2. Legislative Experience Lincoln must have been the least prepared man ever to be elected president of the United States. Lincoln was a 1-term congressman from Illinois, elected in 1846
3. Business Experience After serving in congress, Lincoln was a jobbing prairie lawyer then a railroad company lawyer and lobbyist. 1853-1860 he was corporate lawyer for Illinois Central RR
4. 1860 Election Lincoln relied on the Republican party. Democrats split and the Republican party elected Lincoln.
5. The Civil War Lincoln’s election precipitated the Civil War. 1861-1865. Lincoln was assassinated 5 days after Lee’s surrender.
Notes de l'éditeur
In today’s lecture we will be considering Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln served only a single two-year term in congress, his only national office before the presidency. Click – Animation This daguerreotype by Nicholas Shepherd was made in1846- or 1847, and is the earliest known picture of Lincoln.
Click – AnimationLincoln worked for hire as a lawyer and then gained contacts that permitted him to become a lawyer and lobbyist for one of the world’s largest corporations.
It was party politics that elected Lincoln in 1860. He made no speeches during the election campaign, but rather relied on party legwork and literature to present him to the nation. Click – Animation The Democrats split between north, represented by Stephen Douglas of Douglas-Lincoln debates fame, and John C. Breckenridge, Buchanan’s vice president, representing the Southern Democrats. John Bell ran for the new Constitutional Union Party. This slide shows the electoral college results of the election of 1860.
Lincoln’s election triggered a chain of events that resulted in the Civil War, leading to the death of 620,000 men in battle.Click – AnimationThis picture shows Lincoln on April 10, 1865—the last taken of him in life. He was shot on April 14 and died on the 15th.