CONTENTS
Denounced as unpatriotic for his belief in democracy, then nominated for high office almost as an afterthought, Lincoln became the country’s most admired president.
A childhood tragedy makes Lincoln wonder about leaving his mark on the world.
DAY 2:
JANUARY 12, 1848
UNPOPULAR VOICE
Lincoln sacrifices his first national office to speak out against a war and a president.
DAY 3:
NOVEMBER 2, 1858
THE GOOD FIGHT
Lincoln debates Senator Stephen A. Douglas about the extension of slavery into the American West.
DAY 4:
MAY 18, 1860
SURPRISE CANDIDATE
Ranked fourth out of four, Lincoln shocks the favorites and becomes the nominee for president.
The government of South Carolina attacks U.S. troops it has kept trapped in an island fort.
The first battle of the war ends in a disaster for the Union and puts Lincoln in a difficult position.
DAY 7:
SEPTEMBER 22, 1862
EMANCIPATION
Ignoring political advice and resistance, Lincoln takes steps to abolish slavery himself.
DAY 8:
NOVEMBER 19, 1863
“SHALL NOT PERISH”
Lincoln dedicates graves at the site of a turning point in the war, the worst battle in American history.
Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, making the Confederacy’s defeat inevitable.
DAY 10:
APRIL 14, 1865
ASSASSINATION
A desperate Confederate sympathizer kills Lincoln less than a week after Lee’s surrender.
AFTERWORD:
DECEMBER 6, 1865
FREEDOM
After his death, Lincoln’s greatest achievement, the abolition of slavery, is added to the Constitution.