Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the 16th President of the United States from 1861 to his assassination in 1865, and is known for being the president to lead through the Civil War and abolish slavery. His father was very rich, owning a large amount of land in Kentucky, but lost all of it in court cases. Lincoln was then raised in a poor family on the frontier, but was self-taught in law and became a Whig Party leader as well as a state legislator in his 20's. He married Mary Todd in 1842 and they had four children, only two of which lived to adulthood.
Upon running for president the first time, he lost due to his opposing stance on slavery, but during the next election he was able to gain all of the North's support. As with many other presidents and significant political figures, Lincoln was originally involved in the militia; however, it was not a very strong involvement since the Civil War did not break out until after he became president.
The Gettysburg Address was a speech made during the Civil War on November 19, 1863 after the Union soldiers defeated the Confederate soldiers at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. The battle ended the Confederacy's push North, and marks the beginning of their defeat. The war ended on April 9, 1865, but six days after Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general's surrender, Lincoln was shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth.