Mary Todd Lincoln
First Lady of the United States
In office March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
Preceded by	Harriet Lane
Succeeded by	Eliza McCardle Johnson
Personal details
Born	(1818-12-13)December 13, 1818 Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	July 16, 1882(1882-07-16) (aged 63) Springfield, Illinois, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Abraham Lincoln
Children	Robert Todd Lincoln Edward Lincoln Willie Lincoln Tad Lincoln

Mary Ann (née Todd) Lincoln (December 13, 1818 – July 16, 1882) was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.

A member of a large, wealthy Kentucky family, Mary was well educated. After living in the Todd House and a finishing school during her teens, she then moved to Springfield, Illinois and lived with her sister, Elizabeth. Mary was courted by Stephen Douglas, against whom her later husband notably debated. She and Abraham had four sons, only one of whom outlived her. Their home of about 15 years still stands in Springfield.

Lincoln suffered from headaches and other illness through much of her adult life. She supported her husband throughout his presidency, and was witness to his assassination.

Life before the White House[link]

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Robert Smith Todd, a banker, and Elizabeth Parker Todd, Mary was raised in comfort and refinement.^[1] When Mary was six, her mother died; her father married Elizabeth "Betsy" Humphreys Todd in 1826.^[2] Mary had a difficult relationship with her stepmother. From 1832, Mary lived in what is now known as the Mary Todd Lincoln House, an elegant 14-room residence in Lexington.^[3] From her father's two marriages, Mary had a total of 14 siblings.

Mary Lincoln's paternal great-grandfather, David Levi Todd, was born in County Longford, Ireland, and emigrated through Pennsylvania to Kentucky. Her great-great maternal grandfather Samuel McDowell was born in Scotland then emigrated to and died in Pennsylvania. Other Todd ancestors came from England.^[4]

Mary left home at an early age to attend a finishing school owned by a French woman, where the curriculum concentrated on French and dancing. She learned to speak French fluently, studied dance, drama, music and social graces. By the age of 20 she was regarded as witty and gregarious, with a grasp of politics. Mary began living with her sister Elizabeth Porter (née Todd) Edwards in Springfield, Illinois in October 1839. Elizabeth (wife of Ninian W. Edwards, son of a former governor) served as Mary's guardian while Mary lived in Springfield.^[5] Mary was popular among the gentry of Springfield, and though she was courted by the rising young lawyer and politician Stephen A. Douglas and others, her courtship with Abraham Lincoln resulted in an engagement. Abraham Lincoln, then 33, married Mary Todd, age 23, on November 4, 1842, at the Edwards' home in Springfield.

Lincoln and Douglas would eventually become political rivals in the great Lincoln-Douglas debates for a seat representing Illinois in the United States Senate in 1858. Although Douglas successfully secured the seat by election in the Illinois legislature, Lincoln became famous for his position on slavery which generated national support for him.

Historic home of Todd family, Lexington, KY

While Lincoln pursued his increasingly successful career as a Springfield lawyer, Mary supervised their growing household. Their home from 1844 until 1861 still stands in Springfield, and is now the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.

Their children, all born in Springfield, were:

• Robert Todd Lincoln (1843–1926) – lawyer, diplomat, businessman.
• Edward Baker Lincoln known as "Eddie" (1846–1850)
• William Wallace Lincoln known as "Willie" (1850–1862), died while Lincoln was President
• Thomas Lincoln known as "Tad" (1853–1871)

Of these four sons, only Robert and Tad survived to adulthood, and only Robert outlived his mother.

During Lincoln's years as an Illinois circuit lawyer, Mary Lincoln was often left alone to raise their children and run the household. Mary also supported her husband politically and socially, not least when Lincoln was elected president in 1860.

White House years[link]

During her White House years, Mary Lincoln faced many personal difficulties generated by political divisions within the nation. Her family was from a border state where slavery was permitted.^[6] In Kentucky, siblings not infrequently fought each other in the Civil War^[7] and Mary's family was no exception. Several of her half-brothers served in the Confederate Army and were killed in action, and one full brother served the Confederacy as a surgeon.^[8] Mary, however, staunchly supported her husband in his quest to save the Union and maintained a strict loyalty to his policies. Nevertheless it was a challenge for Mary, a Westerner, to serve as her husband's First Lady in Washington, D.C., a political center dominated by eastern and southern culture. Lincoln was regarded as the first "western" president, and Mary's manners were often criticized as coarse and pretentious.^[9][10] It was difficult for her to negotiate White House social responsibilities and rivalries,^[11] spoils-seeking solicitors,^[12] and baiting newspapers^[10] in a climate of high national intrigue in Civil War Washington.

Mary suffered from severe headaches throughout her adult life ^[13] as well as protracted depression.^[14] During her White House years, she also suffered a severe head injury in a carriage accident.^[15] A history of public outbursts throughout Lincoln's presidency, as well as excessive spending, has led some historians and psychologists to speculate that Mary in fact suffered from bipolar disorder.^[16][17]

During her tenure at the White House, she often visited hospitals around Washington where she gave flowers and fruit to wounded soldiers, and transcribed letters for them to send their loved ones.^[18][19] From time to time, she accompanied Lincoln on military visits to the field. She also hosted many social functions, and has often been blamed for spending too much on the White House, but she reportedly felt that it was important to the maintenance of prestige of the Presidency and the Union.^[19]

Assassination survivor and later life[link]

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln. From left to right: Henry Rathbone, Clara Harris, Mary Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth

In April 1865, as the Civil War came to an end, Mrs. Lincoln expected to continue as the First Lady of a nation at peace. However, on April 14, 1865, as Mary Lincoln sat with her husband to watch the comic play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre, President Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by an assassin. Mrs. Lincoln accompanied her wounded husband across the street to the Petersen House, where Lincoln's Cabinet was summoned. Her son, Robert sat with Lincoln throughout the night, until he died the following day, April 15, at 7:22 am. However, Mary was ordered out of the room by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton because she was so unhinged with grief. ^[20]

Mary received messages of condolence from all over the world, many of which she attempted to answer personally. To Queen Victoria she wrote: "I have received the letter which Your Majesty has had the kindness to write. I am deeply grateful for this expression of tender sympathy, coming as they do, from a heart which from its own sorrow, can appreciate the intense grief I now endure." Victoria herself had suffered the loss of Prince Albert four years earlier.^[21]

As a widow, Mrs. Lincoln returned to Illinois. In 1868, Mrs. Lincoln's former confidante, Elizabeth Keckly, published Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House. Although this book provides valuable insight into the character and life of Mary Todd Lincoln, at the time the former First Lady regarded it as a breach of friendship^{[citation needed]}.

