller one eight six two david davis one eight six two stephen johnson field one eight six three salmon p chase chief justice one eight six four major presidential acts involvement as president elect morrill tariff of one eight six one corwin amendment enacted as president signed revenue act of one eight six one signed homestead act signed morill land grant college act signed internal revenue act of one eight six two signed pacific railway acts of one eight six two and one eight six four established department of agriculture one eight six two signed national banking act of one |
eight six three signed internal revenue act of one eight six four states admitted to the union west virginia one eight six three nevada one eight six four legacy and memorials lincoln s death made the president a martyr to many today he is perhaps america s second most famous and beloved president after george washington repeated polls of historians have ranked lincoln as among the greatest presidents in u s history among contemporary admirers lincoln is usually seen as a figure who personifies daniel chester french s seated lincoln faces the national mall to the east lincoln s bust on mt rushmore classical values of honesty integrity as well as respect for individual and minority rights and human freedom in general many american organizations of all purposes and agendas continue to cite his name and image with interests ranging from the gay rights group log cabin republicans to the insurance corporation lincoln financial the lincoln automobile is also named after him over the years lincoln has been memorial |
ized in many city names notably the capital of nebraska with the lincoln memorial in washington d c pictured right on the u s five bill and the one cent coin illinois is the primary opponent to the removal of the penny from circulation and as part of the mount rushmore national memorial lincoln s tomb lincoln home national historic site in springfield new salem illinois a reconstruction of lincoln s early adult hometown ford s theater and petersen house are all preserved as museums the state nickname for illinois is land of lincoln counties in one eight u s states arkansas colorado idaho kansas minnesota mississippi montana nebraska nevada new mexico oklahoma oregon south dakota tennessee west virginia washington wisconsin and wyoming are named after lincoln on february one two one eight nine two abraham lincoln s birthday was declared to be a federal holiday in the united states although in one nine seven one it was combined with washington s birthday in the form of president s day february one two is still |
observed as a separate legal holiday in many states including illinois lincoln s birthplace and family home are national historic memorials abraham lincoln birthplace national historic site in hodgenville kentucky and lincoln home national historic site in springfield illinois the abraham lincoln presidential library and museum is also in springfield the abraham lincoln national cemetery is located in elwood illinois statues of lincoln can be found in other countries in ciudad ju rez chihuahua mexico is a one three foot high bronze statue a gift from the united states dedicated in one nine six six by president lyndon b johnson the u s received a statue of benito ju rez in exchange which is in washington d c ju rez and lincoln exchanged friendly letters and mexico remembers lincoln s opposition to the mexican american war there is also a statue in tijuana mexico showing lincoln standing and destroying the chains of slavery there are at least three statues of lincoln in the united kingdom one in london by augus |
tus st gaudens one in manchester by george grey barnard and another in edinburgh by george bissell the ballistic missile submarine abraham lincoln ssbn six zero two and the aircraft carrier abraham lincoln cvn seven two were named in his honor also the liberty ship ss nancy hanks was named to honor his mother in a recent public vote entitled the greatest american lincoln placed second placing first was ronald reagan lincoln in popular culture trivia lincoln stood six three three four one nine two four cm tall and thus was the tallest president in u s history just edging out lyndon johnson at six three one two one nine one eight cm he was born on the same day as charles darwin the last surviving self described witness to lincoln s assassination was samuel j seymour one eight six zero april one four one nine five six who appeared two months before his death at age nine six on the cbs tv quiz show i ve got a secret he said that as a five year old he had thought at first that he himself had been shot because his |
nurse trying to fix a torn place in his blouse stuck him with a pin at the moment of the gun s discharge according to legend lincoln was referred to as two faced by his opponent in the one eight five eight senate election stephen douglas upon hearing about this lincoln jokingly replied if i had another face to wear do you really think i would be wearing this one according to legend lincoln also said as a young man on his appearance one day when looking in the mirror it s a fact abe you are the ugliest man in the world if ever i see a man uglier than you i m going to shoot him on the spot it would no doubt he thought be an act of mercy based on written descriptions of lincoln including the observations that he was much taller than most men of his day and had long limbs an abnormally shaped chest and loose or lax joints it has been conjectured since the one nine six zero s that lincoln may have suffered from marfan syndrome lincoln was known to have a case of depression during his time in new salem illinois his |
