Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. He was born and raised in a log cabin. He first lived in Kentucky but at the age of seven the family packed up and moved to the unsettled lands of Indiana and continued to move about as different issues arised. He was put to work helping to build up his family's farm, it was as a fight "with trees and logs and grubs." They had to build a the cabin and work the farm from scratch, living nearly completely detached from society. This outsider persona was partially responsible for his success when he ran for president. Not only was he educated, despite coming from a poorer family, but he had a sense of connection with those of the west and new territories.
Abe "The Self Made Man"
Abraham did not come from a rich family. His family lived off the land and struggled at times just to get by. Neither of his parents or his stepmother were educated, he walked to school when he was young but after the age of seven it was up to him to learn how to read. Only during a few months out of the year was he able to obtain any form of education and this only came from a one roomed school house. When Abe was a young man (18-20's) he left home to make it on his own, he had a few odd jobs and started a few businesses. In the Early 1830's he got involved in politics, obviously something he stayed with. Working up through the ranks of the Whig Party he became a influential and well respected party leader. Eventually when the Whigs fell apart he joined up with the Republican Party and soon became the face of the GOP (not so old). This eventually lead to his run for President and taking of office.
Over Coming Adversity
When Abe was young his mother died and it hit him extremely hard but with the new addition of his step-mother Sarah Bush Johnston the young Abe was able make it through his teen years. After moving out he tried to start a few small businesses all of which failed from store clerk, to a river boat operator. In 1932 he ran for local office but was defeated. That very same year Abe lost his job and made a failed attempt at getting into law school. Abraham Lincoln ran for congress three elections in a row and was defeated every time (1844, 1846, 1848). He made three attempts at the Senate in his life and was never elected. He even failed to become Vice president failing to gain over 100 Electoral College votes. Through all this however he never gave up. Even when he was bed stricken for 6 months following his fiancée's death he overcame. Finally, in 1860 he became president of the United States, the second political office he would ever hold. On April 15th 1865 he was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth, but even that couldn't stop him from becoming arguably the most famous President in American history.
Bibliography
Abraham Lincoln Biography." Notable biographies. Advameg Inc., 2011. Web. 21 May 2012. <http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Lincoln-Abraham.html>.
Faust, P.. "Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)." . Civilwarhome.com, 2003. Web. 21 May 2012. <http://www.civilwarhome.com/lincolnbio.htm>.
"Abraham Lincoln." ameslab.gov. sc94, 2007. Web. 22 May 2012. <http://sc94.ameslab.gov/tour/alincoln.html>.
. Abraham Lincoln- Early Political Career. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 22 May 2012. <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0859296.html>.
. "How Lincoln Overcame his challenges." Cybernation.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2012. <http://www.cybernation.com/lincoln/persistence.php>.