Becoming Lincoln

The Kansas-Nebraska Act threw American politics into chaos in 1854. The two-party duopoly that existed for the previous 20 years was swept away in the space of a few months. As Abraham Lincoln fought for the anti-Nebraska coalition in Illinois, he found himself with an unexpected political opportunity -- followed by the most difficult decision of his career to that point.

Nursing his own ambitions and trying to hold onto his power in the U.S. Senate, Stephen Douglas agreed to introduce legislation repealing the Missouri Compromise and opening the upper Midwest to slavery. The brazen assault by pro-slavery forces upended the nation's party system and brought Abraham Lincoln to the forefront of the forces opposing Douglas and defending the Declaration of Independence.

Abraham Lincoln would never had become president had he not locked horns with Stephen Douglas, whose rapid rise through Illinois politics quickly made him a national icon. Douglas' life had some parallels to Lincoln's, and in many ways, his attraction to money and flexible policy better embodied the America of the early 1850s than the old parties did.

Abraham Lincoln's racial attitudes were complicated. He was willing to defend fugitive slaves and appears to have lived in what was (for its time) an integrated neighborhood. But he also defended a slaveholder in court, and advocated for schemes to persuade African-Americans to leave the land of their birth.

Abraham Lincoln's law practice was dominated by debt cases and the messy but commonplace disputes that make up a legal practice then and now. He plied his trade throughout central Illinois and was a popular companion for other attorneys in his field. But was he a good lawyer?

Mary Lincoln's domestic life often involved working as a single parent and managing tight finances while her husband was out making a living. Both parents were devoted to their children, and faced devastation when their son Eddie became sick in late 1849. Less than a year later, Abraham Lincoln made a fateful choice when he received word that his father Thomas was ill.

As he returned for the final congressional session of his term, Abraham Lincoln tried to lay the groundwork for the future of his party -- by proposing the abolition of slavery within the District of Columbia, and in using the patronage powers of the newly elected Whig president. But opposing forces, and Lincoln's underestimation of them, led to disappointment.

The Whigs were desperate for victory in 1848, and Abraham Lincoln joined a group promoting the candidacy of General Zachary Taylor. Lincoln showed that he could be an effective speaker -- but he could not have foreseen that his efforts would help destroy the party that he had devoted his life to.

The U.S. invasion of Mexico in 1846 sparked a humanitarian catastrophe that had profound consequences for both countries. Abraham Lincoln joined a Whig fight against the war.

As Abraham Lincoln moved to secure the Whig nomination for Congress in 1846, he had to confront the ambitions of an old friend for the seat, and the growing power of the abolitionists within his district.

By 1842, Abraham Lincoln had completed a long and painful journey into the middle class. He was an established attorney and had married into a prominent family. But politics would force him to reckon with the costs of his decisions -- and later, confront a grief he had never left behind.

As Abraham Lincoln recovered from his nervous breakdown, he further focused on ways to allow his head to control his heart. Yet as 1842 unfolded, he found himself in a potentially deadly fight with a political rival, and growing closer to Mary Todd.

His personal and professional bonds all snapped at once at the end of 1840. It proved a prelude to the worst emotional crisis of Lincoln's life, one that he would need a full year to pull himself out of.

With the Whig Party appearing poised for a major breakthrough in 1840, Abraham Lincoln campaigned hard, showing a desperation that led him to attack individuals and fall back on the shameful race-baiting that defined his youth. Toward the end of the year, he became involved with a young woman in Springfield, named Mary Todd.

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?