Abe lincoln which president number

As the votes were counted, Lincoln had about 40 percent of the popular vote and electoral votes, compared with for his opponents combined. But the southern secession threats cast a pall over the upcoming Electoral College voting process: What if the southern states refused to take part in the Electoral College? What would constitute a quorum? But there was a greater than normal military presence on Capitol Hill.

Toggle navigation. Little wonder, then, that he casts a long shadow which still dwarfs his successors. This timeline offers some highlights of Lincoln's presidency. For a comprehensive list, consult the Lincoln Log , a daily chronology of Lincoln's life. When his father moved the family again to Coles County, year-old Lincoln struck out on his own, making a living in manual labor.

Lincoln was six feet four inches tall, rawboned and lanky, but muscular and physically strong. He spoke with a backwoods twang and walked with a long-striding gait.

He was known for his skill in wielding an ax and early on made a living splitting wood for fire and rail fencing. Young Lincoln eventually migrated to the small community of New Salem, Illinois, where over a period of years he worked as a shopkeeper, postmaster and eventually general store owner.

It was there that Lincoln, working with the public, acquired social skills and honed storytelling talent that made him popular with the locals. When the Black Hawk War broke out in between the United States and Native Americans, the volunteers in the area elected Lincoln to be their captain. He saw no combat during this time, save for "a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes," but was able to make several important political connections.

In , Lincoln began his political career and was elected to the Illinois state legislature as a member of the Whig Party. It was around this time that he decided to become a lawyer, teaching himself the law by reading William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. After being admitted to the bar in , he moved to Springfield, Illinois, and began to practice in the John T.

Stuart law firm. In , Lincoln partnered with William Herndon in the practice of law. Though the two had different jurisprudent styles, they developed a close professional and personal relationship. Lincoln made a good living in his early years as a lawyer, but found that Springfield alone didn't offer enough work, so to supplement his income, he followed the court as it made its rounds on the circuit to the various county seats in Illinois. Lincoln was married to Mary Todd on November 4, Todd was a high-spirited, well-educated woman from a distinguished Kentucky family.

In , the engagement was suddenly broken off, most likely at Lincoln's initiative. Mary and Lincoln met later at a social function and eventually married in Before marrying Todd, Lincoln was involved with other potential matches. Around , he purportedly met and became romantically involved with Anne Rutledge.

Before they had a chance to be engaged, a wave of typhoid fever came over New Salem and Anne died at age Her death was said to have left Lincoln severely depressed. About a year after the death of Rutledge, Lincoln courted Mary Owens. The two saw each other for a few months and marriage was considered.

But in time, Lincoln called off the match. Lincoln served a single term in the U. House of Representatives from to His foray into national politics seemed to be as unremarkable as it was brief. He was the lone Whig from the state of Illinois, showing party loyalty, but finding few political allies. Lincoln used his term in office to speak out against the Mexican-American War and supported Zachary Taylor for president in His criticism of the war made him unpopular back home and he decided not to run for second term, but instead returned to Springfield to practice law.

By the s, the railroad industry was moving west and Illinois found itself becoming a major hub for various companies. Lincoln served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad as its company attorney. Success in several court cases brought other business clients as well — banks, insurance companies and manufacturing firms.

Lincoln also worked in some criminal trials. In one case, a witness claimed that he could identify Lincoln's client who was accused of murder, because of the intense light from a full moon. Lincoln referred to an almanac and proved that the night in question had been too dark for the witness to see anything clearly. His client was acquitted. As a member of the Illinois state legislature in , Lincoln supported the Whig politics of government-sponsored infrastructure and protective tariffs.

This political understanding led him to formulate his early views on slavery , not so much as a moral wrong, but as an impediment to economic development. In , Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act , which repealed the Missouri Compromise , allowing individual states and territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. The law provoked violent opposition in Kansas and Illinois, and it gave rise to the Republican Party.