query: Abraham Lincoln concentrated on certain dimensions of a conflict.

pos: Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( -LSB- ˈeɪbrəhæm_ˈlIŋkən -RSB- February 12 , 1809 -- April 15 , 1865 ) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865 . Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War -- its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral , constitutional , and political crisis . In doing so , he preserved the Union , paved the way to the abolition of slavery , strengthened the federal government , and modernized the economy .   Born in Hodgenville , Kentucky , Lincoln grew up on the western frontier in Kentucky and Indiana . Largely self-educated , he became a lawyer in Illinois , a Whig Party leader , and was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives , in which he served for eight years . Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846 , Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks , tariffs , and railroads . Because he had originally agreed not to run for a second term in Congress , and because his opposition to the Mexican -- American War was unpopular among Illinois voters , Lincoln returned to Springfield and resumed his successful law practice . Reentering politics in 1854 , he became a leader in building the new Republican Party , which had a statewide majority in Illinois . In 1858 , while taking part in a series of highly publicized debates with his opponent and rival , Democrat Stephen A. Douglas , Lincoln spoke out against the expansion of slavery , but lost the U.S. Senate race to Douglas .   In 1860 , Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state . Though he gained very little support in the slaveholding states of the South , he swept the North and was elected president in 1860 . Lincoln 's victory prompted seven southern slave states to form the Confederate States of America before he moved into the White House -- no compromise or reconciliation was found regarding slavery and secession . Subsequently , on April 12 , 1861 , a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the North to enthusiastically rally behind the Union . As the leader of the moderate faction of the Republican Party , Lincoln confronted Radical Republicans , who demanded harsher treatment of the South , War Democrats , who called for more compromise , anti-war Democrats ( called Copperheads ) , who despised him , and irreconcilable secessionists , who plotted his assassination . Politically , Lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other , by carefully planned political patronage , and by appealing to the American people with his powers of oratory . His Gettysburg Address became an iconic endorsement of the principles of nationalism , republicanism , equal rights , liberty , and democracy .   Lincoln initially concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war . His primary goal was to reunite the nation . He suspended habeas corpus , leading to the controversial ex parte Merryman decision , and he averted potential British intervention in the war by defusing the Trent Affair in late 1861 . Lincoln closely supervised the war effort , especially the selection of top generals , including his most successful general , Ulysses S. Grant . He also made major decisions on Union war strategy , including a naval blockade that shut down the South 's normal trade , moves to take control of Kentucky and Tennessee , and using gunboats to gain control of the southern river system . Lincoln tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond ; each time a general failed , Lincoln substituted another , until finally Grant succeeded . As the war progressed , his complex moves toward ending slavery included the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 ; Lincoln used the U.S. Army to protect escaped slaves , encouraged the border states to outlaw slavery , and pushed through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , which permanently outlawed slavery .   An exceptionally astute politician deeply involved with power issues in each state , Lincoln reached out to the War Democrats and managed his own re-election campaign in the 1864 presidential election . Anticipating the war 's conclusion , Lincoln pushed 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 . On April 14 , 1865 , five days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee , Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth , a Confederate sympathizer .   Lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as among the greatest U.S. presidents .

neg: The Federal Union The Federal Union : A History of the United States to 1877 ( originally published as The Federal Union : A History of the United States to 1865 ) is history of the United States written by John D. Hicks , George E. Mowry and Robert E. Burke . First published in 1937 , it covered the period from the discovery of the Americas in 1492 to the end of the Civil War in 1865 . Four revised editions followed that also covered the Reconstruction Era up to 1877 , and accordingly were published with an updated subtitle . The fifth and final edition appeared in 1970 .   The Federal Union was primarily written as a university-level textbook , and was published with accompanying manuals for instructors and for students . It was the first of a two-volume set . The second volume was entitled The American Nation : 1865 to the Present . An abridged one-volume edition first appeared in 1946 as A Short History of American Democracy .   The book was aimed at undergraduate students , other readers appreciated its qualities . For example , historian George Fort Milton admired Hicks 's `` capacity for extraordinary compression without at the same time either getting the style too bare-bones for pleasurable reading ; or the facts too black-and-white for the necessary implications of gradations of gray . ''

neg: 1939 State of the Union Address The 1939 State of the Union Address was given to the United States Congress , on January 4 , 1939 , by Franklin D. Roosevelt , the 32nd United States President . Foreseeing World War II , he said , `` In Reporting on the state of the nation , I have felt it necessary on previous occasions to advise the Congress of disturbance abroad and of the need of putting our own house in order in the face of storm signals from across the seas . As this Seventy-sixth Congress opens there is need for further warning .  A war which threatened to envelop the world in flames has been averted ; but it has become increasingly clear that world peace is not assured . '' In September 1939 , the War in Europe began .

neg: Tecumseh's War Tecumseh 's War or Tecumseh 's Rebellion was a conflict between the United States Army and an American Indian confederacy led by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh in the Indiana Territory . Although the war is often considered to have climaxed with William Henry Harrison 's victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 , Tecumseh 's War essentially continued into the War of 1812 , and is frequently considered a part of that larger struggle . The war lasted for two more years , until the fall of 1813 , when Tecumseh , as well as second-in-command Roundhead died fighting Harrison 's Army of the Northwest at the Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada , near present-day Chatham , Ontario , and his confederacy disintegrated . Tecumseh 's War is viewed by some academic historians as being the final conflict of a longer term military struggle for control of the Great Lakes region of North America , encompassing a number of wars over several generations , referred to as the Sixty Years ' War .