In an act approved by a low margin on July 14, 1870, the United States Congress granted Mrs. Lincoln a life pension in the amount of $3,000 a year.^[22] Mary had lobbied hard for such a pension, writing numerous letters to Congress and urging patrons such as Simon Cameron to petition on her behalf, insisting that she deserved a pension just as much as the widows of soldiers.^[23]

For Mary Lincoln, the death of her son Thomas (Tad), in July 1871, following the death of two of her other sons and her husband, led to an overpowering sense of grief.^[24] Mrs. Lincoln's sole surviving son, Robert Lincoln, a rising young Chicago lawyer, was alarmed at his mother's increasingly erratic behavior. In March 1875, during a visit to Jacksonville, Florida, Mary became unshakably convinced that Robert was deathly ill. She traveled to Chicago to see him, but found he wasn't sick. In Chicago she told her son that someone had tried to poison her on the train and that a "wandering Jew" had taken her pocketbook but would return it later.^[25] During her stay in Chicago with her son, Mary spent large amounts of money on items she never used, such as draperies which she never hung and elaborate dresses which she never wore, as she wore only black after her husband's assassination. She would also walk around the city with $56,000 in government bonds sewn into her petticoats. Despite this large amount of money and the $3,000 a year stipend from Congress, Mrs. Lincoln had an irrational fear of poverty. After Mrs. Lincoln nearly jumped out of a window to escape a non-existent fire, her son determined that she should be institutionalized.^[26]

On May 20, 1875, she was committed to a psychiatric hospital in Batavia, Illinois, in 1875. ^[27] Three months after being committed to Bellevue Place, Mary Lincoln engineered her escape. She smuggled letters to her lawyer, James B. Bradwell, and his wife, Myra Bradwell, who was not only her friend but also a feminist lawyer and fellow spiritualist. She also wrote to the editor of the Chicago Times. Soon, the public embarrassments that Robert (who then controlled his mother's finances) had hoped to avoid were looming, and his character and motives were in question. The director of Bellevue, who at Mary's trial had assured the jury she would benefit from treatment at his facility, now in the face of potentially damaging publicity declared her well enough to go to Springfield to live with her sister as she desired.^[28] She was released into the custody of her sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Edwards, in Springfield and in 1876 was once again declared competent to manage her own affairs. After the court proceedings, Mary was so enraged that she attempted suicide. She went to the hotel pharmacist and ordered enough laudanum to kill herself. However, the pharmacist realized what she was planning to do and gave her a placebo.^[26] The committal proceedings led to a profound estrangement between Robert and his mother, and they never fully reconciled.^{[citation needed]}

Mrs. Lincoln spent the next four years traveling throughout Europe and taking up residence in Pau, France. However, the former First Lady's final years were marked by declining health. She suffered from severe cataracts that affected her eyesight. This condition may have contributed to her increasing susceptibility to falls. In 1879, she suffered spinal-cord injuries in a fall from a step ladder^{[citation needed]}.

Death[link]

Mary Todd Lincoln's crypt

During the early 1880s, Mary Lincoln was confined to the Springfield, Illinois residence of her sister Elizabeth Edwards. She died there on July 16, 1882, age 63, and was interred within the Lincoln Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield alongside her husband.^[29]

Family[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008)

Her sister Elizabeth Todd was the daughter-in-law of Illinois Governor Ninian Edwards. Elizabeth's daughter Julia Edwards married Edward L. Baker, editor of the "Illinois State Journal" and son of Congressman David Jewett Baker. Her half-sister Emilie Todd married CS General Benjamin Hardin Helm, son of Kentucky Governor John L. Helm. Governor Helm's wife was a 1st cousin 3 times removed of Colonel John Hardin who was related to three Kentucky congressmen.

One of Mary Todd's cousins was Kentucky Congressman/US General John Blair Smith Todd. Another cousin, William L. Todd,^[30] created the original Bear Flag for the California Republic in 1846.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Warren, Louis A. (July 1946). "The Woman in Lincoln's Life". Filson Club Historical Quarterly 20 (3). http://connect1.ajaxdocumentviewer.com/viewerajax.php?N11tFRy1Ehk9zVLEdVs6bwvxghexMqGAKVOhpr%2FtAH5Tx7ri0VzhMGFEiX4so%2B2a%2Fl0O6qksBmMtQxdPSN3w4uGw81jAdLB86%2F6CYo4FNqZwSf%2BhveqxVzyQMgdJ6YNQa9g1Y3d9aAJtAK149mWGEnt5lj2L%2B4fTdfbnMQnFhHz9CE4sOdgtxIYa3P3f0HuQon7uBMFfMXTYiZbLTJDrLZNtaPS7sFxwnKdbbS3ptn4YO0rO121Or32GJ5QjaR7JqYYw0sFLPQdg%2BaLyaEW8t8P2yD15GpMk8L1SvhPPlBIV714T1J8sSLRLcex2N2fQXAuVi9akiDpDF6KZa25ZhNG2kSzCfFbv2BVvRs8SqiaoxtLj%2Bia%2FwKaEcILSxe4J%2FMza1cnz47%2F9ffaR8ATlKJkGzXvlNeKpHpDtudGQydE%3D. Retrieved 2012-02-22. 

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mary Todd Lincoln

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mary Todd Lincoln

External links[link]

• White House profile
• Works by or about Mary Todd Lincoln in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Mary Todd Lincoln Quotes

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Zooey Deschanel
Deschanel performing as part of She & Him at Terminal 5 in New York, 2008
Born	Zooey Claire Deschanel (1980-01-17) January 17, 1980 (age 32) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Actress, model, singer, songwriter, musician
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Ben Gibbard (m. 2009) «start: (2009)»"Marriage: Ben Gibbard to Zooey Deschanel" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Zooey_Deschanel)
Parents	Caleb Deschanel (father) Mary Jo Deschanel (mother)
Relatives	Emily Deschanel (sister)

Zooey Claire Deschanel ( /ˈzoʊ.iː deɪʃəˈnɛl/ ZOH-ee day-shə-NEL; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, musician and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous. Deschanel soon became known for her deadpan or "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" supporting roles in films such as Elf (2003), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Failure to Launch (2006), Bridge to Terabithia (2007), and Happening, TheThe Happening (2008). She then began playing lead roles in films, including Yes Man (2008) and (500) Days of Summer (2009).^[1][2][3] She currently stars in the Fox series New Girl. She has been nominated for Golden Globe and Grammy Awards.

