Tennessee State Library and Archives

Abraham Lincoln: Beyond the Penny

Union commanders of the Civil War, 1884, Library Photograph Collection

You carry his image around in your pocket but who was Abraham Lincoln?

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States.  He was born in Kentucky, on February 12, 1809, the son of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln.  He spent several years in the Illinois legislature before going on to become president.  On November 4, 1842, Lincoln married Mary Todd.  They had four sons but only one lived to adulthood.  On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.  Lincoln is also remembered for delivering the Gettysburg Address, one of the most quoted speeches in U. S. history.

Excerpt from the Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863:

"that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth.

Now that you know a little more about Lincoln, take a look through the exhibit to see the many faces of “Honest Abe.”

Lincoln Image 2428 Lincoln Image 2429 Lincoln Image 2430 Lincoln Image 2432  
Oval portrait of a young Abraham Lincoln, undated, Library Photograph Collection President Abraham Lincoln, undated, Library Photograph Collection Signed portrait of President Abraham Lincoln, undated, Library Photograph Collection Abraham Lincoln one year before his inauguration as president, 1860, Library Photograph Collection

This photograph was autographed and presented by Abraham Lincoln to Benjamin F. Prescott at Exeter, New Hampshire, on March 4, 1860, just one year prior to Lincoln’s inauguration as president.  Lincoln came to Exeter from New York where he had just made his famous Cooper-Union Speech.

  
Lincoln Image 2431 Lincoln Image 4791 Lincoln Image 13101 Lincoln Image 13711  
President Abraham Lincoln, undated, Library Photograph Collection Union commanders of the Civil War, 1884, Library Photograph Collection

The print shows the following commanders: Farragut, Sherman, Thomas, Lincoln, Meade, Grant, Hooker, Sheridan, and Hancock.

 Painted portrait of Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865), undated, Portrait Collection 1700-1960		 Portrait of Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865), undated, THS Picture Collection		  
Lincoln Image 26578 Lincoln Image 31401      
Portrait of Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865) in profile, 1885, THS Picture Collection		 Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 1860s, Carte de Visite Collection