1. What was Lincoln’s childhood education like? (paragraph 2) 2. What was Abraham Lincoln’s work experience(s) as a young man? (paragraph 3) 3. What were Lincoln’s views on slavery in his younger days while he was a member of the Whig Party? (paragraph 4)
1. What was Lincoln’s childhood education like? (paragraph 2) 2. What was Abraham Lincoln’s work experience(s) as a young man? (paragraph 3) 3. What were Lincoln’s views on slavery in his younger days while he was a member of the Whig Party? (paragraph 4)
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Question
Childhood
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in
Hardin County, Kentucky to Thomas Lincoln
and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Thomas was a
strong and determined pioneer who found a
moderate level of prosperity and was well
respected in the community. The couple had
two other children: Abraham's older sister Sarah
and younger brother Thomas, who died in infancy.
When young Abraham was 9 years old, his mother died on October 5, 1818, of tremetol (milk sickness) at age 34. The event was devastating on him and young Abraham grew more alienated from his father and quietly resented the hard work placed on him at an early age. It was while growing into manhood that he received his formal education—an estimated total of 18 months—a few days or weeks at a time. Reading material was in short supply in the Indiana wilderness. Neighbors recalled how Abraham would walk for miles to borrow a book.
Law Career
In March, 1830, the family again migrated, this time to Macon County, Illinois. When his father moved the family again to Coles County, 22-year-old Abraham Lincoln struck out on this own, making a living in manual labor. At six feet four inches tall, Lincoln was rawboned and lanky, but muscular and physically strong. He spoke with a backwoods twang and walked with a long-striding gait. He was known for his skill in wielding an ax and early on made a living splitting wood for fire and rail fencing. Young Lincoln eventually migrated to the small community of New Salem, Illinois, where over a period of years he worked as a shopkeeper, postmaster, and eventually general store owner. It was here that Lincoln, working with the public, acquired social skills and honed story-telling talent that made him popular with the locals.
After the Black Hawk War, Abraham Lincoln began his political career and was elected to the Illinois state legislature, in 1834, as a member of the Whig Party. He supported the Whig politics of government-sponsored infrastructure and protective tariffs. This political understanding led him to formulate his early views on slavery, not so much as a moral wrong, but as an impediment to economic development.
In 1844, Abraham Lincoln partnered with William Herndon in the practice of law.
Entering Politics
Abraham Lincoln served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849. His foray into national politics seemed to be as unremarkable as it was brief. He was the lone Whig from the state of Illinois, showing party loyalty, but finding few political allies. He used his term in office to speak out against the Mexican-American War and supported Zachary Taylor for president in 1848.
Elected President
In 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, and allowed individual states and territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. The law provoked violent opposition in Kansas and Illinois, and it gave rise to the Republican Party. This awakened Abraham Lincoln's political zeal once again, and his views on slavery moved more toward moral indignation. Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1856.
In 1857, the Supreme Court issued its controversial decision Scott v. Sanford, declaring African Americans were not citizens and had no inherent rights. Though Abraham Lincoln felt African Americans were not equal to whites, he believed the America's founders intended that all men were created with certain inalienable rights. Lincoln decided to challenge sitting U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. In his nomination acceptance speech, he criticized Douglas, the Supreme Court, and President Buchanan for promoting slavery and declared "a house divided cannot stand."
The 1858 Senate campaign featured seven debates held in different cities across Illinois. The two candidates didn't disappoint the public, giving stirring debates on issues ranging from states' rights to western expansion, but the central issue was slavery. Newspapers intensely covered the debates, often times with partisan commentary. In the end, the state legislature elected Douglas, but the exposure vaulted Lincoln into national politics.
Questions
1. What was Lincoln’s childhood education like? (paragraph 2)
2. What was Abraham Lincoln’s work experience(s) as a young man? (paragraph 3)
3. What were Lincoln’s views on slavery in his younger days while he was a member of the Whig Party? (paragraph 4)
4. What were Lincoln’s views on some of the issues during the period of Manifest Destiny? (paragraph 6)
5. How did Lincoln’s views on slavery changed as a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act? (paragraph 7)
6. What were Lincoln’s personal feeling about black slaves and their rights? (paragraph 8)
7. What does Lincoln mean when he says “a house divide against itself cannot stand?” (Explain)
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