In 1837, Lincoln moved to Springfield and began to practice law. He was re-elected four times as representative to the Board of Illinois. He then aspired to become representative of the Illinois House of Representatives in Washington.
He was elected in 1846 and sits to the end of 1847. In Washington, he opposed the war against Mexico, which he considered unconstitutional and unfair. Despite this view he votes several times to send additional troops. His views are considered anti-patriotic and cause discontent among the voters of Illinois, so Lincoln does not seek renewal of his office. During the war, his future opponent is on reverse side of the war issue. Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America becomes a military hero.
Back in Springfield, he concentrates on his job as a lawyer and becomes famous, building up a large customer base in Chicago. He defends companies including the Illinois Central Railroad to obtain a charter from the State. He fights against McLean County, which wants to introduce a tax on the activities of this company. He receives 5,000 dollars on this occasion, but must sue the company to obtain the promised sum. Among the cases he treats are also many criminal cases. He defends Duff Armstrong, accused of murder, he must oppose a witness claiming to have seen his client among the killers through the moonlight. On the basis of a single almanac, Lincoln argues that the moon could not allow the witness to see the scene and gets an acquittal. The career lawyer experience helps to give Lincoln a reputation as a brilliant man, who is eloquent and honest.
Abraham Lincoln was elected to the U.S. Congress while exercising the profession of lawyer. From this period, his anti-slavery stance is apparent but he is not in favor of voting rights for black people. He is known as an advocate of railroad companies, but also by his speech against the admission of new slave states in the Us in particular when it comes to senatorial elections of 1858. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which repeals the limits of the spread of slavery (Missouri Compromise) presents Lincoln into the political arena. Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed a referendum on the issue of slavery in the territories in question. In 1858, Lincoln delivered a speech highlighting the dangers of disunity in the country on the issue of slavery. His eloquence made him known to the general public.
Lincoln was chosen by the Republicans for the presidential election of 1860. He was elected on 6 November 1860 and became the 16th president of the United States with 39.9% of the votes, thanks to divisions within the Democratic Party. The other candidates were Stephen A. Douglas (29.5%), John C. Breckenridge (18.1%) and John C. Bell (12.5%).
Following the election, while the new president has not yet been sworn in, seven states secede: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. The last six will decide on 4 February 1861 to form the Confederate States of America that Lincoln refused to recognize. The states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas decided to stay in the Union but warn Lincoln they will not accept the passage of troops on their territory.
Notwithstanding the many death threats he received, and a plot by extremists to assassinate the new president before his inauguration the plans are foiled on the morning of 23 February 1861 in Baltimore. In March 1861 he said that the Union could not be broken.
Works Cited:
Richard Carwardine. Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power
David Herbert Donald. Lincoln (1995)
William E. Gienapp. Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography
Mark E. Neely. The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia (1984)
Mark E. Neely. The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America (1993)
Stephen B. Oates. With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln (1994)