fiancee died and that triggered his depression his close friends watched over him to make sure he did not commit suicide he also suffered from nightmares during his term in the white house his depression got so severe he had to hold a cabinet meeting from his bed he once mentioned one of his haunting nightmares to his friend lincoln mentioned that he was standing in a mourning crowd surrounding a train and when he asked a grieving woman what had happened she replied the president has been shot and he has died lincoln is the only american president to hold a patent the patent is for a device that lifts boats over shoals see also origins of the american civil war american system lincoln s economic beliefs lincoln kennedy coincidences list of u s presidential religious affiliations movies d w griffith s abraham lincoln the dramatic life of abraham lincoln abraham lincoln presidential library and museum references biographies lincoln by david herbert donald one nine nine nine isbn zero six eight four eight two f |
ive three five x very well reviewed by scholars donald has won two pulitzer prizes for biography abraham lincoln and civil war america a biography by william e gienapp isbn zero one nine five one five zero nine nine six two zero zero two short team of rivals the political genius of abraham lincoln by doris kearns goodwin isbn zero six eight four eight two four nine zero six two zero zero five reviewers report it is very well written abraham lincoln redeemer president by allen c guelzo isbn zero eight zero two eight three eight seven two three one nine nine nine abraham lincoln a history one eight nine zero by john hay online at volume one and volume two one zero volumes in all written by lincoln s top aides the real abraham lincoln by reinhard h luthin one nine six zero well regarded by reviewers the abraham lincoln encyclopedia by mark e neely one nine eight four detailed articles on many men and movements associated with al the last best hope of earth abraham lincoln and the promise of america by mark e nee |
ly one nine nine three pulitzer prize winning author with malice toward none the life of abraham lincoln by stephen b oates one nine nine four lincoln the president by james g randall four vol one nine four five five five reprint two zero zero zero by prize winning scholar mr lincoln excerpts ed by richard n current one nine five seven abraham lincoln the prairie years two vol one nine two six the war years four vol one nine three nine biography by carl sandburg pulitzer prize winner by famous poet abraham lincoln a biography by benjamin p thomas one nine five two specialty topics baker jean h mary todd lincoln a biography one nine eight seven belz herman abraham lincoln constitutionalism and equal rights in the civil war era one nine nine eight boritt gabor s lincoln and the economics of the american dream one nine nine four lincoln s economic theory and policies boritt gabor s lincoln the war president one nine nine four boritt gabor s ed the historian s lincoln urbana university of illinois press one nine |
eight eight historiography bruce robert v lincoln and the tools of war one nine five six on weapons development during the war donald david herbert lincoln reconsidered essays on the civil war era one nine six zero foner eric free soil free labor free men the ideology of the republican party before the civil war one nine seven zero intellectual history of different prewar faction s in al s party harris william c with charity for all lincoln and the restoration of the union one nine nine seven al s plans for reconstruction hendrick burton j lincoln s war cabinet one nine four six hofstadter richard the american political tradition and the men who made it one nine four eight ch five abraham lincoln and the self made myth holzer harold lincoln at cooper union the speech that made abraham lincoln president two zero zero four mcpherson james m abraham lincoln and the second american revolution one nine nine two mcpherson james m battle cry of freedom the civil war era one nine eight eight pulitzer prize winner sur |
veys all aspects of the war morgenthau hans j and david hein essays on lincoln s faith and politics lanham md university press of america for the white burkett miller center of public affairs at the university of virginia one nine eight three neely mark e the fate of liberty abraham lincoln and civil liberties one nine nine two pulitzer prize winner philip s paludan the presidency of abraham lincoln one nine nine four reviewers call it the most thorough treatment of al s administration lincoln in american memory by merrill d peterson one nine nine four how lincoln was remembered after one eight six five randall james g lincoln the liberal statesman one nine four seven richardson heather cox the greatest nation of the earth republican economic policies during the civil war one nine nine seven shenk joshua wolf lincoln s melancholy how depression challenged a president and fueled his greatness two zero zero five named one of the best books of two zero zero five by the washington post the new york times and the |