neg: President Lincoln's 75,000 volunteers On April 15 , 1861 , at the start of the American Civil War , the President of the United States , Abraham Lincoln , called for a 75,000-man militia to serve for three months following the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter . Some slave states refused to send troops against their neighboring slave states , with the result that most such states also declared secession from the United States and joined the Confederate States .

neg: The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy is a historical fiction novel written by Jacopo della Quercia . The plot follows President William Howard Taft , scientist and son of a former president Robert Todd Lincoln , Secret Service Chief John Wilkie , Captain ( later Major ) Archibald Butt and others as they slowly unravel a worldwide conspiracy over a decade in the making .   The book , which was della Quercia 's debut novel , was published in 2014 by St. Martin 's Griffin , an imprint of publishing company St. Martin 's Press . The author described the book 's genre not as singular distinct genre , but as an `` equal parts cocktail '' of adventure , historical fiction , science fiction , thriller and comedy . In 2015 , della Quercia released a spiritual sequel , License to Quill , of a similar nature that concerns the lives of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare in Reformation-era Europe .   The book has many references to actual events ; some , such as the sinking of the RMS Titanic , are important plot points , while others , such as the destruction of the zeppelin Erbslöh , are passively mentioned as news or memories . The author also includes excerpts from real newspaper articles , which were used to provide exposition in the storyline . Similarly , all of the main characters in the book were real , relevant figures in the 20th century . The characters profiles were fictionalized to fit in with the book 's plot and atmosphere , but their names , positions , occupations and personalities are kept largely intact .

neg: Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson 's Creek , also known as the Battle of Oak Hills , was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War . Fought on August 10 , 1861 , near Springfield , Missouri , between Federal forces and the Missouri State Guard , it is sometimes called the `` Bull Run of the West . ''   At the beginning of the war , Missouri maintained an officially neutral status . However , its governor , Claiborne Fox Jackson , began to work to bring Missouri out of the Union by purchasing arms from and fighting alongside Confederate troops . The two sides repeatedly skirmished , most notably in the Camp Jackson affair , the Battle of Boonville , and the Battle of Carthage . Jackson 's support for secession resulted in his removal by a constitutional convention in July . Jackson refused to accept the maneuver as valid , and continued to act as governor .   In early August 1861 , Confederates under the command of Brig. Gen. Benjamin McCulloch and Missouri State Guard troops under the command of Maj. Gen. Sterling Price approached Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon 's Army of the West , which was camped at Springfield . On August 9 , both sides formulated plans to attack the other . At about 5:00 a.m. on August 10 , Lyon , in two columns commanded by himself and Col. Franz Sigel , attacked the Confederates on Wilson 's Creek about 12 mi southwest of Springfield . Confederate cavalry received the first blow and retreated from the high ground , later referred to as `` Bloody Hill , '' and infantry soon rushed up to stabilize their positions . The Confederates attacked the Union forces three times during the day , but failed to break through . When Lyon was killed during the battle and General Thomas William Sweeny wounded , Major Samuel D. Sturgis assumed command of the Union forces . Meanwhile , the Confederates routed Sigel 's column south of Skegg 's Branch . Following the third Confederate attack , which ended at 11:00 a.m. , the Union withdrew . When Sturgis realized that his men were exhausted and lacking ammunition , he ordered a retreat to Springfield . The Confederates were too disorganized and ill-equipped to pursue the retreating Federal forces .   The Confederate victory buoyed Southern sympathizers in Missouri and served as a springboard for a bold thrust north that carried Sterling Price and his Missouri State Guard as far as Lexington . In late October , a convention organized by Jackson met in Neosho and passed out an ordinance of secession . Although the state remained in the Union for the remainder of the war , the Battle of Wilson 's Creek effectively gave the Confederates control of southwestern Missouri . Today , the National Park Service operates Wilson 's Creek National Battlefield on the site of the original conflict .

neg: John T. Stuart John Todd Stuart ( November 10 , 1807 -- November 23 , 1885 ) was a lawyer and a U.S. Representative from Illinois .   Born near Lexington , Kentucky , Stuart graduated from Centre College , Danville , Kentucky , in 1826 . He then studied law , was admitted to the bar in 1828 , and commenced practice in Springfield , Illinois . He was a major in the Black Hawk War in 1832 , where he first met Abraham Lincoln , who was in the same battalion as Stuart .   He served as member of the Illinois House of Representatives between 1832 and 1836 . Stuart encouraged Lincoln to study law and the two subsequently became law partners , between 1837 and 1841 . If not for Stuart 's influence , it is conceivable that Lincoln might never have been interested in the law - and thus , might not ever have become president .   Stuart was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1836 to the Twenty-fifth Congress . He was , however , elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses ( March 4 , 1839 - March 3 , 1843 ) , winning over Stephen A. Douglas in 1838 . He was not a candidate for renomination in 1842 .   Stuart established a law partnership with Benjamin S. Edwards in 1843 , a partnership that would last for forty years . Stuart served as member of the Illinois Senate between 1848 and 1852 . He was the unsuccessful Constitutional Union candidate for Governor of Illinois in 1860 .   Stuart was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress ( March 4 , 1863 - March 3 , 1865 ) , and served there while Lincoln was president .   Stuart was a favorite cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln and as a member of Congress after his election in 1862 over Republican Leonard Swett was a frequent visitor at the White House even though he was an anti-emancipation Democrat .   He was defeated in 1864 by Republican Shelby Moore Cullom , a Lincoln ally .   Following his defeat in 1864 , Stuart resumed the practice of law in Springfield . He died there and was interred in the Oak Ridge Cemetery .   In the fall of 2007 , Centre College ( Stuart 's alma mater ) dedicated Stuart Hall , a building that once housed the College 's bookstore but is now a residence hall , in honor of the influence Stuart had over Lincoln 's career path as well as Stuart 's contribution to law .   The firm that he founded in Springfield Illinois , once known as `` Stuart and Lincoln , '' is still operating under the name `` Brown , Hay , & Stephens , '' and includes his great-great-grandson as a partner .