For a few years starting in 2001, Deschanel performed in the jazz cabaret act If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies with fellow actress Samantha Shelton.^[4] Besides singing, she plays keyboards, percussion, banjo and ukulele.^[5] She also often sings in her films. Deschanel teamed up with M. Ward to release their debut album Volume One (recorded with M. Ward under the moniker She & Him) which was released in March 2008. The follow-up album Volume Two was released in the U.S. in March 2010. She married Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard in September 2009, and filed for divorce from him in December 2011.

Early life[link]

Born in Los Angeles in 1980, Deschanel is the daughter of cinematographer/director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel (née Weir). She is of French (from her paternal grandfather) and Irish descent.^[6] She was raised as a Roman Catholic. ^[7] She was named after Zooey Glass, the male protagonist of J. D. Salinger's 1961 novella Franny and Zooey.^[8] Her older sister, Emily Deschanel, is also an actress and stars in the TV series Bones.

Deschanel lived in Los Angeles, but spent much of her childhood traveling because her father shot films on location; she later said that she "hated all the traveling ... I'm really happy now that I had the experience, but at the time I was just so miserable to have to leave my friends in Los Angeles and go to places where they didn't have any food I liked or things I was used to."^[9] She attended Crossroads, a private preparatory school in Santa Monica, California, where she befriended future co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Hudson.^[8][10] She sang throughout high school, planning to pursue a career in musical theatre and attending French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts.^[6] She attended Northwestern University for seven months before dropping out to work as an actress.^[9]

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Deschanel appeared in a guest role on the television series Veronica's Closet before making her film debut in Lawrence Kasdan's 1999 comedy Mumford, and later in the year she appeared (non-singing) in the music video for The Offspring's single "She's Got Issues". In her second film, director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical Almost Famous (2000), Deschanel played Anita Miller, the protagonist's rebellious older sister. The film received critical praise,^[11] but was not a box office success. She also appeared in Jimmy Fallon's "Idiot Boyfriend" music video as his lead girl.

Deschanel played supporting roles in a series of films that include Manic (2001), with Don Cheadle and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Big Trouble (2002), with Tim Allen and Rene Russo, Abandon (2002) alongside Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt and Melanie Lynskey, and The Good Girl (2002) alongside Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal. In late 2002, The New York Times reported that Deschanel was "one of Hollywood's most sought-after young stars,"^[8] and the Los Angeles Times wrote in early 2003 that Deschanel had become a recognizable type, due to "her deadpan, sardonic and scene-stealing [film] performances" as the protagonist's best friend.^[6] Deschanel objected to her typecasting, arguing, "A lot of these roles are just a formula idea of somebody's best friend, and it's like, I don't even have that many friends. In high school, I stayed home all the time, so I don't know how I'm everybody's best friend now."^[6]

Deschanel appeared in Frasier, starring as Roz's out-of-control cousin, Jen, in the season 10 episode 'Kissing Cousin' in 2002. That year, she also appeared in the film The New Guy as Nora, the guitar player in the lead character's band, Suburban Funk.

After turning down several supporting roles, Deschanel played her first lead role in All the Real Girls (2003). Her performance as Noel, a sexually curious 18-year-old virgin who has a life-changing romance with an aimless 22-year-old, received critical praise,^[6] and she received an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Actress.^[12] Later in 2003, Deschanel played a deadpan department store worker opposite Will Ferrell in the comedy Elf, which became a box office hit.^[13]

Zooey Deschanel with co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt at a premiere for (500) Days of Summer in March 2009

In 2004, Deschanel starred in Eulogy, and in 2005 as Trillian in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' science fiction novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Also in 2005, she played the main character, Reese Holden in the film Winter Passing with supporting role from Will Ferrell. Deschanel then played Sarah Jessica Parker's neurotic roommate in Failure to Launch (2006), and appeared on four episodes of the Showtime television series Weeds from 2006 to 2007, playing Andy Botwin's quirky ex-girlfriend, Kat. In September 2006, Variety announced that Deschanel would play 1960s singer Janis Joplin in the film The Gospel According to Janis, to be co-written and directed by Penelope Spheeris.^[14] Deschanel planned to sing all of Joplin's songs, and took four months of singing lessons "to approximate Joplin's gritty vocals."^[14] The film, scheduled to begin shooting on November 13, 2006,^[14] was postponed indefinitely.^[15] However, the project is now back on track and will be released in 2012.^[16]

In 2007, Deschanel appeared in two children's films: Bridge to Terabithia, in which she played Jesse's quirky music teacher, and the animated film Surf's Up, in which she voiced a penguin named Lani Aliikai. She played DG, the lead in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man, a re-imagined science fiction version of L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Tin Man aired on Sci Fi in December 2007. Deschanel also narrated the children's book Players in Pigtails.^[17]

On April 27, 2008, she performed on The Simpsons, playing the role of Mary, Cletus's daughter,^[18] and in June she starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in M. Night Shyamalan's poorly received environmental thriller The Happening.

Also in 2008, Deschanel starred in Gigantic, and later that year in the comedy film Yes Man, opposite Jim Carrey.^[19]

Deschanel was next seen as the title character in the 2009 award winning romantic-drama-comedy (500) Days of Summer, opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt (for a second time after Manic). The film, about the development and demise of a relationship, received widespread praise and was directed by long-time commercial and music video director Marc Webb.^[20] The film received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), but was ultimately defeated by The Hangover.^[21]

Deschanel guest starred in a Christmas 2009 episode of Bones as Brennan's never-before-seen cousin.^[22] In the first-ever on-screen pairing of the Deschanel sisters, Zooey portrayed Margaret Whitesell, a distant relative of Emily's Dr. Temperance Brennan. Brennan's father, Max Keenan (guest star Ryan O'Neal), invites Margaret to spend Christmas with him and his daughter.^[23]

A pilot was made for the HBO series I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, in which she plays the role of Pamela Des Barres, who wrote a memoir based on her own experience as a former groupie.^[24] In 2011, Deschanel portrayed the role of Belladonna in the fantasy-comedy film Your Highness^[25] alongside Natalie Portman and James Franco. She is currently appearing as the lead in the Fox series New Girl, created by Elizabeth Meriwether. Deschanel also hosted Saturday Night Live on February 11, 2012.^[26]

Film-related music[link]

The New Guy (2002) was the first of Deschanel's films in which she sang onscreen. In Elf, she sings with Will Ferrell in the bathroom shower scene on "Baby, It's Cold Outside", and was also heard singing it on the soundtrack with Leon Redbone. Her piano composition "Bittersuite" was used thematically in the dark, off-beat 2004 dramedy Winter Passing, in which she starred alongside Will Ferrell and Ed Harris. Subsequently, Deschanel also sings in Winter Passing ("My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean").