atlanta journal constitution lincoln by gore vidal isbn zero three seven five seven zero eight seven six six a novel lincoln and his generals by t harry williams one nine six seven lincoln at gettysburg the words that remade america by garry wills isbn zero six seven one eight six seven four two three honor s voice the transformation of abraham lincoln by douglas l wilson one nine nine nine lincoln in art and popular culture bullard f lauriston lincoln in marble and bronze rutgers university press new brunswick new jersey one nine five two mead fanklin b heroic statues in bronze of abraham lincoln introducing the hoosier youth by paul manship the lincoln national life foundation fort wayne indiana one nine three two moffatt frederick c errant bronzes george grey barnard s statues of abraham lincoln university of deleware press newark de one nine nine eight murry freeman henry morris emancipation anf the freed in american sculpture books for libraries press the black heritage library collection freeport ny one |
nine seven two originally published in one nine one six petz weldon michigan s monumental tributes to abraham lincoln historical society of michigan one nine eight seven redway maurine whorton and dorothy kendall bracken marks of lincoln on our land hastings house publishers new york one nine five seven savage kirk standing soldiers kneeling slaves race war and monument in nineteenth century america princeton university press princeton new jersey one nine nine seven tice george lincoln rutgers university press new brunswick new jersey one nine eight four the real lincoln by thomas dilorenzo isbn zero seven six one five two six four six three a stinging neo confederate attack on lincoln as evil two zero zero two primary sources basler roy p ed collected works of abraham lincoln nine vols new brunswick nj rutgers univ press one nine five three five five basler roy p ed abraham lincoln his speeches and writings one nine four six lincoln abraham lincoln speeches and writings two vol library of america edition on |
e nine eight nine lincoln abraham the life and writings of abraham lincoln modern library classics ed by philip van doren stern two zero zero zero external links white house biography abraham lincoln papers at the library of congress one eight five zero one eight six five the controversial photograph of lincoln in death the lincoln institute abraham lincoln in united states census records especially for students an overview of abraham lincoln s life mr lincoln s virtual library speeches and quotes by abraham lincoln poetry written by abraham lincoln lincoln memorial tour my big adventure three three images abraham lincoln research site abraham lincoln online the collected works of abraham lincoln lincoln studies center at knox college discussion of john drinkwater s play abraham lincoln original one eight six zero s harper s weekly images and news on abraham lincoln the lincoln log a daily chronology of the life of abraham lincoln lincoln memorial washington dc the lincoln museum fort wayne indiana the lincol |
n prize a national book award sponsored by the gilder lehrman institute of american history and the civil war institute at gettysburg college abraham lincoln s assassination john summerfield staples president lincoln s substitute us six four six nine patent manner of buoying vessels a lincoln one eight four nine king lincoln an archive of articles on lincoln national park service abraham lincoln birthplace includes good early history hoard historical museum in fort atkinson wisconsin with lincoln library on the question of lincoln s sexuality medical and health history of abraham lincoln biography world of biography project gutenberg etexts list of a compilation of the messages and papers of the presidents volume six part one abraham lincoln lincoln s yarns and stories volume one and volume two of abraham lincoln a history one eight nine zero by john hay one eight three five to one nine zero five john george nicolay one eight three two to one nine zero one the boys life of abraham lincoln one nine zero seven |
by nicolay helen one eight six six to one nine five four the life of abraham lincoln one nine zero one by henry ketcham volume one and volume two of abraham lincoln one eight nine nine by john t morse the every day life of abraham lincoln one nine one three by francis fisher browne abraham lincoln the people s leader in the struggle for national existence one nine zero nine by george haven putnam litt d lincoln s personal life one nine two two by nathaniel w stephenson before john henry after thomas langrell harris years one eight four seven one eight four nine one eight zero nine births one eight six five deaths abraham lincoln american civil war people american lawyers assassinated politicians autodidacts cat lovers firearm deaths humanists humanitarians members of the illinois house of representatives members of the united states house of representatives from illinois murder victims people from kentucky presidents of the united states republican party united states presidential nominees united states army |
officers united states senate candidates welsh americans aristotle aristotel s three eight four bc march seven three two two bc was an ancient greek philosopher who studied with plato and taught alexander the great he wrote books on many subjects including physics poetry zoology logic rhetoric government and biology aristotle along with plato and socrates is generally considered one of the most influential of ancient greek philosophers they transformed presocratic greek philosophy into the foundations of western philosophy as we know it the writings of plato and aristotle founded two of the most important schools of ancient philosophy aristotle valued knowledge gained from the senses and in modern terms would be classed among the modern empiricists see materialism and empiricism he also achieved a grounding of dialectic in the topics by allowing interlocutors to begin from commonly held beliefs endoxa his goal being non contradiction rather than truth he set the stage for what would eventually develop into th |