neg: Twenty Negro Law The `` Twenty Negro Law '' , also known as the `` Twenty Slave Law '' and the `` Twenty Nigger Law '' , was a piece of legislation enacted by the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War . The law specifically exempted from Confederate military service one white man for every twenty slaves owned on a Confederate plantation , or for two or more plantations within five miles of each other that collectively had twenty or more slaves . Passed as part of the Second Conscription Act in 1862 , the law was a reaction to United States President Abraham Lincoln 's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation , which was issued barely three weeks earlier . The law addressed Confederate fears of a slave rebellion due to so many white men being absent from home , as they were fighting in the Confederate army . The Confederacy enacted the first conscription laws in United States history , and the percentage of Confederate soldiers who were conscripts was nearly double that of United States soldiers .   The law would prove extremely unpopular with poorer white Confederate men , many of whom did not own any slaves at all , and would contribute to the often-repeated adage of the Confederate war effort being `` a rich man 's war , but a poor man 's fight . ''

neg: Origins of the War of 1812 The War of 1812 , a war between the United States , Great Britain , and Britain 's Indian allies , lasted from 1812 to 1815 . The U.S. declared war and historians have long debated the multiple factors behind that decision .   There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S. declaration of war : First , a series of trade restrictions introduced by Britain to impede American trade with France , a country with which Britain was at war ( the U.S. contested these restrictions as illegal under international law ) ; second , the impressment ( forced recruitment ) of U.S. seamen into the Royal Navy ; third , the British military support for American Indians who were offering armed resistance to the expansion of the American frontier to the Northwest ; fourth , a possible desire on the part of the United States to annex Canada . An implicit but powerful motivation for the Americans was the desire to uphold national honor in the face of what they considered to be British insults ( such as the Chesapeake affair ) .   American expansion into the Northwest ( Ohio , Indiana , Michigan , Illinois and Wisconsin ) was impeded by Indian raids . Some Canadian historians in the early 20th century maintained that Americans had wanted to seize parts of Canada , a view that many Canadians still share , while others argue that inducing the fear of such a seizure had merely been a U.S. tactic designed to obtain a bargaining chip . Some members of the British Parliament at the time and dissident American politicians such as John Randolph of Roanoke claimed that land hunger rather than maritime disputes was the main motivation for the American declaration . However , some historians , both Canadian and American , retain the view that desire to annex all or part of Canada was an American goal . Although the British made some concessions before the war on neutral trade , they insisted on the right to reclaim their deserting sailors . The British also had the long-standing goal of creating a large `` neutral '' Indian state that would cover much of Ohio , Indiana and Michigan . They made the demand as late as 1814 at the peace conference , but lost battles that would have validated their claims .   The war was fought in four theatres : on the oceans , where the warships and privateers of both sides preyed on each other 's merchant shipping ; along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. , which was blockaded with increasing severity by the British , who also mounted large-scale raids in the later stages of the war ; on the long frontier , running along the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River , which separated the U.S. from Upper and Lower Canada ( Ontario and Quebec ) ; and finally along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico . During the course of the war , both the Americans and British launched invasions of each other 's territory , all of which were unsuccessful or gained only temporary success . At the end of the war , the British held parts of Maine and some outposts in the sparsely populated West while the Americans held Canadian territory near Detroit , but these occupied territories were restored at the end of the war .   In the United States , battles such as New Orleans and the earlier successful defence of Baltimore ( which inspired the lyrics of the U.S. national anthem , The Star-Spangled Banner ) produced a sense of euphoria over a `` second war of independence '' against Britain . It ushered in an `` Era of Good Feelings , '' in which the partisan animosity that had once verged on treason practically vanished . Canada also emerged from the war with a heightened sense of national feeling and solidarity . Britain , which had regarded the war as a sideshow to the Napoleonic Wars raging in Europe , was less affected by the fighting ; its government and people subsequently welcomed an era of peaceful relations with the United States .

neg: America's Critical Period The term America 's Critical Period , popularized by John Fiske in 1888 with his book The Critical Period of American History , refers to the period of United States history in the 1780s , right after the American Revolution , where the future of the newly formed nation was in the balance . More specifically , the `` Critical Period '' refers to the period of time following the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the inauguration of George Washington as President in 1789 . The phrase was first used to describe this era ( unbeknownst to Fiske ) by William Henry Trescot in his 1857 book The Diplomatic History of the Administrations of Washington and Adams .   During the 1780s , the loose confederation of states was beset with a wide array of foreign and domestic problems . Some historians believe it was a bleak , terrible time for Americans , while others such as Merrill Jensen believe the term `` Critical Period '' is exaggerated , and that , while the decade a time of dispute and change , they were also a time of economic growth and political maturation .

neg: Opposition to the War of 1812 in the United States Opposition to the War of 1812 was widespread in the United States , especially in New England . Many New Englanders opposed the conflict on political , economic , and religious grounds .   When embargo failed to remedy the situation and Great Britain refused to rescind the Orders in Council ( 1807 ) and France continued its decrees , certain Democratic-Republicans known as war hawks felt compelled to go to war . Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun pushed a declaration of war through Congress , stressing a short war had the added benefit of permitting the United States to grab valuable farmlands in the British colony of Canada . Vehement protests erupted in those parts of the country where the opposition Federalist political party held sway , especially in Connecticut and Massachusetts . The governors of these two states as well as Rhode Island refused to place their state militias under federal control for duty outside of their respective states . In the elections that followed in a few months , some members of Congress who voted for war , paid the price . Eight New England congressmen were rejected by the voters , and several others saw the writing on the wall and declined to seek reelection . There was a complete turnover of the New Hampshire delegation .

