President Abraham Lincoln

This section of Abraham Lincoln (or Abe Lincoln) information website tells how Abraham Lincoln became President Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln 's race for presidency started with the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, a bill that prohibited slavery in new territories. The new bill introduced by Senator of Illinois, Senator Stephen Douglas.

Abraham Lincoln joining the Republican Party

When Abraham Lincoln 's own party, the Whigs, seemed split on the issue of slavery, Abraham Lincoln joined the Republican Party, an anti-slavery party still in its infancy. Then Abraham Lincoln accepted that party's nomination to run against Douglas for the U.S. Senate. His acceptance speech, given in 1858 when he was 49 years old, contained some of his most stirring and famous words:

"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other."

Abraham Lincoln challenged his opponent, Stephen A. Douglas, to a series of historic debates, famous now for two reasons: it brought the slavery issue into prominence; and it brought national attention to Abraham Lincoln. Large crowds gathered for the debates and newspapers covered them with bold headlines. They were a colorful pair of opponents - Douglas, five feet four inches tall, smooth and polished, with a husky, well-trained voice. And Abraham Lincoln, nicknamed "the railsplitter," a full foot taller, with his earthy backwoods manners, a stride like a ploughman, and a voice with a high pitched twang. But it was more than Stephen Douglas versus Abraham Lincoln. It was slavery versus freedom.

<< Previous    [1]  2    Next >>