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Born
Lincoln was born to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks near Hodgenville, Kentucky. -
Patent
Lincoln is the only President of the United States to hold a patent. His invention was a system that would inflate if a ship ran aground in a river. -
President
Lincoln was elected as the 16th president of the United States of America -
Department of Agriculture
Lincoln established the independent Department of Agriculture. It was to be headed by a Commissioner without Cabinet status. To date the USDA remains responsible for developing and executing federal government policy on farming, agriculture, forestry, and food. -
Revenue Act
Lincoln signed the Revenue Act, and it established the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue which became the IRS later. It also introduced a system where taxpayers were separated into multiple categories according to their incomes and taxed accordingly. This progressive nature of income tax remains to this day. -
Morrill Land-Grant Act
Granted people to get land for Institutions to teach military tactics, as well as engineering and agriculture. This led the colleges to become some of the best in the US including Michigan State and the University of Wisconsin -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which started the procedure for freeing the slaves in America. The proclamation, which was issued during the American Civil War, allowed black soldiers to fight for the Union against the Confederacy. It was also a precursor of the Thirteenth Amendment, which made slavery and indentured servitude illegal in the United States. -
US National Banking System
Lincoln created the United States National Banking System providing a strong financial network to the country. It also established a national currency. The legacy of the Act is its impact on the national banking system as it stands today and its support of a uniform U.S. banking policy. Apart from banks, Lincoln helped the economy flourish through canals, railroads, factories etc. -
Reconstruction
During the war, Lincoln planned Reconstruction. He worked on how to reunite the conquered Southern States. Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction to announce his intention to reunite the once-united states. When Lee surrendered, a general asked him on how to treat the defeated Confederates and Lincoln replied, “”Let ’em up easy.” -
Assassinated
Lincoln was shot in in the back of the head in the Ford Theater in Washington, DC, by John Wilkes Booth. -
Victory
Lincoln face extraordinary pressures during the Civil War: huge casualties on the battlefield, generals who were not ready to fight, opposition in North from groups like the Copperheads or Peace Democrats and assassination threats. Despite all this, Lincoln continued the fight to preserve the Union. Confederate general Robert E Lee surrendered -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act gave the applicant ownership of land at little or no cost. Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S. government, was 21 years or older, or the head of a family, could file an application to claim a federal land grant. The occupant had to reside on the land for five years, and show evidence of having made improvements.