neg: Camp Jackson affair The Camp Jackson affair , also known as the Camp Jackson massacre , was an incident during the American Civil War that occurred on May 10 , 1861 , when a volunteer Union Army regiment captured a unit of secessionists at Camp Jackson , outside the city of St. Louis , in the divided slave state of Missouri .   The newly-appointed Union commander in Missouri , Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon , had learned that the ostensibly neutral state militia training in Camp Jackson was planning to raid the federal arsenal in St. Louis . After capturing the entire unit , Lyon marched the captives into town in order to parole them . En route , hostile secessionist crowds gathered , and after an accidental gunshot , Lyon 's men fired into the mob , killing at least 28 civilians and injuring dozens of others . Several days of rioting throughout St. Louis followed . Pro-slavery locals were also particularly angered by the presence in Lyon 's force of many German abolitionists who had fled the failed revolutions of 1848 . The violence ended only after martial law was imposed and Union regulars were dispatched to the city .   Lyon 's actions ensured Union control of St. Louis and of Missouri as a whole for the rest of the war , but it also deepened the ideological divisions within a state that had originally sought to remain neutral in the larger conflict .

neg: 1860 Republican National Convention The 1860 Republican National Convention , also known as the 2nd Republican National Convention , was a nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States , held in Chicago , Illinois , from May 16 to 18 , 1860 . The gathering nominated former U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln of Illinois for President of the United States and Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice President .   Lincoln 's nomination was a surprise , as the favorite before the convention had been former Governor of New York and U.S. Senator William H. Seward . Lincoln 's campaign manager , David Davis , is credited for Lincoln 's victory over Thurlow Weed , Seward 's campaign manager .   Lincoln-Hamlin went on to defeat three other major tickets that year , including Democratic nominee Stephen A. Douglas , U.S. Senator from Illinois .

neg: Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War This timeline of events leading up to the American Civil War describes and links to narrative articles and references about many of the events and issues which historians recognize as origins and causes of the Civil War . The pre-Civil War events can be roughly divided into a period encompassing the long term build-up over many decades and a period encompassing the five-month build to war immediately after the election of Abraham Lincoln as President in the Election of 1860 which culminated in the Fall of Fort Sumter ( April 1861 ) .   Since the early colonial period in Virginia , slavery had been a part of the socioeconomic system of British North America and was recognized in the Thirteen Colonies at the time of the United States ' Declaration of Independence ( 1776 ) . Since then , events and statements by politicians and others brought forth differences , tensions and divisions between the people of the slave states of the Southern United States and the people of the free states of the Northern United States ( including Western states ) over the topics of slavery . The large underlying issue from which other issues developed was whether slavery should be retained and even expanded to other areas or whether it should be contained and eventually abolished . Over many decades , these issues and divisions became increasingly irreconcilable and contentious .   Events in the 1850s culminated with the election of the anti-slavery-expansion Republican Abraham Lincoln as President on November 6 , 1860 . This provoked the first round of state secessions as leaders of the Deep South cotton states were unwilling to remain in a second class political status with their way of life threatened by the President himself . Initially , the seven Deep South states seceded , with economies based on cotton ( then in heavy European demand with rising prices ) . They were Alabama , Florida , Georgia , Louisiana , Mississippi , South Carolina and Texas . After the Confederates attacked and captured Fort Sumter , President Lincoln called for volunteers to march south and suppress the rebellion . This pushed the four other Upper South States ( Virginia , North Carolina , Tennessee , and Arkansas ) also to secede . These states completed the formation of the Confederate States of America . Their addition to the Confederacy insured a war would be prolonged and bloody because they contributed territory and soldiers .

neg: Battlefield archaeology Battlefield archaeology is a sub-discipline of archaeology that began in North America with Dr. Douglas D. Scott 's , National Park Service , metal detecting of Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in 1983 . It is not considered distinct from Military archaeology or Recceology ( i.e. , the recovery of surface finds and non-invasive site surveying ) .   Battlefield archaeology also refers to the specific study of a particular archaeological horizon in which a military action occurred . This may include both ` bounded ' battlefields where troop dispositions , numbers and the order of battle are known from textual records , and also from undocumented evidence of conflict . The discipline is distinct from military history in that it seeks to answer different questions , including the experiences of ordinary soldiers in wider political frameworks . Therefore , battlefield archaeology is not concerned , primarily , with the causes of conflict but of the sites where conflict actually took place , and of the archaeology of the event .   Whilst the battlefield is a contemporary concept , the archaeology of battlefields incorporates the study of both ancient and modern military technologies , features and conflicts . It may also incorporate events such as civil unrest , including public demonstrations and riots . The discipline , therefore , applies the approaches and techniques of archaeology to military and civil conflict . Conflicts in the twentieth century in particular have been characterised by wars of ethnicity , nationality and identity , where civilians and civilian environments ( i.e. , domestic buildings , urban centres ) have become involved in warfare , and are often inseparable from it . This is also known as ` Total War ' , understood by the engagement of entire populations and economies within the sphere of warfare . The archaeology of contemporary conflict , therefore , is a ` total ' project , considering the impact of conflict and modern weapons systems on civilian as well as military targets .   The study of the relationships and contexts of the material by-products of war give an alternate account to the version recorded in a history book , poem , or witness account , which may be constructed though bias , or may present only a limited perspective of the events .

