Life of Abraham Lincoln Timeline

Early Life

February 12, 1809– Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky. He had a dad, a mom, and an older sister, Sarah.  

Fall, 1816– The Lincoln family moved to Indiana.  

October 5, 1818– Abraham Lincoln’s mother dies. He is 9 years-old at the time of his mother’s death.  

December 2, 1819– Abraham Lincoln’s father re-marries.  

 January 20, 1828– Abraham Lincoln’s older sister Sarah dies in childbirth.  

March 1830– The Lincoln family moves to Illinois.  

Early Career

August 6, 1832– Abraham Lincoln runs for the Illinois General Assembly and loses.  

August 4, 1834– Abraham Lincoln is elected to the Illinois General Assembly.  

1836-1842– Elected every two years to serve three more terms in the Illinois General Assembly. 

November 4, 1842– Marries Mary Todd.  

August 3, 1846– Elected to the United States House of Representatives.  

1847-1849– Serves 2-year term in the House of Representatives.  

February 1, 1850– Edward “Eddie” Lincoln, the almost four-year-old son of Mary and Abraham passes away after an illness

August- October 1858– Participated in a series of debates with Stephen A. Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate for the United States Senate. This increased attention on Lincoln across the United States.  

November 2, 1858– Loses election to United States Senate.  

 

Years as President

1860 

May 18, 1860– Nominated as a Republican candidate for president.  

November 6, 1860– Elected President of the United States defeating three other candidates, including Stephen A. Douglas.  

December 20, 1860– South Carolina secedes from the United States.  

1861 

April 12, 1861– Civil War begins at the Battle of Fort Sumter.  

April 15, 1861– Using his presidential powers, Lincoln signs a proclamation calling for volunteers to quell, or put a stop to, the rebellion. Lincoln believed the Constitution did not permit states to secede from the Union. 

April 19, 1861– Lincoln signs a proclamation to block ports of southern states in rebellion.  

August 6, 1861- Lincoln signs the First Confiscation Act passed by Congress allowing the federal government to seize property (including enslaved persons) of the Confederates used to support its war effort. 

1862 

February 20, 1862– Abraham and Mary’s son, Willie, dies of sickness. He was 11 years old. The family is devastated. 

July 17, 1862 -Lincoln signs the Second Confiscation Act passed by Congress providing for ways for the president to emancipate, or free, some enslaved people and allow the president to use them as soldiers against the Confederacy. 

July 17, 1862- Lincoln also signed the Militia Act passed by Congress allowing Blacks to serve in the military. By the end of the war, 180,000 fought in Union forces.  

July 22, 1862- Presented a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. He was convinced to wait to issue it until after a Union military victory.  

September 17, 1862- The Union army won the Battle of Antietam, giving Lincoln his victory to release his plans for the Emancipation Proclamation to the public.  

September 22, 1862- Lincoln releases the Emancipation Proclamation plan stating that if a state in the Confederacy did not stop fighting by January 1, 1863, its slaves would be freed. 

 

1863 

January 1, 1863- Issues the Emancipation Proclamation officially, freeing slaves in Confederate states based upon his constitutional war powers as president.  

December 8, 1863- Issued Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which created the terms for Confederate states to rejoin the Union.  

 

1864 

June 8, 1864- The Republican Party national convention nominated Lincoln to run for a second presidential term.  

November 8, 1864- Reelected President of the United States.  

 

1865 

January 31, 1865- Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish, or end, slavery in the United States. It was sent to the states to ratify, or approve, the amendment. 

February 1, 1865- Symbolically signs the Thirteenth Amendment, showing his strong support for the amendment.   

April 9, 1865- Confederate troops surrender in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. This is considered the end of the Civil War.  

April 14, 1865- Abraham Lincoln is shot while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre.  

April 15, 1865- Abraham Lincoln dies, Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President.