Others include: the television musical Once Upon a Mattress ("An Opening for a Princess", "In a Little While", "Normandy", and "Yesterday I Loved You"); an old cabaret song in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ("A Bird in a Gilded Cage"); and the 2007 short film Raving ("Hello, Dolly!").

Deschanel and the cast of school children sing the Steve Earle song "Someday" and War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?" in the 2007 film Bridge to Terabithia.

In the film Yes Man, Deschanel sings several songs featured in the film and on the film soundtrack, and is shown singing "Uh-Huh" and "Sweet Ballad" alongside San Franciscan all-girl electro soul-punk group Von Iva in a fictional band called "Munchausen by Proxy".

In (500) Days of Summer Deschanel sings a cover of "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" by The Smiths—it also appears on the soundtrack of the film, as performed by She and Him. She also sings a cover of "Sugar Town" by Nancy Sinatra. (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb also directed Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt in a music video, Bank Dance, with the She & Him song "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?".

Deschanel sings "The Greatest Most Beautiful Love Song in All the Land" with James Franco in the film Your Highness. She also appears in a number of songs (with M. Ward) on the soundtrack album for the 2011 release of Disney's Winnie the Pooh. Deschanel wrote and sings the theme song to her current television series New Girl.^[27]

Non-film music[link]

Deschanel and M. Ward performing as She & Him on a Wurlitzer Electric Piano at the Newport Folk Festival (August 2, 2008)

In 2001, Deschanel formed If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, a jazz cabaret act with fellow actress Samantha Shelton.^[8] The pair performed around Los Angeles.^[28]

In March 2007, Deschanel contributed vocals to two songs "Slowly" and "Ask Her to Dance" on the album Nighttiming by Jason Schwartzman's band Coconut Records. In May 2007, singer/songwriter M. Ward, who had previously performed with Deschanel onstage, said that he was "just finishing work" on her debut album,^[29] which will feature songs written by Deschanel and produced by Ward.^[30] Fox reported that Deschanel and Ward were recording under the moniker She & Him. Their first album, titled Volume One, was released by Merge Records on March 18, 2008.^[31][32]

On March 23, 2010, the second She & Him album, Volume Two, was released.^[33] In spring of 2010, She & Him went on tour in the USA and Europe to promote the album.^[34]

Deschanel and M. Ward both featured on The Place We Ran From, the 2010 album by Snow Patrol member Gary Lightbody's side project, Tired Pony. Deschanel contributed vocals to the tracks "Get On the Road" and "Point Me at Lost Islands", while M. Ward contributed vocals and guitar to the track "Held in the Arms of Your Words" and guitar to the track "That Silver Necklace".^[35]

Deschanel also recorded "The Fabric of My Life" for a 2009 advertising campaign for Cotton Incorporated.^[36]

Deschanel also performed "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch during game three of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants on October 19, 2010 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.^[37]

On October 23, 2011, Deschanel performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before game four of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, TX.^[38]

Deschanel contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy" for the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released on September 6, 2011. She had previously appeared on Rave On Buddy Holly with She & Him performing "Oh Boy", released in June 2011.

A Very She & Him Christmas was announced on Pitchfork.com in September 2011. The 12-track Christmas album was released October 25, 2011 under Merge Records.^[39]

On December 28, 2011, she and Joseph Gordon-Levitt recorded an informal version of "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" for her Hellogiggles YouTube Channel. It was immensely popular and within four days had over 6 million views.^[40]

Deschanel is also featured on She & Him bandmate M. Ward's sixth solo album, A Wasteland Companion.^[41]

Other work[link]

Deschanel was a judge for the ninth Independent Music Awards.^[42]

She has signed on to represent Rimmel, a cosmetics brand.^[43]

In May 2011, she launched HelloGiggles, an entertainment website geared towards women, with producer Sophia Rossi and writer Molly McAleer.^[44]

In 2012, she was featured in a commercial for the iPhone 4S (Siri).

Coal Miner's Daughter the Musical: During a May, 2012 performance at the Ryan Auditorium Country music singer Loretta Lynn announced that she was in the development stages of creating a Broadway musical from her autobiography and Deschanel would play the title role. Lynn said "…there's a little girl back stage that's going to do the play of 'Coal Miner's Daughter' on Broadway." She then brought Deschanel onstage and the two sang a duet of the title song.^[45]

Personal life[link]

In December 2008, Deschanel became engaged to musician Ben Gibbard, lead vocalist for The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie.^[46] The couple married on September 19, 2009 near Seattle, Washington.^[47] On November 1, 2011, they announced their separation after two years of marriage.^[48] Deschanel subsequently filed for divorce on December 27, 2011, citing irreconcilable differences.^[49]

Deschanel became an aunt on September 21, 2011, when her sister Emily gave birth to a son, Henry.^[50]

Deschanel—who is allergic to eggs, dairy, and wheat gluten^[51]—formerly adhered to a vegan diet.^[52] She was featured on episode eight of season one of Bravo's Top Chef Masters, in which the chefs participating in the competition were challenged to cater a vegan lunch party for her family and friends using no eggs, dairy, soy, or gluten.^[53] However, according to a March 2010 interview with Health magazine, she had to come off the diet because her food sensitivities made it too difficult for her to stay healthy as a vegan.^[54]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Soundtracks[link]