neg: Archibald Williams (judge) Archibald Williams ( June 10 , 1801 -- September 21 , 1863 ) was a United States federal judge .   Born in Montgomery County , Kentucky , Williams read law to enter the bar in 1828 . He was in private practice in Quincy , Illinois beginning in 1829 . He was the United States Attorney for the District of Illinois from 1849 to 1853 . He served in both the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois State Senate .   On March 8 , 1861 , Williams was nominated by President Abraham Lincoln to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Kansas created by 12 Stat . 126 . He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 12 , 1861 , and received his commission the same day . Williams served in that capacity until his death , in 1863 , in Quincy , Illinois .   Archibald Williams 's historical significance was based on his close friendship with Abraham Lincoln , the 16th President of the United States , who issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves . Lincoln was from Springfield , Illinois , and Williams was from Quincy , Illinois , a port city on the Mississippi River along the western border of the state . The two men were close political allies in the Whig Party and , later on , in the newly founded Republican Party . They first met when serving in the Illinois state legislature in the early 1830 's . They were compatriots for 29 years .   Archibald Williams led the life of a political party workhorse , first for the Whig Party and then the Republicans . He served in the Illinois state legislature , made two unsuccessful runs for the U.S. Senate as a Whig , played a leading role at the Illinois state Constitutional Convention of 1847 , chaired many important political meetings in Quincy , Illinois , attended many state political party conventions , made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House of Representatives , and in 1858 campaigned in Illinois for his friend Abraham Lincoln . In all recorded instances , Archibald Williams gave Abraham Lincoln his true and unwavering support .   Archibald Williams died in 1863 . By that time , Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States and the leader of the Northern states during the American Civil War .   Birth and Early Life   Archibald Williams was born in Montgomery County , Kentucky , on June 10 , 1801 . He was the son of John Williams and Amelia Gill Williams . He grew up in Kentucky , qualified to be a lawyer in the neighboring state of Tennessee , and then moved west with some of his brothers and sisters to Quincy , Illinois . As a young attorney , he rode circuit , going from county court to county court arguing legal cases . He was particularly noted for taking cases on appeal , and he argued many cases before the Illinois state Supreme Court .   He married Nancy Kemp , who also had come from Kentucky , on July 28 , 1831 . They had nine children , but only five grew up to be adults . For several months in early 1832 he served as a volunteer in the Black Hawk War against Native Americans . In the fall of 1832 he strongly supported Henry Clay for President of the United States .   At the Illinois State Legislature   Archibald Williams was elected to the Illinois state Senate in 1832 . He studied and reported on School Financing to the state Senate , arguing for local control of schools rather than establishing a statewide system . Later in his legislative career , he labeled the Illinois Internal Improvements program `` Infernal Improvements '' due to its financial difficulties leading to bankruptcy .   Abraham Lincoln was elected to the state legislature in 1834 . Archibald Williams and Lincoln became good friends and both subsequently joined the Whig Party . Lincoln was said to have seen Archibald Williams as a great `` reasoner . '' The two men were described as `` sitting next to each other in the southeast corner of the statehouse . '' It was noted : `` Lincoln did not hesitate to consult Williams at all times , and the two men were often associated in legal work . ''   Twice the Whig Candidate for U.S. Senator   Archibald Williams ran for the United States Senate as a Whig in 1836 and in 1842 . At those times the selection of U.S. senators was made by both houses of the state legislature . Lincoln voted for Archibald Williams the first time he ran for U.S. Senator in 1836 . The second time Archibald Williams ran , in 1842 , Lincoln was no longer in the state legislature and thus could not vote for his friend . In both instances , Archibald Williams was not elected .   Witnessed Abraham Lincoln 's Admission to U.S. Courts   Abraham Lincoln was admitted to practice law in the United States Circuit Court on December 3 , 1839 . U.S Court Judge Nathaniel Pope presided over the ceremony . A Quincy , Illinois , newspaper noted that Archibald Williams was present at the ceremony .   Presided Over Whig Party State Conventions in Illinois   Archibald Williams presided over a Whig Party state convention meeting in Springfield , Illinois , in 1843 . Abraham Lincoln attended the convention and was elected a Whig Party presidential elector for the 1844 presidential election . Unfortunately for the Whigs , Democrat James K. Polk of Tennessee won the presidential election .   In June of 1844 , Archibald Williams was elected president of an Illinois state Whig Party convention in Peoria , Illinois . Abraham Lincoln spoke to the convention in support of the United States charging higher tariffs on imported goods , a major Whig position at the time .   Supported African Colonization of Freed Slaves   Along with Abraham Lincoln , Archibald Williams in the 1840 's supported the African colonization of freed slaves by joining the Illinois colonization society . Although opposed to slavery , both men believed Southerners should be allowed to keep their slaves but also should be urged to free their slaves voluntarily and return them to Africa . This was thought to be a reasonable and non-coercive solution to the slavery problem .   The Mormon Problem in Illinois   Joining with his friend and fellow Quincy lawyer Orville Browning , Archibald Williams in 1840 helped to defend Mormon leader Joseph Smith from being extradited to Missouri to face possible execution for alleged crimes . Joseph Smith was the founder of the Church of Latter Day Saints ( Mormons ) , and he and his church were unpopular because of the voting power of his supporters and their belief in men having multiple wives . Thanks to Browning 's and Williams 's arguments in court , Smith was not extradited to Missouri but remained in Illinois and founded a Mormon colony at Nauvoo , Illinois .   Four years later , in 1844 , Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered by a mob while incarcerated in the jail at Carthage , Illinois . Williams and Browning switched sides and helped to defend in court the accused murderers of Joseph and Hyrum Smith . The murderers were all found not-guilty .   Shortly afterward , Archibald Williams chaired a meeting in Quincy , Illinois , that sought to arrange for a peaceful departure of the Mormons from Illinois to the far western state of Utah . Archibald Williams appointed a delegation of Quincy citizens that traveled to Nauvoo and convinced the new Mormon leader , Brigham Young , to leave Illinois for Utah in an orderly manner . Brigham Young said the Mormons could not leave immediately , but when `` grass grows and water runs , '' both signs of spring . The following spring the Mormons peacefully left Illinois for Utah , traveling mainly by wagon train .   The Illinois Constitutional Convention of 1847   Archibald Williams was elected to the Illinois state Constitutional Convention of 1847 as a Whig . The convention met in the state capitol in Springfield , Illinois , and proceeded to write an improved state constitution . Williams was elected in a Democratic district against a Democratic candidate . Although the Democrats had a majority of the delegates to the convention , the Whigs could break away Democratic votes when they needed them and ended up dominating the convention . A historian noted : `` James W. Singleton of Mount Sterling , Archibald Williams of Quincy , and David M. Woodson of Carrollton aggressively upheld the Whig cause against the attacks of various capable Democratic opponents . ''   At the constitutional convention , Archibald Williams and the Whig Party supported the rights of property , strict voting requirements in state elections , and allowing the state legislature to override the governor 's veto by a majority vote rather than a two-thirds vote . Two issues were sent to the state 's voters - one calling for the creation of an Illinois state bank and the other limiting the immigration into Illinois of freed slaves from the slave states . The voters of Illinois rejected the idea of an Illinois state bank but approved limiting the immigration of freed slaves .   Archibald Williams gave a major speech at the constitutional convention opposing the idea that the Illinois Supreme Court should meet at various locations throughout the state rather than only in the state capital of Springfield . After the constitutional convention adjourned , the voters of Illinois approved the new constitution by a ratio of almost 4 to 1 .   The Constitutional Convention of 1847 was a landmark in the legal and political career of Archibald Williams . He succeeded in furthering the ideals and policies of the Whig Party against stiff Democratic Party opposition . He was three months in Springfield , the state capital , meeting and working with many of the leading politicians and government officials from throughout the state . It helped to make him a significant figure in Illinois political and governmental history .   The `` Lincoln Letter '' to Archibald Williams   In the 1848 presidential election , Abraham Lincoln was backing General Zachary Taylor , a Mexican War hero , for the Whig Party nomination . A problem developed when Orville H. Browning , a Whig Party leader in Quincy , Illinois , supported the nomination of past Whig Party favorite Henry Clay . On April 30 , 1848 , Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter to Archibald Williams urging him to support Zachary Taylor and , if possible , also enlist the support of Browning . The letter read :   Washington , April 30 , 1848  Dear Williams ,   I have not seen in the papers and evidence of a movement to send a delegate from your circuit to the June convention - I wish to say that I think it all important that a delegate should be sent - Mr. Clay 's chance for election is just no chance at all . He might get New  York , and that would have elected in 1844 but it will not now ; because he must now at the  least , have Tennessee , which he had then and , in addition , the fifteen new votes of Florida , Texas , Iowa , and Wisconsin . I know that our good friend Browning is a great admirer of Mr. Clay , and I therefore fear he is favoring his nomination . If he is , ask him to discard feeling , and try if he can possibly , as a matter of judgement , count the votes necessary to elect him .   In my judgment , we can elect nobody but Gen. Taylor , and we can not elect him without a nomination - Therefore do n't fail to send a delegation -   Your friend as ever ,  A. Lincoln   This letter demonstrates the close friendship and easygoing familiarity between Abraham Lincoln and Archibald Williams . It also reveals Lincoln 's developing skills as an up and coming Illinois politician . It is not known whether Archibald Williams prevailed on Orville Browning to support Zachary Taylor for the Whig nomination for president in 1848 . What is known is that Zachary Taylor not only gained the Whig Party nomination but also won the presidency .   