Abraham Lincoln's Life in Four Designs: The 2009 Bicentennial Cent
February 12, 2022 marked the 213th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Lincoln was perhaps the most influential American President ever, but he also embodied America’s greatest virtues long before his time in the Oval Office.
In 2009, the United States Mint released four one-year-only Lincoln Cent designs to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of Lincoln’s birthday. This series chronicled four key stages of his life: his early childhood in Kentucky, his formative years in Indiana, his professional life in Illinois and, of course, his presidency. Each chapter of his life presented triumphs and failures, but his steadfast persistence paved the way to a life that forever changed the trajectory of world history.
Birth and Early Childhood in Kentucky
Abraham Lincoln was a self-made man in every sense and came from very humble origins. He was born in a log cabin in Sinking Spring Farm, Kentucky to a farmer father and a deeply pious mother. He had an older sister named Sarah and a younger brother named Thomas, the latter of whom died in infancy. When Abraham was two years old, his family moved to Knob Creek Farm just a few miles away. The Lincoln family operated a 30-acre portion of the greater 228-acre farm.
As a young farmhand, little time was reserved for Lincoln’s education. He attended school only in three brief intervals, as his labor was needed on the farm.
Formative Years in Indiana
In 1916, Lincoln’s family moved to Indiana when he was seven years old. Only two years later when he was nine, his mother passed away from milk sickness. His father later remarried a woman named Sarah Bush Lincoln who was a caring stepmother to Abraham and his sister.
On his family’s farm, Lincoln grew particularly skilled at woodcutting and plowing. Despite such limited education, he developed a passion for reading that was believed to have been instilled in him by his stepmother. When he was not tending to the farm, he spent much of his time with his nose in a book. Family and neighbors recalled that among his favorite books were The Holy Bible, Robinson Crusoe and The Life of Washington. Lincoln was also quite athletic as a young man and was named county wrestling champion at age 21.
Professional Life in Illinois
In 1830, another milk sickness outbreak drove the Lincoln family west of Indiana into Illinois. While in Illinois, Lincoln worked a number of odd jobs such as piloting a steamboat. After some time, though, he moved on his own to New Salem, Illinois and became interested in politics. He ran for the Illinois State Legislature in 1832. After losing the election, he served as a captain in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War.
Lincoln was elected to the Illinois State Legislature in 1834 as a member of the Whig Party. While in office, he spearheaded the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and voiced his support for abolishing slavery. He was admitted to the Illinois State Bar Association in 1836 and moved to the state capitol of Springfield to practice law.
In 1843, Lincoln ran for Illinois’ 7th District seat in the US House of Representatives, but did not receive the Whig Party’s nomination. However, in 1846 he received his party’s nomination and went on to win the election. He served only one term in the House from 1847 to 1849, and returned to practicing law after his term.
Lincoln attempted a return to politics with a run for the United States Senate as a Republican. Although he lost the election, he gained a large national following after a series of seven debates against his Democratic opponent Stephen A. Douglas.
Presidency
With momentum he gained from the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln emerged as a serious candidate for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 1859. In 1860, he received the nomination and, after a decade without holding political office, defeated three opponents in the 1860 Presidential Election.
Just one month after Lincoln’s election, South Carolina seceded from the Union due to his plan to add a Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. By April, eight states had seceded, and the Confederate States of America was established. Lincoln officially declared war against the Confederacy three days after Union soldiers were attacked at Fort Sumter. Three additional states joined the Confederacy within two months of the Civil War’s declaration.
Lincoln showed incredible poise as he led our nation through its bloodiest war in history. With advice from his cabinet, he strategically waited until the Union’s victory at the Battle of Antietam to issue a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order that abolished slavery in the United States. Less than one year after the Proclamation took effect, he delivered the legendary Gettysburg Address at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Though the speech was composed of only 271 words and lasted less than two minutes, it was powerfully orated and became known as one of the greatest speeches in American history.
Under Lincoln’s leadership, the Union triumphed over the Confederacy in 1865 and the sanctity of the United States was restored. His and his soldiers’ commitment to ending slavery created a more perfect union to be enjoyed by Americans for centuries to come.
Abraham Lincoln is in every sense the model American for all to follow. He faced hardship like few have experienced, but he never let his misfortunes steer him off track in pursuit of his greater ambitions. Now, over 200 years since his birth, President Lincoln serves as a reminder of America’s finest ideals and all that man can accomplish.
