American Presidents






Abraham Lincoln: Life Portrait

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from 9/13/99
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1 hr. 23 mins.
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25 mins.
Access only Part 3
53 mins.

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16 mins.


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    • LIFE FACTS

    Personal

    First Lady: Mary Todd Lincoln, Wife

    Wife's Maiden Name:
    Mary Todd

    Number of Children: 4

    Education Level: No College



    Religion: No specific denomination

    Profession:
    Clerk, Military, Lawyer, Store Owner

    Military Service:
    Captain

    Public Service

    Dates of Presidency: 3/4/1861 - 4/15/1865

    Presidency Number: 16

    Number of Terms: 2

    Why Presidency Ended: Assassination

    Party: Republican

    His Vice President(s): Hannibal Hamlin, Andrew Johnson

    House of Representatives: Illinois (1847-1849)

    State Legislative Service: IL (1834-1842)

    Other Offices: Postmaster of New Salem, Illinois

    Footnotes  
    Methodology  &  Resources


    Did You Know?

    • On January 23, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
    • He was the first president to be assassinated. He was shot five days after the end of the Civil War.
    • He was the first president born outside of the original thirteen colonies.
    • Just one month after his inauguration, the Civil War began.

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    Abraham Lincoln: Life Portrait Video Clip List

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    Abraham Lincoln Program
    Video Clip List - Part 1 of 4
    Clip # Start Time End Time Description
    1 0:00 5:06 Biographical vignette
    Watch Clip 1
    2 7:14 8:49 Issues during the presidency of James Buchanan that increased the chances for a Republican/Lincoln victory in 1860
    Watch Clip 2
    3 8:57 10:06 How many Americans were aware of Lincoln in 1860? The population of the U.S. (slave and free), a breakdown of slave states and free states
    4 11:20 12:18 The presidential nominees in 1860; sectional divisions that existed within the Democratic Party
    5 13:34 14:05 Lincoln's cabinet and the Emancipation Proclamation
    6 18:00 19:34 Lincoln's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus
    Watch Clip 6
    7 21:36 22:47 The Union policy for commanders who dealt with runaway slaves
    8 28:25 29:26 Immigration into the United States and Confederate states during the Civil War
    9 29:30 30:48 What impact did the Lincoln-Douglas debates have upon Lincoln's position within the Republican Party?
    Watch Clip 9
    10 30:49 31:32 What impact did the telegraph and railroads have during the Civil War?
    11 31:44 33:04 The selection of Hannibal Hamlin as Lincoln's running mate in the election of 1860
    12 33:30 34:59 What would have happened if the Confederacy had not fired upon Fort Sumter?
    13 35:24 36:11 Lincoln's relationship with his childhood family
    14 36:12 37:32 Film clip of the historic sites that deal with Lincoln's youth
    15 39:02 39:52 The relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln
    16 41:08 42:45 The Lincoln children, their relationship with their father and their health issues
    17 46:00 46:57 Great Britain's relationship with the Confederate states
    18 48:37 51:10 Electoral and popular vote of 1860, Congress during the Lincoln presidency, the Republican / Union Party, African-American voters, and women voters; Kansas-Nebraska Act
    Watch Clip 18
    19 53:04 53:49 Lincoln's cabinet during his presidency
    20 54:00 56:15 What were the roles of African-American troops in the Civil War? How did Frederick Douglass influence Lincoln's use of African-American troops?
    Watch Clip 20
    21 56:17 57:37 The selection of Andrew Johnson as Lincoln's running mate in 1864
    Watch Clip 21
    22 58:58 59:21 Lincoln's spirituality
    23 1:02:37 1:03:28 The influence of women upon the election of Lincoln
    24 1:03:30 1:04:21 Lincoln's political career prior to his election to the presidency