Named U.S. District Attorney for Illinois   Once in the White House in Washington , D.C. , newly elected President Zachary Taylor appointed Archibald Williams the United States District Attorney for the state of Illinois . Abraham Lincoln had sent the following letter in support of Williams 's nomination :   Washington , March 8 , 1849  Hon : John M. Clayton  Secretary of State   Dear Sir :  We Recommend that Archibald Williams , of Quincy , Illinois , be appointed U.S. District Attorney for the District of Illinois , when that office shall become vacant .   Your Obt . Servts .  A. Lincoln   As U.S. District Attorney for Illinois , it was Archibald Williams 's job to prosecute cases in the U.S. District Court . The job became more difficult for Williams in 1850 when Congress enacted the Compromise of 1850 , which included a new Fugitive Slave Law . This law required Williams , in his role as U.S. District Attorney , to oversee the capture of runaway slaves and their return to their owners in the South . Williams was opposed to slavery personally but , in the 1850 's , acknowledged the right of slave owners in the South to keep their slaves . He fully discharged his duties under the Fugitive Slave Act .   Death of Nancy Kemp Williams   Archibald Williams 's wife , Nancy Kemp Williams , died on March 16 , 1854 , giving birth to a daughter , Nancy Williams . The baby survived the birth and lived to be an adult . Archibald and Nancy Williams had been married for 22 years .   Candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1854   In the early 1850 's , U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois sought the adoption of the Kansas and Nebraska acts . The bills provided for Kansas and Nebraska to become territories with provision for `` popular sovereignty , '' the idea that the citizens of each new territory would be allowed to vote on whether the territory should be slave or free . This produced a sharp reaction on the part of those opposed to slavery in the territories , because the Missouri Compromise of 1820 had stated that the lands that comprised Kansas and Nebraska should be free territory , not slave territory .   The result was the anti-Nebraska movement , which opposed popular sovereignty for Nebraska on the grounds that the citizens of the territory might vote for slavery and thereby spread slavery further into the territories . Archibald Williams and Abraham Lincoln both became anti-Nebraska men . For his part , Archibald Williams ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1854 on a strong anti-Nebraska platform .   Williams was running against incumbent Democratic Representative William A. Richardson , a formidable opponent . The U.S. House district that comprised Quincy , Illinois , was strongly Democratic . On the other hand , Richardson was a close political ally of Stephen Douglas and had strongly backed popular sovereignty for Nebraska in the U.S. House . Williams and his supporters hoped the wave of anti-Nebraska sentiment sweeping the northern states might just be strong enough to defeat Richardson , despite the strong Democratic voting tendency of the House district .   On October 31 , 1854 , Abraham Lincoln arrived in Quincy , Illinois , to give a speech in support of Archibald Williams 's candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives . It took two days for him to travel by railroad and stagecoach to Quincy . In a letter to a friend and political ally , Lincoln wrote : `` I am here now going to Quincy , to try to give Mr. -LSB- Archibald -RSB- Williams a little life . ''   Even with Abraham Lincoln 's help , Archibald Williams lost the election to William Richardson . The overall election was a success for the anti-Nebraska movement , however , as the anti-Nebraska forces won enough seats to gain a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives . After 1854 , Archibald Williams and Abraham Lincoln and other anti-Nebraskans took the lead in forming the Republican Party in Illinois around the issue of `` no slavery in the territories . ''   An Archibald Williams Committee Influences Lincoln   Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter in which he said he was ready to `` fuse '' with other anti-slavery groups according to `` principles '' adopted at a public meeting in Quincy , Illinois . The purpose of fusion was to bring many disparate anti-slavery groups together to form the Republican Party . Lincoln 's letter noted that the principles had been drawn up by a three-person committee led `` by Mr. Archibald Williams . '' The principles centered on the idea that Southern slave owners could keep their slaves but that slavery would be forbidden in the territories .   Archibald Williams and his committee either influenced Lincoln directly on `` fusion , '' or else they confirmed a position on `` fusion '' that Lincoln had already adopted .   At the United States Supreme Court   Archibald Williams argued a case before the United States Supreme Court on December 6 and 7 , 1855 . Orville Browning , Williams 's good friend from Quincy , Illinois , was the opposing lawyer . The issue in dispute dealt with rival claims for lands and centered on whether the question of `` bad faith '' in the matter should be decided by a judge or by a jury . The Court ruled in Wright v. Mattison that `` bad faith '' should not be decided by the judge but by the jury , which had been the precedent . The Court ordered the case to be retried in a lower court . The outcome was a victory for Browning and a loss for Williams .   The Beginnings of the Republican Party in Illinois   In 1856 , Archibald Williams was the temporary chairman at a major anti-Nebraska convention in Bloomington , Illinois . Williams led the convention until a permanent chairman had been elected . While attending the convention , Abraham Lincoln and Archibald Williams slept in the same bed at the Bloomington home of David Davis , a close friend of both men.A historian noted :   `` At Bloomington , Lincoln , Archibald Williams , his old associate in the Legislature , -LSB- and -RSB- T. Lyle Dickey , of Ottawa -LSB- Illinois -RSB- , a good lawyer , went to -LSB- David -RSB- Davis 's house and lived there during the Convention . Lincoln and Williams slept in one bed and Dickey and Whitney in another ... The course of the historic Bloomfield Convention was decisively influenced by the counsels that came from the steady men in the Davis House . ''   Although the name `` Republican '' was applied at a later date , the anti-Nebraska convention in Bloomington was considered the birthplace of the Republican Party in Illinois .   The Election of 1858   In 1858 , at a state party convention in Springfield , Illinois , Abraham Lincoln was nominated to be the Republican candidate for U.S. Senator from Illinois . A resolution passed at the convention stated that Lincoln `` was the first and only choice of the Republicans of Illinois for the U.S. Senate . ''   In the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates in the 1858 Illinois U.S. Senate race , Democratic candidate Stephen Douglas attacked Lincoln three times for having been described as `` the first and only choice '' of Illinois Republicans for the Senate seat . All three times , Douglas pointed to Archibald Williams as an Illinois Republican who would have been an acceptable alternate choice to Lincoln in that contest .   Archibald Williams traveled and spoke throughout the state of Illinois in Lincoln 's behalf during the 1858 U.S. Senate race . A newspaper in Quincy , Illinois , allied with the Republican Party , printed : `` Old Archie Williams is doing good service for the Republican cause ... He has already spoken at Macomb , Oquawka , Monmouth , Cameron , Galesburg , and other points ... to large assemblages ; and everywhere , he has created enthusiasm and confidence among our friends and animated the lukewarm ... In the winter of his life ... Mr. Williams is found battling for the cause of Republicanism . ''   The Illinois state legislature chose Stephen Douglas over Abraham Lincoln in the 1858 U.S. Senate race . A close friend of Lincoln 's wrote : `` In January , 1859 , while the Democrats were celebrating the election of Stephen A. Douglas to the United States Senate , Archibald Williams ... came into Lincoln 's office and finding him writing said : ` Well , the Democrats are making a great noise over their victory . ' Looking up Lincoln replied : ` Yes , Archie , Douglas has taken this trick , but the game is not played out . ' ''   The Lincoln-Douglas debates became so well-known that Lincoln gave personally signed presentation copies of the debates to his best friends and political associates . The one given to Archibald Williams was inscribed in Lincoln 's handwriting : `` To Hon : Archibald Williams , with respects of A. Lincoln . '' It was one more sign of Lincoln 's close friendship and strong political alliance with Archibald Williams .   The Presidential Election of 1860   On December 25 , 1859 , a number of leading Republicans in Quincy , Illinois , including Archibald Williams , met with Horace Greeley , a prominent national journalist and editor of the New York Tribune . Greeley had famously stated `` Go west , young man . Go west ! '' Williams and the other Quincy Republicans talked to Greeley about Abraham Lincoln possibly becoming the Republican candidate for President in 1860 . Archibald Williams spoke throughout Illinois in behalf of Abraham Lincoln during Lincoln 's successful 1860 campaign for the White House in Washington , D.C.   Almost on the Supreme Court ,  Then U.S. District Judge in Kansas   Following his election to the U.S. presidency in 1860 , Abraham Lincoln offered Archibald Williams a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court . Williams refused the offer due to ill health and advanced age . Williams recommended that Lincoln appoint a younger court nominee who could live for more years and thereby serve longer on the Court .   Archibald Williams was then appointed by President Lincoln to be the Judge for the U.S. District Court of Kansas . Williams was the first person to hold the office of U.S. District Court Judge in Kansas , because Kansas had just been admitted to the Union as a state . Williams moved to Topeka , Kansas , the state capital , where he served more than two years as U.S. Judge . He moved back to Quincy , Illinois , shortly before his death on September 21 , 1863 .   During his tenure as the U.S. District Court Judge for Kansas , Archibald Williams worked on such issues as building a branch of the transcontinental railroad across Kansas , fair treatment of Native Americans in railroad matters , and the loyalty to the Union cause of a U.S. Army officer stationed in Kansas . Also while in Kansas , Williams married his second wife , Ellen M. Parker , on September 24 , 1861 . The marriage lasted a little less than two years until Archibald Williams death .   While serving as the U.S. Judge for Kansas , Archibald Williams traveled to Washington , D.C. , and , on May 29 , 1962 , paid a last visit to his old friend Abraham Lincoln in the White House .   Death and Burial of Archibald Williams   Archibald Williams was praised in obituaries as a leading attorney in Illinois in the mid-19th Century . His many political and governmental activities were noted , along with his deep friendship with Abraham Lincoln . The bar association in Quincy , Illinois , donated a large marble grave marker for Williams . The base of the marker was a stack of law books ; an obelisk was placed on top of the law books . He was buried in Woodland Cemetery in Quincy , Illinois , at a grave site that overlooks the Mississippi River .

