Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln grew up working on farms with his father. At the time the Lincoln family did not have money for the children to go to school. Abraham was very interested in education and bettering himself. He would barrowed books from his neighbors and read the bible. Abraham did want to fallow in his fathers footsteps and become a farmer. Abraham and his father disagreed about his future. When Abraham was 22 years old, he was a legal adult and moved out of his house. Abraham Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois. Abraham got a job as a clerk. The people in New Salem saw Abraham as a polite, gentle humble young man and encouraged him to run for Illinois general assembly. Abraham decided to run but soon after his job as a clerk stared to fail and he needed a new job. .
Abraham Lincoln decided to volunteer for the states militia to fight the Black Hawk war in northern Illinois. They made Abraham Lincoln captain of his company. Lincoln returned to New Salem to run for the general assembly but he unfortunately was not picked. In 1834, Lincoln ran again for the general assembly as a member of the new Whig party. This time Lincoln was elected. In the general assembly Lincoln meet John T. Stuart. Stuart convinced Lincoln to become a lawyer. Stuart offered to be Lincoln's teacher. Lincoln decided to move to Springfield and join Stuart's law practice. Years later Lincoln opened his own practice.
Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842. Abraham and Mary had a son named Robert in 1843. Two years later Eddie was born but in 1849 passed away with tuberculosis. In December Mary gave birth to William and in 1853 she have birth to her last son Thomas. Abraham Lincoln became one of the leading members of the Republican Party. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was an important issue to Lincoln. In 1854 Lincoln made a speech against senator Douglas and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.