Quote of the day by Abraham Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln remains one of the most influential figures in American history, remembered for his leadership during the Civil War, his opposition to slavery and his powerful vision of a nation that could survive its deepest divisions. Born into a poor frontier family, Lincoln had little formal education but developed a lifelong passion for reading, learning and public service. Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky. His family later moved to Indiana and then Illinois, where he worked a variety of jobs before entering politics. He taught himself law, became an attorney and eventually built a political career in Illinois. His rise to national prominence came through his opposition to the expansion of slavery into US territories. In 1858, Lincoln gained national attention during a series of debates with Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas. Although Lincoln lost the Senate election, the debates helped establish him as a leading voice of the newly formed Republican Party.
In 1860, Lincoln won the Republican presidential nomination and went on to win the presidency. His election intensified tensions between Northern and Southern states, with several Southern states eventually seceding from the Union. The Civil War began in April 1861, placing Lincoln at the center of the country's greatest political and military crisis. His primary goal was initially to preserve the Union, but the war increasingly became a struggle over slavery as well. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the 'Emancipation Proclamation'. It declared enslaved people in the Confederate states to be free, transforming the war's purpose and making emancipation a central Union objective.