neg: New York City draft riots The New York draft riots ( July 13 -- 16 , 1863 ) , known at the time as Draft Week , were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan , widely regarded as the culmination of working-class discontent with new laws passed by Congress that year to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War . The riots remain the largest civil and racial insurrection in American history , aside from the Civil War itself .   U.S. President Abraham Lincoln diverted several regiments of militia and volunteer troops from following up after the Battle of Gettysburg to control the city . The rioters were overwhelmingly working-class men , who resented that wealthier men , who could afford to pay a $ 300 ( equivalent to $ 9,157 in 2017 ) commutation fee to hire a substitute , were spared from the draft .   Initially intended to express anger at the draft , the protests turned into a race riot , with white rioters , predominantly Irish immigrants , attacking blacks throughout the city . The official death toll was listed at either 119 or 120 individuals . Conditions in the city were such that Major General John E. Wool , commander of the Department of the East , said on July 16 that `` Martial law ought to be proclaimed , but I have not a sufficient force to enforce it . ''   The military did not reach the city until after the first day of rioting , by which time the mobs , primarily ethnic Irish , had already ransacked or destroyed numerous public buildings , two Protestant churches , the homes of various abolitionists or sympathizers , many black homes , and the Colored Orphan Asylum at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue , which was burned to the ground .   The area 's demographics changed as a result of the riot . Many blacks left Manhattan permanently ( many moving to Brooklyn ) . By 1865 their population fell below 10,000 , the number in 1820 .

