Life and Times of Abraham Lincoln

UNITED STATES HISTORY I

BRIEF & SELECTIVE CHRONOLOGY of the LIFE and TIMES of ABRAHAM LINCOLN

1809 On February 12, Abraham Lincoln was born in a small log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky

1816 The Lincoln family moved to Indiana, settling near present-day Gentryville

1830 The Lincoln family moved to Illinois and settled in Macon County near what is now Decatur

1831 Lincoln left his family and moved to New Salem in Sangamon County

1832 Lincoln enlisted in the local militia, following the governor's call for troops at the breakout of the Blackhawk War. He served for 51 days but witnessed no action

Lincoln's was defeated in a contest for a seat in the Illinois General Assembly as a candidate, finishing eighth in a field of 13 candidates

1834 Lincoln was elected to the Illinois General Assembly for the first time, representing Sangamon County. Lincoln disliked President Andrew Jackson, so he ran as a member of the Whig party

1836 Lincoln was re-elected to the Illinois General Assembly

Lincoln received his license to practice law from the Illinois Supreme Court

1837 Lincoln arrived in Springfield with all of his belongings in two saddlebags

Lincoln became the junior law partner of John Todd Stuart, his future wife’s cousin

1838 Lincoln delivered his first significant speech, the Address to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, titled “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions”

Lincoln was re-elected for a third term in the Illinois General Assembly

1839 Lincoln began traveling Illinois’s Eighth Judicial Circuit and continued to ride the circuit until his election to the presidency

1840 Lincoln and Mary Todd began courting

Lincoln was re-elected for a fourth term in the Illinois General Assembly

William Henry Harrison was the first Whig elected president

1841 Lincoln and Mary Todd broke off their engagement

Lincoln's partnership with John Todd Stuart ended, and Lincoln became a...