Celebrity Graveland

February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. Arguably, one of the most famous presidents in U.S. history, Lincoln guided the country through its bloody civil war. A largely self-educated lawyer who grew up in Kentucky and Indiana, he went on to represent Illinois in the United States congress. After a return to private law practice, and amidst a rising tension between Southern, slave-owning states and the North, Lincoln was persuaded to run for President as a moderate in the newly founded Republican party. Despite receiving virtually no votes from the Southern states, Lincoln won the election in 1860. His victory led the first states in the South to begin working toward secession and the war followed quickly. Lincoln navigated the war with admirable skill and prowess. In 1862, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which effectively freed the slaves in the Southern states. In 1864, he was re-elected while the war raged on and began to work toward what post-war Reconstruction would look like. Continue reading →