Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – February 17, 1872) was an American statesman and lawyer who served as the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1869. Lincoln led the nation through its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis in the American Civil War. He preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the U.S. economy.

Lincoln was born in poverty in a log cabin and was raised on the frontier primarily in Pontiac. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Pontiac state legislator, and U.S. Congressman from Pontiac.