• 2003: Elf "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Leon Redbone
• 2005: Once Upon a Mattress (TV movie) "In a Little While" with Matthew Morrison
• 2008: Yes Man; "Yes Man", "Sweet Ballad", "Uh-huh", "Keystar" with Von Iva, by "Munchausen By Proxy" a fictional band that appears in the film, and "Can't Buy Me Love" with Jim Carrey^[56][57]
• 2009: (500) Days of Summer "Sugar Town"
• 2011: Winnie the Pooh "A Very Important Thing to Do", "Everything is Honey" with Jim Cummings and Robert Lopez, "Winnie the Pooh" with M. Ward, "So Long" with M. Ward, "Finale" with Jim Cummings, Robert Lopez and cast
• 2011: Your Highness "The Greatest Most Beautiful Love Song in All the Land" with James Franco

Appearances on other albums[link]

• 2008: Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis "The Next Messiah", "Carpetbaggers", "Trying My Best to Love You", "Jack Killed Mom"
• 2009: Hold Time – M. Ward "Never Had Nobody Like You", "Rave On"
• 2010: The Place We Ran From – Tired Pony "Get on the Road", "Point Me at Lost Islands"
• 2011: Listen to Me: Buddy Holly "It's So Easy" (tribute album)
• 2012: A Wasteland Companion – M. Ward "Sweetheart"

She & Him[link]

Studio albums

• 2008: Volume One^[58] (No.71 US)^{[citation needed]}
• 2010: Volume Two (No.6 US)
• 2011: A Very She and Him Christmas

Singles

• "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" (January, 2008)
• "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (December, 2009)
• "In the Sun" (February, 2010)^[59]
• "Thieves" (June, 2010)

Soundtracks

• 2009: Sweetheart "I Put A Spell On You" (Starbucks' CD)
• 2007: The Go-Getter "When I Get To The Border"
• 2009: (500) Days of Summer "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"

Awards and nominations[link]

• 2003: Mar del Plata Film Festival for Best Actress; All the Real Girls (Won)
• 2004: Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress; All the Real Girls (Nominated)
• 2004: Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead; All the Real Girls (Nominated)
• 2009: Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; (500) Days of Summer (Nominated)
• 2011: Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical or Comedy Television Series; New Girl (Nominated)
• 2011: Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy; New Girl (Nominated)
• 2012: Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media; "So Long" (Nominated)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Zooey Deschanel

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zooey Deschanel

• Zooey Deschanel at the Internet Movie Database

Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln at age 54, 1863
16th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
Vice President	Hannibal Hamlin Andrew Johnson
Preceded by	James Buchanan
Succeeded by	Andrew Johnson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 7th district
In office March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849
Preceded by	John Henry
Succeeded by	Thomas Harris
Personal details
Born	(1809-02-12)February 12, 1809 Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	April 15, 1865(1865-04-15) (aged 56) Petersen House, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Republican (1854–1865) National Union (1864–1865)
Other political affiliations	Whig (Before 1854)
Spouse(s)	Mary Todd
Children	Robert Edward William Tad
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	See article
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	Illinois Militia
Years of service	1832
Battles/wars	Black Hawk War

Abraham Lincoln ⁱ/ˈeɪbrəhæm ˈlɪŋkən/ (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union while ending slavery, and promoting economic and financial modernization. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, Lincoln was mostly self-educated. He became a country lawyer, a Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator in the 1830s, and a one-term member of the United States House of Representatives in the 1840s. After a series of debates in 1858 that gave national visibility to his opposition to the expansion of slavery, Lincoln lost a Senate race to his arch-rival Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln, a moderate from a swing state, secured the Republican Party nomination. With almost no support in the South he swept the North and was elected president in 1860. His election was the signal for seven southern slave states to declare their secession from the Union and form the Confederate States of America. The departure of the Southerners gave Lincoln's party firm control of Congress, but no formula for compromise or reconciliation was found. And the war came.

When the North enthusiastically rallied behind the national flag after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, President Lincoln concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war effort. His goal was now to reunify the nation. He vigorously exercised unprecedented war powers, including the arrest and detention without trial of thousands of suspected secessionists. He prevented British recognition of the Confederacy by skillfully handling the Trent affair late in 1861. His efforts toward the abolition of slavery include issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging the border states to outlaw slavery, and helping push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally ended all slavery in December 1865. Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including commanding general Ulysses S. Grant. He brought leaders of various factions of his party into his cabinet and pressured them to cooperate. Under his leadership, the Union set up a naval blockade that shut down the South's normal trade, took control of the border slave states at the start of the war, gained control of communications with gunboats on the southern river systems, and tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. Each time a general failed, Lincoln substituted another until finally Grant succeeded in 1865.

An exceptionally astute politician deeply involved with power issues in each state, he reached out to War Democrats and managed his own re-election in the 1864 presidential election. As the leader of the moderate faction of the Republican party, Lincoln found his policies and personality were "blasted from all sides": Radical Republicans demanded harsher treatment of the South, War Democrats desired more compromise, Copperheads despised him, and irreconcilable secessionists plotted his death.^[1] Politically, Lincoln fought back with patronage, by pitting his opponents against each other, and by appealing to the American people with his powers of oratory.^[2] His Gettysburg Address of 1863 became the most quoted speech in American history.^[3] It was an iconic statement of America's dedication to the principles of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. At the close of the war, Lincoln held a moderate view of Reconstruction, seeking to reunite the nation speedily through a policy of generous reconciliation in the face of lingering and bitter divisiveness. But six days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee, Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. His death was the first assassination of a U.S. president and sent the nation into mourning. Lincoln has been consistently ranked by scholars and the public as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents.^[4][5]

Family and childhood[link]

Early life[link]

Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809, the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Lincoln (née Hanks), in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm in Hardin County, Kentucky,^[6] (now LaRue County). Lincoln's paternal grandfather and namesake, Abraham, had moved his family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Kentucky,^[7][8] where he was ambushed and killed in an Indian raid in 1786, with his children, including Lincoln's father Thomas, looking on.^[8] Thomas was left to make his own way on the frontier.^[9] Lincoln's mother, Nancy, was the daughter of Lucy Hanks, and was born in what is now Mineral County, West Virginia, then part of Virginia. Lucy moved with Nancy to Kentucky. Nancy Hanks married Thomas, who became a respected citizen. He bought and sold several farms, including the Sinking Spring Farm. The family attended a Separate Baptists church, which had high moral standards and opposed alcohol, dancing, and slavery.^[10] Thomas enjoyed considerable status in Kentucky—where he sat on juries, appraised estates, served on country slave patrols, and guarded prisoners. By the time his son Abraham was born, Thomas owned two 600-acre (240 ha) farms, several town lots, livestock, and horses. He was among the richest men in the county.^[7][11] However, in 1816, Thomas lost all of his land in court cases because of faulty property titles.^[12]

