FAYE MOSS: Hello, everyone! Welcome back to Superstars in History, where I chat with famous figures from the past! Today's guest was an American president who led his nation through the tough times of the Civil War. You might know him as the president who abolished slavery in the U.S., but the truth is a bit more complicated than that. Please welcome Abraham Lincoln!
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Thank you for having me, Faye.
FAYE MOSS: Thanks for joining us, President Lincoln! I can't wait to hear how you became one of the most famous U.S. presidents ever. Why don't we start with your childhood?
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: I was born in 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. When I was seven, my father lost almost all of his land in lawsuits. We moved to Indiana, where there were more opportunities to buy new land. We arrived with very little and lived in a log cabin my father built.
FAYE MOSS: It sounds like your father was pretty handy! What was your mother like?
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Sadly my mother died when I was young, but my father remarried. I was very close with my stepmother. She encouraged me to read and learn as much as I could. I didn't have the time or money to go to school, so I taught myself almost everything. I loved to learn, both as a child and throughout my life.
FAYE MOSS: That's impressive! But eventually you left Indiana, right?
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: That's true! When I was 21, my family moved to Illinois. I did a few odd jobs but didn't make much money. Eventually an acquaintance named John Todd Stuart encouraged me to become a lawyer. I studied the law and taught myself. Stuart hired me at his firm once I got my law license. People liked the way I was straightforward and fair in court, so they started calling me "Honest Abe."
FAYE MOSS: Wow, you were self-taught in law too! You also started a family of your own around this time.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Yes. I married my wife, Mary Todd, a cousin of John's, in 1842. Together we had four sons, but two died when they were only children. We were very sad when we lost our boys.
FAYE MOSS: I'm sorry for your loss. Let's move on. How did you get into politics?
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: While training to be a lawyer, I decided to run for the Illinois state legislature and was elected for several years. Eventually I spoke out against the Mexican-American War that was being fought at the time. This upset many voters, so I decided not to run for reelection after that.
FAYE MOSS: The Mexican-American War wasn't the only big issue at the time. Slavery was also being hotly debated.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Abolitionists in the North were calling for a complete end to slavery. This concerned the South because its economy depended on slaves who worked the farms. The South was also worried about the federal government growing too powerful; many thought states should have more power and independence. Meanwhile the U.S. was still expanding westward, and the new states had to decide if they would allow slavery or not.
FAYE MOSS: What was your position on the issue?
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: I had always hated slavery, but I didn't support abolition, since it didn't seem possible under the Constitution. In states where slavery already existed, I thought the states should be able to choose whether to keep it or end it. I didn't want slavery to expand into new states though. I started speaking out more vehemently on the issue and debated it with my opponent when I ran for the Senate. Although I lost the election, our debates were very popular, and I gained attention from voters.
FAYE MOSS: Is that when you decided to run for president?
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Many people encouraged me to run, so I did. And in 1861, I became president! I'm afraid my victory angered the South, though. Seven Southern states joined together and declared themselves their own nation, the Confederate States of America. I believed leaving the United States—leaving the Union—was an illegal action, but I didn't want war. That's why I refused to make the first strike. But when a commander asked for supplies in Fort Sumter, South Carolina, I sent what he asked for. The South took that as an action against them, and their army started firing on Fort Sumter. The Civil War had begun.
FAYE MOSS: You were president for only a few months when war broke out! That must have been tough.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Indeed it was. I took control and shaped our military strategy. There was a string of commanders for my Union army, but none was able to carry out a large-scale attack on the Confederacy in the South. I finally found Ulysses S. Grant, whom I named general in chief. He was able to command the army the way I wanted. Meanwhile I was trying to figure out the future of slavery in the country.
FAYE MOSS: We know what you decided. In 1863 you issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the Confederacy. You also gave one of the most famous speeches in history: the Gettysburg Address.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Ah, yes. In my Gettysburg Address, I made it clear the war was about liberty and freedom for all. I'm told people loved the speech. Perhaps it even contributed to my reelection in 1864.
Unfortunately, Faye, the war was still going on when I started my second term. Congress resolved the slavery issue in 1865 when they drafted and passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery. I hadn't supported full abolition in the past, but I did support this amendment. Later that year Confederate General Lee surrendered to General Grant in Appomattox, Virginia, officially ending the war.
FAYE MOSS: You must have been relieved that the country could be one union again.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Yes, but it wasn't so simple. I knew I needed to work hard to rebuild the country. Many Americans wanted to punish the South, but I was forgiving since it was important to keep the country together. There were people with strong feelings on both sides, and that wasn't going away any time soon, if ever.
FAYE MOSS: I think you're right about that, President Lincoln. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll let you get back to history now.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Good-bye!
FAYE MOSS: Five days after General Lee surrendered, Abraham Lincoln attended a play in Washington DC with his wife. He sat in a private box in Ford's Theater, where he was shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. President Abraham Lincoln died the next morning on April 15, 1865.
Abraham Lincoln is remembered for the roles he played in abolishing slavery and preserving the U.S. as a democracy and one nation. Many see "Honest Abe" as a hero—no wonder his face is on the U.S. penny!
Thanks for tuning in today. I'll be back again soon with another episode of Superstars in History!