Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln had many accomplishments during his term of presidency, and to this day, he's considered one of the most accomplished presidents of all time, and was a huge success. However, Lincoln wasn't always a success, he started from the ground up and his story from how he went from being a son of a small Kentucky frontiersman to a major president is one that marks the beginning of his many accomplishments.

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky. He was a son of parents that came from undistinguished families. His dad was a frontiersman that struggled for a living which limited Lincoln's opportunities to learn and end up as someone as successful as a president. His mother died when he was merely ten years old and so he moved to Indiana with his father and since then, grew up with wild animals. His relationship with his father wasn't all too great and he didn't want to become a struggling frontiersman like him. Maybe it was because of this mindset, but Lincoln managed to to learn how to read, write and cipher on his own. But, simply knowing how to read and write wasn't enough for him. When he grew older, he taught himself law and ended up being part of the Illinois legislature for eight years and rode circuit of courts. In addition to being a successful lawyer, he was captain in the Black Hawk War, a war in Illinois between an alliance of Sauk and Fox Indians under Black Hawk against white settlers. Lincoln's history of successful leadership was ultimately founded during this war and led him to open a new chapter in his life into his political career. His rags to riches story, although not a national accomplishment, was a major personal accomplishment on Lincoln's part and shaped him into the person he was as a president during the crucial time, the Civil War.

Lincoln's political career started in 1858 when he ran against Stephen A. Douglas for senator. Although at the end of this election, Lincoln didn't win, his debate gained him a national reputation that would lead to a republican nomination for president in 1860. His victory during the 1860 election became commencement of many more accomplishments that he is remembered for. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union and five days later, sent troops to Fort Sumter. The dilemma here was that the North considered the fort to be the property of the United States government while the people of South Carolina believed it belonged to the new Confederacy. When Lincoln took his oath of office on March 4, 1861, he came up with a brilliant plan in consideration of the shortage of supply in Fort Sumter. On April 6, Lincoln told the governor of South Carolina that he was going to send provisions to Fort Sumter without actually sending them unless South Carolina were to attack. Therefore, the ball was not in his court anymore and the first act of war was made on the South's part. This was a small accomplishment on Lincoln's part.

On May 2, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed off on the Homestead Act which increased the settlement in the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for minimal filling fee and five years of continuous residence on that land. This expanded the American territory and helped develop more land in America. On January 1, 1963, Lincoln rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause and passed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in the rebellious