Biography of Abraham Lincoln for Kids: Meet the American President for Kids - FreeSchool
You're watching FreeSchool! Today we're going to learn about the
American
President
,Abraham
Lincoln
.Abraham
Lincoln
, the sixteenthpresident
of the United States, was born February 12, 1809, in Kentucky. His father was a farmer, and his family was very poor, living in a small, one-room log cabin. WhileLincoln
was still very young, his family moved to Indiana, and then again to Illinois. He only went to school for one year, but he loved books and learning, and taught himself as much ashe could. When he was 22 years old,
Abraham
Lincoln
left home to work at a general store. It was there that he got his nickname, "Honest Abe." Once a customer accidentally over paid by a few pennies, and that night when the store closed,Abraham
Lincoln
walked for miles to take the money back. In 1832Lincoln
ran in an election to become a member of the Illinois State Legislature, but he lost. After that he served as a Captain in the Army, and then he started working as a lawyer, andgot married. In 1846 he was
elected to the US House of Representatives. In 1860, he ran for
President
. It was a difficult time in the United States. The North and the South disagreed on a lot of things, and it was getting worse. One thing they disagreed on was slavery. The Northern states did not want any more slavery. The Southern states wanted to keep their slaves.Abraham
Lincoln
did not like slavery, either. He was electedPresident
because he had the support of the Northern states. He hadalmost
no support from the Southern states. As soon as he became
President
, southern states began seceding from the Union. That means they decided they didn't want to be a part of the United States anymore.President
Lincoln
was determined to keep the country together, and in 1861 a war started. It was the Civil War, a terrible, bloody war that lasted four years. On January 1, 1863,Abraham
Lincoln
signed the Emancipation Proclamation, an order that freed all the slaves in the southernstates. A few years later, he helped
to pass the 13th amendment to the Constitution, which made slavery illegal everywhere in the
United States. The Civil War finally ended on April 9, 1865.
President
Lincoln
wanted to put the country back together, and help the South rebuild. Unfortunately, he did not live to see that happen. Less than a week after the end of the Civil War,Lincoln
and his wife were watching a play at the Ford Theater in Washington DC when he was shot in the head by a man namedJohn Wilkes Booth.
Abraham
Lincoln
died the next morning, on April 15, 1865. He was the firstAmerican
President
to be assassinated.Abraham
Lincoln
once said, "I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." He is widely considered to be one of the greatestpresident
s inAmerican
history. His leadership during the Civil War and his defense of human liberty make him anAmerican
hero. His face ison pennies and five dollar bills, he was included
in Mount Rushmore, and a memorial for him stands in Washington, DC. I hope you enjoyed learning about