The young Lincoln in sculpture at Senn Park, Chicago

The family moved north across the Ohio River to free (i.e., non-slave) territory and made a new start in Perry County, Indiana. Lincoln later noted that this move was "partly on account of slavery" but mainly due to land title difficulties.^[12] In Indiana, when Lincoln was nine, his mother Nancy died of milk sickness in 1818.^[13] After the death of Lincoln's mother, his older sister, Sarah, took charge of caring for him until their father remarried in 1819; Sarah later died in her 20s while giving birth to a stillborn son.^[14]

Thomas Lincoln's new wife was the widow Sarah Bush Johnston, the mother of three of her own children. Lincoln became very close to his stepmother, and referred to her as "Mother".^[15] As a pre-teen, he did not like the hard labor associated with frontier life. Some in his family, and in the neighborhood, for a time considered him to be lazy.^[16][17] As he grew into his teens, he willingly took responsibility for all chores expected of him as one of the boys in the household and became an adept axeman in his work building rail fences. He attained a reputation for brawn and audacity after a very competitive wrestling match to which he was challenged by the renowned leader of a group of ruffians, "the Clary's Grove boys".^[18] Lincoln also agreed with the customary obligation of a son to give his father all earnings from work done outside the home until age 21.^[13] In later years, Lincoln occasionally loaned his father money.^[19] Lincoln became increasingly distant from his father, in part because of his father's lack of education. While young Lincoln's formal elementary education consisted approximately of a year's worth of classes from several itinerant teachers, he was mostly self-educated and was an avid reader.^[20]

In 1830, fearing a milk sickness outbreak along the Ohio River, the Lincoln family moved west, where they settled on public land in Macon County, Illinois, another free, non-slave state.^[21] In 1831, Thomas relocated the family to a new homestead in Coles County, Illinois. It was then that, as an ambitious 22-year-old, Lincoln decided to seek a better life and struck out on his own. Canoeing down the Sangamon River, Lincoln ended up in the village of New Salem in Sangamon County.^[22] In the spring of 1831, hired by New Salem businessman Denton Offutt and accompanied by friends, he took goods by flatboat from New Salem to New Orleans via the Sangamon, Illinois, and Mississippi rivers. After arriving in New Orleans—and witnessing slavery firsthand—he walked back home.^[23]

Marriage and children[link]

1864 photo of President Lincoln with youngest son, Tad

Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln, age 28

Lincoln's first romantic interest was Ann Rutledge, whom he met when he first moved to New Salem; by 1835, they were in a relationship but not formally engaged. She died on August 25, most likely of typhoid fever.^[24] In the early 1830s, he met Mary Owens from Kentucky when she was visiting her sister. Late in 1836, Lincoln agreed to a match with Mary if she returned to New Salem. Mary did return in November 1836, and Lincoln courted her for a time; however, they both had second thoughts about their relationship. On August 16, 1837, Lincoln wrote Mary a letter suggesting he would not blame her if she ended the relationship. She never replied and the courtship was over.^[25]

In 1840, Lincoln became engaged to Mary Todd, who was from a wealthy slave-holding family in Lexington, Kentucky.^[26] They met in Springfield, Illinois, in December 1839^[27] and were engaged the following December.^[28] A wedding set for January 1, 1841, was canceled when the two broke off their engagement at Lincoln's initiative.^[27][29] They later met again at a party and married on November 4, 1842, in the Springfield mansion of Mary's married sister.^[30] While preparing for the nuptials and feeling anxiety again, Lincoln, when asked where he was going, replied, "To hell, I suppose."^[31]

In 1844, the couple bought a house in Springfield near Lincoln's law office. Mary Todd Lincoln kept house, often with the help of a relative or hired servant girl.^[32] Robert Todd Lincoln was born in 1843 and Edward Baker Lincoln (Eddie) in 1846. Lincoln "was remarkably fond of children",^[33] and the Lincolns were not considered to be strict with their children.^[34] Edward died on February 1, 1850, in Springfield, likely of tuberculosis. "Willie" Lincoln was born on December 21, 1850, and died on February 20, 1862. The Lincolns' fourth son, Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, was born on April 4, 1853, and died of heart failure at the age of 18 on July 16, 1871.^[35] Robert was the only child to live to adulthood and have children. His last descendant, grandson Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, died in 1985.^[36]

The deaths of their sons had profound effects on both parents. Later in life, Mary struggled with the stresses of losing her husband and sons, and Robert Lincoln committed her temporarily to a mental health asylum in 1875.^[37] Abraham Lincoln suffered from "melancholy", a condition which now is referred to as clinical depression.^[38]

Lincoln's father-in-law was based in Lexington, Kentucky; he and others of the Todd family were either slave owners or slave traders. Lincoln was close to the Todds, and he and his family occasionally visited the Todd estate in Lexington.^[39] He was an affectionate, though often absent, husband and father of four children.

Early career and militia service[link]

In 1832, at age 23, Lincoln and a partner bought a small general store on credit in New Salem, Illinois. Although the economy was booming in the region, the business struggled and Lincoln eventually sold his share. That March he began his political career with his first campaign for the Illinois General Assembly. He had attained local popularity and could draw crowds as a natural raconteur in New Salem, though he lacked an education, powerful friends, and money, which may be why he lost. He advocated navigational improvements on the Sangamon River.^[40]

A sketch of candidate Abraham Lincoln

Before the election Lincoln served as a captain in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War.^[41] Following his return, Lincoln continued his campaign for the August 6 election for the Illinois General Assembly. At 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm),^[42] he was tall and "strong enough to intimidate any rival". At his first speech, when he saw a supporter in the crowd being attacked, Lincoln grabbed the assailant by his "neck and the seat of his trousers" and threw him.^[43] Lincoln finished eighth out of 13 candidates (the top four were elected), though he received 277 of the 300 votes cast in the New Salem precinct.^[44]