    25 1:04:25 1:06:51 The significance of the "Might Makes Right" speech in New York City in terms of Lincoln's rise in the Republican Party
    26 1:08:00 1:11:37 Interview with historian Tim Townsend about the Lincoln house in Springfield, Illinois
    27 1:11:38 1:15:24 Interview with Cullom Davis on the Lincoln legal papers
    28 1:16:13 1:16:30 What were the differences between the two political parties in the 1860s?
    29 1:16:32 1:18:43 What was Lincoln's reputation as a lawyer in the 1850s?
    Abraham Lincoln Program
    Video Clip List - Part 2 of 4
    Clip # Start Time End Time Description
    30 0:02 0:59 Lincoln as a writer
    31 2:04 2:40 Did Secretary of War Stanton conspire to assassinate Lincoln?
    32 5:25 8:41 Interview with a high school student from Lincoln Community High School in Lincoln, Indiana
    33 8:53 10:48 Significant places in the Springfield, Illinois area that feature Abraham Lincoln
    34 10:50 11:59 Lincoln's lack of "formal" education prior to becoming a lawyer
    35 13:33 14:45 Relationship between Lincoln and Herndon as law partners
    36 14:47 15:26 Lincoln's relationship with Ann Rutledge, allegedly his first love
    37 15:29 17:49 Are historians objective and fair in accessing the careers of presidents?
    Abraham Lincoln Program
    Video Clip List - Part 3 of 4
    Clip # Start Time End Time Description
    38 0:00 1:21 A series of stills that list the highlights of Lincoln's political career, his Supreme Court appointments, and historical events during his time as president
    Watch Clip 38
    39 2:40 3:20 How many Americans were under arms in the early days of the Civil War?
    40 3:21 4:04 A breakdown of northern states, states that seceded from the Union, and border states. This clip includes a map.
    Watch Clip 40
    41 4:39 7:30 A comparison of the Democratic and Republican parties of the 1860s to the modern Democratic and Republican parties; Population of the U.S. in the 1860s
    Watch Clip 41
    42 10:24 11:44 The difficult relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln
    43 11:44 12:11 Why Lincoln did not run for reelection after his term in Congress; Deals with Lincoln's honesty
    44 13:30 15:30 Lincoln's handling of his officers during the Civil War; Included is Lincoln's infamous visit to General McClelland
    Watch Clip 44
    45 15:47 16:50 Lincoln and organized religion
    46 16:50 18:31 Recommended books on Abraham Lincoln
    47 18:37 20:00 The emancipation of slaves in DC and attempts to get border states to emancipate slaves on their own
    48 20:00 21:00 Lincoln's impact upon the Supreme Court; Includes a visual of his appointments
    49 22:25 23:46 Historian David Long's perspective of Lincoln and Reconstruction
    Watch Clip 49
    50 23:48 25:45 Film clip of the Lincoln family grave site; Includes dialogue on the career of Robert Todd Lincoln
    51 25:45 26:54 Historian Edna Greene Medford's perspective on Lincoln and Reconstruction
    Watch Clip 51
    52 28:47 29:46 Union sympathizers in the South and Confederate sympathizers in the North
    54 31:56 39:25 A tour of the second floor of the Lincoln home in Springfield, Illinois; There is discussion of some personal matters concerning the Linclon family.
    55 41:09 42:52 Lincoln's net estate
    56 43:47 45:07 Lincoln's mother
    57 46:05 47:25 Lincoln's military career prior to his presidency
    58 48:17 51:00 Lincoln and homosexuality
    Watch Clip 58
    59 51:09 53:15 Lincoln's ancestors and their move to the West
    Abraham Lincoln Program
    Video Clip List - Part 4 of 4
    Clip # Start Time End Time Description
    60 1:10 2:09 Lincoln learning how to read
    61 3:01 5:15 Question about two Lincoln "myths"; Lincoln's response to being elected and a stick in his hand for a casting
    62 5:26 6:37 Lincoln's funeral procession and the African-American response to "The Great Emancipator"
    63 8:07 9:56 The impact of "Bleeding Kansas" as a preview to the Civil War
    64 10:53 12:11 Mary Todd Lincoln's mental state in the years following the assassination
    65 13:10 15:16 All three guests are asked to talk about one thing that they did not like about Abraham Lincoln.
    Watch Clip 65

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