April 14, 1865 - Abraham Lincoln - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln shot.Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in a one-room log cabin on Nolin Creek, Kentucky. Between supporting his family and himself, he found little time for study. But after venturing into business with limited success, he finally found a way to study and then practice law.He delivered his first speech at the age of 21, then poured himself into politics, eventually joining the newly formed Republican Party. On November 6, 1860, Lincoln became the first Republican president of the United States. It wasn’t to be an easy ride; shortly after the election, a number of Southern states seceded from the Union over the issue of slavery, which Lincoln strongly opposed. Just five weeks after Lincoln was sworn in, the American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, causing numerous casualties on both the Union and Confederate sides. The war finally ended April 9, 1865, as General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. Five days later, on April 14, 1865, while the president and First Lady were watching a play, John Wilkes Booth shot the president in the head. Lincoln died shortly after 7 a.m. the next morning. The 13th amendment to the U.S. constitution, which abolished slavery, was proclaimed in December of that same year, with enough states ratifying the amendment. This fulfilled Lincoln’s wish, but not all states signed on right away. While the abolition of slavery was the law, three states waited until the next century to “sign on.” Mississippi was the last state to ratify the 13th amendment on March 16, 1995.

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