e empiricist version of scientific method centuries later although he wrote dialogues early in his career no more than fragments of these have survived the works of aristotle that still exist today are in treatise form and were for the most part unpublished texts these were probably lecture notes or texts used by his students and were almost certainly revised repeatedly over the course of years as a result these works tend to be eclectic dense and difficult to read among the most important ones are physics metaphysics or ontology nicomachean ethics politics de anima on the soul and poetics these works although connected in many fundamental ways are very different in both style and substance aristotle is known for being one of the few figures in history who studied almost every subject possible at the time in science aristotle studied anatomy astronomy economics embryology geography geology meteorology physics and zoology in philosophy aristotle wrote on aesthetics ethics government metaphysics politics psycho |
logy rhetoric and theology he also dealt with education foreign customs literature and poetry his combined works practically constitute an encyclopedia of greek knowledge biography early life and studies at the academy a bust of aristotle is a nearly ubiquitous ornament in places of high culture in the west aristotle was born at stageira a colony of andros on the macedonian peninsula of chalcidice in three eight four bc his father nicomachus was court physician to king amyntas iii of macedon it is believed that aristotle s ancestors held this position under various kings of the macedons as such aristotle s early education would probably have consisted of instruction in medicine and biology from his father about his mother phaestis little is known it is known that she died early in aristotle s life when nicomachus also died in aristotle s tenth year he was left an orphan and placed under the guardianship of his uncle proxenus of atarneus he taught aristotle greek rhetoric and poetry o connor et al two zero zer |
o four aristotle was probably influenced by his father s medical knowledge when he went to athens at the age of one eight he was likely already trained in the investigation of natural phenomena from the age of one eight to three seven aristotle remained in athens as a pupil of plato and distinguished himself at the academy the relations between plato and aristotle have formed the subject of various legends many of which depict aristotle unfavourably no doubt there were divergences of opinion between plato who took his stand on sublime idealistic principles and aristotle who even at that time showed a preference for the investigation of the facts and laws of the physical world it is also probable that plato suggested that aristotle needed restraining rather than encouragement but not that there was an open breach of friendship in fact aristotle s conduct after the death of plato his continued association with xenocrates and other platonists and his allusions in his writings to plato s doctrines prove that whil |
e there were conflicts of opinion between plato and aristotle there was no lack of cordial appreciation or mutual forbearance besides this the legends that reflect aristotle unfavourably are traceable to the epicureans who were known as slanderers if such legends were circulated widely by patristic writers such as justin martyr and gregory nazianzen the reason lies in the exaggerated esteem aristotle was held in by the early christian heretics not in any well grounded historical tradition aristotle as philosopher and tutor after the death of plato three four seven bc aristotle was considered as the next head of the academy a position that was eventually awarded to plato s nephew aristotle then went with xenocrates to the court of hermias ruler of atarneus in asia minor and married his niece and adopted daughter pythia in three four four bc hermias was murdered in a rebellion and aristotle went with his family to mytilene it is also reported that he stopped on lesbos and briefly conducted biological research t |
hen one or two years later he was summoned to pella the macedonian capital by king philip ii of macedon to become the tutor of alexander the great who was then one three plutarch wrote that aristotle not only imparted to alexander a knowledge of ethics and politics but also of the most profound secrets of philosophy we have much proof that alexander profited by contact with the philosopher and that aristotle made prudent and beneficial use of his influence over the young prince although bertrand russell disputes this due to this influence alexander provided aristotle with ample means for the acquisition of books and the pursuit of his scientific investigation it is possible that aristotle also participated in the education of alexander s boyhood friends which may have included for example hephaestion and harpalus aristotle maintained a long correspondence with hephaestion eventually collected into a book unfortunately now lost according to sources such as plutarch and diogenes philip had aristotle s hometown |