Abraham Lincoln

Quotes - Abraham Lincoln Motivational Incident - Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, the son of a farmer, was born born near Hodgenville, Kentucky, on 12th February, 1809. Although his parents were virtually illiterate, and he spent only a year at school, he developed a love of reading. In March 1830, the Lincoln family moved to Illinois.

After helping his father clear and fence his father's new farm, Lincoln moved to New Salem, where he worked as a storekeeper, postmaster and surveyor. He took a keen interest in politics and supported the Whig Party. In 1834 Lincoln was elected to the Illinois State Legislature where he argued that the role of federal government was to encourage business by establishing a national bank, imposing protective tariffs and improving the country's transport system.

In his spare time Lincoln continued his studies and became a lawyer after passing his bar examination in 1836. There was not much legal work in New Salem and the following year he moved to Springfield, the new state capital of Illinois.

In November, 1842, Lincoln married Mary Todd, the daughter of a prosperous family from Kentucky. The couple had four sons: Robert Lincoln (1843-1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846-50), William Lincoln (1850-62) and Thomas Lincoln (1853-1871). Three of the boys died young and only Robert lived long enough to marry and have children.

In 1844 Lincoln formed a legal partnership with William Herndon. The two men worked well together and shared similar political views. Herndon later claimed that he was instrumental in changing Lincoln's views on slavery.

Lincoln's continued to build up his legal work and in 1850 obtained the important role as the attorney for the Illinois Central Railroad. He also defended the son of a friend, William Duff Armstrong, who had been charged with murder. Lincoln successfully undermined the testimony of the prosecution's star witness, Charles Allen, and Armstrong was found not guilty.