Abraham Lincoln led America through its bloodiest war. His actions changed the nation forever and his legacy lives on today. Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States. During the Civil War, Lincoln's political strategies aided the Union's victory. Lincoln set in motion the reconstruction of America and abolished slavery. Below I will discuss the life of one of the nation's greatest presidents. Before his famous political career, Lincoln was a self-taught lawyer. In the debates of his life he opposed slavery. During his time in Congress and the Senate, Lincoln passed many laws, some that locally abolished slavery before the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809. He was the second son of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. It is commonly believed that he was born in Illinois, but he was actually born in Hodgenville, Kentucky. When Lincoln grew up, he moved to Illinois, where he spent much of his childhood and part of his adulthood. Lincoln lost his mother at the age of nine to milk sickness. This tragic loss led Lincoln's sister, Sarah, to care for him. Lincoln was often considered lazy by his neighbors. At the age of twenty-two, Lincoln canoed down the Sangamon River. He came to New Salem, where he began his career. He then traveled to New Orleans, where he witnessed slavery for the first time. Then he returned to New Salem. There he purchased a general store, which he later sold. He then attempted to begin his political career with the Illinois General Assembly. His popularity grew, but he lacked knowledge and money and lost. On April 21, 1832, Lincoln joined the Illinois militia to serve in the Black Hawk War. Three months later he was discharged. He then launched yet another...... middle of paper ......xhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/ (accessed 10 March 2014). Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. Holzer, Harold, Craig L. Symonds, and Bill Clinton. The New York Times Completes the Civil War, 1861-1865. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.:, 2010. Lincoln, Abraham, Don E. Fehrenbacher, and Roy P. Basler. Speeches and Writings, 1859-1865: Speeches, various letters and writings, presidential messages and proclamations. New York, NY: Literary Classics of the United States:, 1989.Thomas, Benjamin Platt. Abraham Lincoln: A Biography. [1st ed. New York: Knopf, 1952. Ward, Geoffrey C., Ken Burns, and Ric Burns. The Civil War: An Illustrated History. New York: Knopf, 1990.Weber, Karl. Lincoln: A President for the Ages. New York: Public Affairs, 2012.