Abraham Lincoln

Who was he? 

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and was also one of America's greatest heroes for being the emancipator of slaves. 

  

What does he have to do with the Emancipation Proclamation? 

The Emancipation Proclamation stated that those held as slaves shall be freed. It was a speech about changing the goal of the war from saving the Union to freeing the slaves. Abraham Lincoln delivered this speech in January 1, 1863.  

  

How did he die? 

Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre in Washington on April 14, 1865. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor who acted as the lead in Richard III by William Shakespeare in 1862.
  

Anything about his family? 

He was born in a cabin in Kentucky on February 12, 1809. He had an older sister and a younger brother. Sadly, his younger brother died as a baby. His mother died of tremetol poinsoning on October 5, 1818. 

  

Did he ever have his own family? 

Yes. Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd met at a social event and got married in November 4, 1842. He had four children. Unfortunately, only one survived long enough to make it to adulthood. 

  

How about the Gettysburg Address? 

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln stated the Gettysburg Address, his most famous speech. He delivered the speech to 15,000 people at the National Cemetery of Gettysburg; one of the most violent battlefields during the Civil War.