Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the country through the Civil War, the deadliest conflict in American history, and worked to end slavery.

Lincoln grew up in poverty on the frontier, teaching himself law by reading borrowed books by firelight. He lost several elections before winning the presidency, showing remarkable persistence. When he became president, Southern states began leaving the Union because they wanted to preserve slavery. Lincoln believed the United States had to stay united, and he led the Union (the Northern states) through four years of devastating war to preserve the nation.

In 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring enslaved people in rebellious states to be free. He pushed for the Thirteenth Amendment, which permanently abolished slavery throughout the country. His famous Gettysburg Address, given at a battlefield cemetery, defined the war as a struggle to ensure that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Lincoln was known for his honesty (earning the nickname “Honest Abe”), his storytelling ability, and his willingness to include political rivals in his cabinet. Five days after the Civil War ended, he was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., becoming the first American president to be assassinated. Today, Lincoln is remembered as one of America's greatest presidents for preserving the Union and helping end slavery.