In 1832 Abraham announced his candidacy for the Illinois General Assembly. He was 23 at the time. He was not successful in that campaign but in 1834 Abraham was elected to the state legislature. Lincoln was a Whig and maintained that style throughout his political career. In 1837 he first made public his views on slavery, realizing that it would probably not do his political career any good. Abraham served 4 terms in the Illinois House of Representatives.
1846 saw Abraham elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he served one term before returning to Springfield and his work as a lawyer.
In 1854 Lincoln returned to politics and decided to run for the Unite States Senate as a Whig. Though he was leading in the rounds Abraham told his voters to back Lyman Trumbull to stop Joel Matteson winning. In 1856 Abraham Lincoln became the Republican Party’s Vice-President.
In May, 1860 Abraham Lincoln was endorsed to run for Presidency. While his democrat adversary Stephen Douglas (of the Lincoln-Douglas debates) made many speeches Lincoln made none. He relied instead on the Republican party doing their job and he monitored the campaign carefully.
Abraham Lincolns election as 16th President of the United States came on November 6, 1860. He was the first Republican President. Interestingly Abraham Lincoln was not even on the ballot in 10 Southern States, and he only won 2 out of 996 counties in all the Southern States.
It is strongly held that the Abraham election set off the sparks of secession. While Abraham had hoped to avoid Civil War, on April 12, 1861, Union troops were fired on at Fort Sumter and war was indeed underway.
Abraham Lincoln’s first term in office was dominated by the Civil War. It was during this period that he gave the Gettysburg address and the Emancipation Proclamation was given and put into effect.
In 1864 Abraham was again elected as President. He was the First Republican President and on April 14, 1865 he also became the first President to be assassinated.