Becoming Lincoln

As an economic depression hardened party lines, Abraham Lincoln became an enthusiastic Whig partisan, fighting hard to get his law partner into Congress. During the contest, the lynching of a black man and the later murder of a newspaper editor led him to deliver his first notable public address.

Abraham Lincoln arrived in Springfield a deeply insecure and troubled man. He would quickly make a lifelong friend, and just as quickly lose a potential bride. 

As Abraham Lincoln rose in the ranks of the Illinois Whig Party, he displayed strong political skills that played a key role in getting the capital of Illinois moved to Springfield. He also showed political opportunism, and frequently, appalling racism in trying to bring voters to his party's column

In 1835, Abraham Lincoln was starting his political career; beginning his law studies; working two jobs and struggling with debt. The death of a young woman would help push him to his first nervous breakdown.

After a disastrous business failure, Lincoln struggled to find his professional footing and continue his self-education. His program would bring him to unorthodox religious beliefs that would present a challenge for his political ambitions.

In the commercial village of New Salem, Abraham Lincoln began gathering friends and allies who helped launch his political and professional career -- and later, mythologized him.

Sarah Lincoln Grigsby seems to have had all the talents of her brother -- wit, charm and an ability to put people at ease. But she never had Abraham's opportunities.

Rented out for manual labor he hated, Abraham Lincoln desperately sought ways to escape, whether down the river or through self-education.

The Lincolns tried to restart in Indiana. But a major tragedy would change the course of their lives. 

In his Kentucky childhood, Abraham Lincoln heard anti-slavery messages, and witnessed his father's fight to hold onto what was his. Both would shape his life. 

Abraham Lincoln came from a restless family that pushed ever further west to improve their fortunes. But his father struggled to survive, and his mother was chased by gossip throughout her life. 

Abraham Lincoln's apotheosis began from the moment of his death in 1865. The searches for the real man started soon after. Who was he, and why can so many people see so many different characteristics in a single life?