Lincoln served as New Salem's postmaster and later as county surveyor, all the while reading voraciously. He then decided to become a lawyer and began teaching himself law by reading Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England and other law books. Of his learning method, Lincoln stated: "I studied with nobody".^[45] His second campaign in 1834 was successful. He won election to the state legislature; though he ran as a Whig, many Democrats favored him over a more powerful Whig opponent.^[46] Admitted to the bar in 1836,^[47] he moved to Springfield, Illinois, and began to practice law under John T. Stuart, Mary Todd's cousin.^[48] Lincoln became an able and successful lawyer with a reputation as a formidable adversary during cross-examinations and closing arguments. He partnered with Stephen T. Logan from 1841 until 1844, when he began his practice with William Herndon, whom Lincoln thought "a studious young man".^[49] He served four successive terms in the Illinois House of Representatives as a Whig representative from Sangamon County.^[50]

In the 1835–1836 legislative session, he voted to expand suffrage to white males, whether landowners or not.^[51] He was known for his "free soil" stance of opposing both slavery and abolitionism. He first articulated this in 1837, saying, "Institution of slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy, but the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than abate its evils."^[52] He closely followed Henry Clay in supporting the American Colonization Society program of making the abolition of slavery practical by helping the freed slaves to settle in Liberia in Africa.^[53]

Congressman Lincoln[link]

From the early 1830s, Lincoln was a steadfast Whig and professed to friends in 1861 to be, "an old line Whig, a disciple of Henry Clay".^[54] The party, including Lincoln, favored economic modernization in banking, protective tariffs to fund internal improvements including railroads, and espoused urbanization as well.^[55]

In 1846, Lincoln was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served one two-year term. He was the only Whig in the Illinois delegation, but he showed his party loyalty by participating in almost all votes and making speeches that echoed the party line.^[56] Lincoln, in collaboration with abolitionist Congressman Joshua R. Giddings, wrote a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia with compensation for the owners, enforcement to capture fugitive slaves, and a popular vote on the matter. He abandoned the bill when it failed to garner sufficient Whig supporters.^[57] On foreign and military policy, Lincoln spoke out against the Mexican–American War, which he attributed to President Polk's desire for "military glory—that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood".^[58] Lincoln also supported the Wilmot Proviso, which, if it had been adopted, would have banned slavery in any U.S. territory won from Mexico.^[59]

Lincoln emphasized his opposition to Polk by drafting and introducing his Spot Resolutions. The war had begun with a Mexican slaughter of American soldiers in territory disputed by Mexico and the US; Polk insisted that Mexican soldiers had "invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil".^[60][61] Lincoln demanded that Polk show Congress the exact spot on which blood had been shed and prove that the spot was on American soil.^[61] Congress never enacted the resolution or even debated it, the national papers ignored it, and it resulted in a loss of political support for Lincoln in his district. One Illinois newspaper derisively nicknamed him "spotty Lincoln".^[62][63][64] Lincoln later regretted some of his statements, especially his attack on the presidential war-making powers.^[65]

Realizing Clay was unlikely to win the presidency, Lincoln, who had pledged in 1846 to serve only one term in the House, supported General Zachary Taylor for the Whig nomination in the 1848 presidential election.^[66] Taylor won and Lincoln hoped to be appointed Commissioner of the General Land Office, but that lucrative patronage job went to an Illinois rival, Justin Butterfield, considered by the administration to be a highly skilled lawyer, but in Lincoln's view, an "old fossil".^[67] The administration offered him the consolation prize of secretary or governor of the Oregon Territory. This distant territory was a Democratic stronghold, and acceptance of the post would have effectively ended his legal and political career in Illinois, so he declined and resumed his law practice.^[68]

Prairie lawyer[link]

Lincoln in his late 30s – photo taken by one of Lincoln's law students around 1846

Lincoln returned to practicing law in Springfield, handling "every kind of business that could come before a prairie lawyer".^[69] Twice a year for 16 years, 10 weeks at a time, he appeared in county seats in the midstate region when the county courts were in session.^[70] Lincoln handled many transportation cases in the midst of the nation's western expansion, particularly the conflicts arising from the operation of river barges under the many new railroad bridges. As a riverboat man, Lincoln initially favored those interests, but ultimately represented whoever hired him.^[71] His reputation grew, and he appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States, arguing a case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge.^[72] In 1849, he received a patent for a flotation device for the movement of boats in shallow water. The idea was never commercialized, but Lincoln is the only president to hold a patent.^[73][74]

In 1851, he represented Alton & Sangamon Railroad in a dispute with one of its shareholders, James A. Barret, who had refused to pay the balance on his pledge to buy shares in the railroad on the grounds that the company had changed its original train route.^[75][76] Lincoln successfully argued that the railroad company was not bound by its original charter in existence at the time of Barret's pledge; the charter was amended in the public interest to provide a newer, superior, and less expensive route, and the corporation retained the right to demand Barret's payment. The decision by the Illinois Supreme Court has been cited by numerous other courts in the nation.^[75] Lincoln appeared before the Illinois Supreme Court in 175 cases, in 51 as sole counsel, of which 31 were decided in his favor.^[77] From 1853 to 1860, another of Lincoln's largest clients was the Illinois Central Railroad.^[78]

Lincoln's most notable criminal trial occurred in 1858 when he defended William "Duff" Armstrong, who was on trial for the murder of James Preston Metzker.^[79] The case is famous for Lincoln's use of a fact established by judicial notice in order to challenge the credibility of an eyewitness. After an opposing witness testified seeing the crime in the moonlight, Lincoln produced a Farmers' Almanac showing the moon was at a low angle, drastically reducing visibility. Based on this evidence, Armstrong was acquitted.^[79] Lincoln rarely raised objections in the courtroom; but in an 1859 case, where he defended a cousin Peachy Harrison, who was accused of stabbing another to death, Lincoln angrily protested the judge's decision to exclude evidence favorable to his client. Instead of holding Lincoln in contempt of court as was expected, the judge, a Democrat, reversed his ruling, allowing the evidence and acquitting Harrison.^[79][80]

Republican politics 1854–1860[link]

Slavery and a "House Divided"[link]

By the 1850s, slavery was still legal in the southern United States, but had been generally outlawed in the northern states, such as Illinois.^[81] Lincoln disapproved of slavery, and the spread of slavery to new U.S. territory in the west.^[82] He returned to politics to oppose the pro-slavery Kansas–Nebraska Act (1854); this law repealed the slavery-restricting Missouri Compromise (1820). Senior Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois had incorporated popular sovereignty into the Act. Douglas' provision, which Lincoln opposed, specified settlers had the right to determine locally whether to allow slavery in new U.S. territory, rather than have such a decision restricted by the national Congress.^[83] Foner (2010) contrasts the abolitionists and anti-slavery Radical Republicans of the Northeast who saw slavery as a sin, with the conservative Republicans who thought it was bad because it hurt white people and blocked progress. Foner argues that Lincoln was a moderate in the middle, opposing slavery primarily because it violated the republicanism principles of the Founding Fathers, especially the equality of all men and democratic self-government as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.^[84]

Portrait of Dred Scott. Lincoln denounced the Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford as a conspiracy to extend slavery.

