Abraham Lincoln(1809 — 1865)

Presidential decree declaring free all slaves in the states in rebellion. It is the founding act of the abolition of slavery in the United States, transforming the Civil War into a struggle for freedom.

A 272-word speech delivered after the Battle of Gettysburg, reaffirming the principles of equality and democracy. This speech became one of the most important political texts in American history.

Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery throughout the entire American territory. Lincoln championed this amendment, which formally ended slavery following the Civil War.

Military and political command during the greatest American constitutional crisis. Lincoln preserved the Union in the face of Southern secession, consolidating federal authority.

Political plan to reintegrate the Southern states into the Union after the war. Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan advocated leniency toward the South, though it remained unfinished at his death.

Speech delivered after his re-election, calling for reconciliation and mutual forgiveness. It expresses a humanist vision of the country beyond the North-South divide.

That all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.

My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do that.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Abraham Lincoln's birthplace on February 12, 1809. It is in this small Kentucky town that Lincoln was born in a log cabin, a symbol of his humble origins.

The city where Lincoln settled in 1837 and practiced law before becoming a politician. It is also from here that he launched his 1860 presidential campaign.

The federal capital where Lincoln served as the 16th President from 1861 to 1865 during the Civil War and where he delivered the Gettysburg Address.

Site of the major battle of the Civil War in 1863. Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address here, one of the most important speeches in American history.

The theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, ending his life and his presidency.

A commemorative monument built in honor of Abraham Lincoln after his death. It symbolizes his legacy and remains one of the most important monuments of the American nation.