On October 16, 1854, in his "Peoria Speech", Lincoln declared his opposition to slavery, which he repeated en route to the presidency.^[85] Speaking in his Kentucky accent, with a very powerful voice,^[86] he said the Kansas Act had a "declared indifference, but as I must think, a covert real zeal for the spread of slavery. I cannot but hate it. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world..."^[87]

In late 1854, Lincoln ran as a Whig for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. At that time, senators were elected by the state legislature.^[88] After leading in the first six rounds of voting in the Illinois assembly, his support began to dwindle, and Lincoln instructed his backers to vote for Lyman Trumbull, who defeated opponent Joel Aldrich Matteson.^[89] The Whigs had been irreparably split by the Kansas–Nebraska Act. Lincoln wrote, "I think I am a Whig, but others say there are no Whigs, and that I am an abolitionist, even though I do no more than oppose the extension of slavery."^{[cite this quote]} Drawing on remnants of the old Whig party, and on disenchanted Free Soil, Liberty, and Democratic party members, he was instrumental in forging the shape of the new Republican Party.^[90] At the 1856 Republican National Convention, Lincoln placed second in the contest to become the party's candidate for vice president.^[91]

In 1857–58, Douglas broke with President James Buchanan, leading to a fight for control of the Democratic Party. Some eastern Republicans even favored the reelection of Douglas for the Senate in 1858, since he had led the opposition to the Lecompton Constitution, which would have admitted Kansas as a slave state.^[92] In March 1857, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney opined that blacks were not citizens, and derived no rights from the Constitution. Lincoln denounced the decision, alleging it was the product of a conspiracy of Democrats to support the Slave Power^[93] Lincoln argued, "The authors of the Declaration of Independence never intended 'to say all were equal in color, size, intellect, moral developments, or social capacity', but they 'did consider all men created equal—equal in certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness'."^[94]

After the state Republican party convention nominated him for the U.S. Senate in 1858, Lincoln delivered his House Divided Speech, drawing on Mark 3:25: "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."^[95] The speech created an evocative image of the danger of disunion caused by the slavery debate, and rallied Republicans across the North.^[96] The stage was then set for the campaign for statewide election of the Illinois legislature which would, in turn, select Lincoln or Douglas as its U.S. senator.^[97]

Lincoln–Douglas debates and Cooper Union speech[link]

Alexander Hessler photographed Lincoln in 1860.

The 1858 senate campaign featured the seven Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858, the most famous political debates in American history.^[98] The principals stood in stark contrast both physically and politically. Lincoln warned that "The Slave Power" was threatening the values of republicanism, and accused Douglas of distorting the values of the Founding Fathers that all men are created equal, while Douglas emphasized his Freeport Doctrine, that local settlers were free to choose whether to allow slavery or not, and accused Lincoln of having joined the abolitionists.^[99] The debates had an atmosphere of a prize fight and drew crowds in the thousands. Lincoln stated Douglas's popular sovereignty theory was a threat to the nation's morality and that Douglas represented a conspiracy to extend slavery to free states. Douglas said that Lincoln was defying the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Dred Scott decision.^[100]

Though the Republican legislative candidates won more popular votes, the Democrats won more seats, and the legislature re-elected Douglas to the Senate. Despite the bitterness of the defeat for Lincoln, his articulation of the issues gave him a national political reputation.^[101] In May 1859, Lincoln purchased the Illinois Staats-Anzeiger, a German-language newspaper which was consistently supportive; most of the state's 130,000 German Americans voted Democratic but there was Republican support that a German-language paper could mobilize.^[102]

On February 27, 1860, New York party leaders invited Lincoln to give a speech at Cooper Union to a group of powerful Republicans. Lincoln argued that the Founding Fathers had little use for popular sovereignty and had repeatedly sought to restrict slavery. Lincoln insisted the moral foundation of the Republicans required opposition to slavery, and rejected any "groping for some middle ground between the right and the wrong".^[103] Despite his inelegant appearance—many in the audience thought him awkward and even ugly^[104]—Lincoln demonstrated an intellectual leadership that brought him into the front ranks of the party and into contention for the Republican presidential nomination. Journalist Noah Brooks reported, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience."^[105][106] Historian Donald described the speech as a "superb political move for an unannounced candidate, to appear in one rival's (William H. Seward) own state at an event sponsored by the second rival's (Salmon P. Chase) loyalists, while not mentioning either by name during its delivery."^[107] In response to an inquiry about his presidential intentions, Lincoln said, "The taste is in my mouth a little."^[108]

1860 Presidential nomination and campaign[link]

"The Rail Candidate"—Lincoln's 1860 candidacy is depicted as held up by the slavery issue—a slave on the left and party organization on the right.

On May 9–10, 1860, the Illinois Republican State Convention was held in Decatur.^[109] Lincoln's followers organized a campaign team led by David Davis, Norman Judd, Leonard Swett, and Jesse DuBois, and Lincoln received his first endorsement to run for the presidency.^[110] Exploiting the embellished legend of his frontier days with his father, Lincoln's supporters adopted the label of "The Rail Candidate".^[111] On May 18, at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Lincoln's friends promised and manipulated and won the nomination on the third ballot, beating candidates such as William H. Seward and Salmon P. Chase. A former Democrat Hannibal Hamlin of Maine was nominated for Vice President to balance the ticket. Lincoln's success depended on his reputation as a moderate on the slavery issue, and his strong support for Whiggish programs of internal improvements and the protective tariff.^[112] On the third ballot Pennsylvania put him over the top. Pennsylvania iron interests were reassured by his support for protective tariffs.^[113] Lincoln's managers had been adroitly focused on this delegation as well as the others, while following Lincoln's strong dictate to "Make no contracts that bind me".^[114]