neg: Henry Marchmore Shaw Henry Marchmore Shaw ( November 20 , 1817 -- February 1 , 1864 ) was a Congressional Representative from North Carolina , as well as an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War . He was killed in action , one of a handful of former U.S. Congressmen to perish during the conflict .   Henry M. Shaw was born in Newport , Rhode Island , November 20 , 1817 . His parents were John Allen and Elizabeth Muchmore Shaw of Newport . His father was a silversmith with interests in the West Indies trade out of Newport . The family moved to North Carolina after his father lost ships and a good portion of his livelihood to the British in the War of 1812 . It 's said that his brother , Silas Gardner Shaw , took the lighthouse Keeper position at Beavertail Lighthouse ( 1858-1862 , 1863-1869 ) to avoid fighting against his brother in the war . Their mother died in 1829 , Silas at 6 years old was sent back to Newport to live with relatives ; Henry stayed in North Carolina with his father . Henry completed preparatory studies and graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1838 . He began his medical practice in Indiantown , North Carolina .   He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third Congress ( March 4 , 1853 -- March 3 , 1855 ) . Shaw was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Thirty-fourth Congress . He was elected to the Thirty-fifth Congress ( March 4 , 1857 -- March 3 , 1859 ) and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Thirty-sixth Congress .   Henry Debated `` The Kansas Question '' in April 1858 ; his brother Silas would take the government job at Beavertail Lighthouse in December of that same year . He was a vocal secessionist who called for North Carolina 's secession from the Union even prior to Lincoln 's election in 1860 . He signed the North Carolina Ordinance of Secession on May 21 of 1861 with a quill pen he made especially for that purpose . The pen is on display at the North Carolina Museum of History located in Raleigh . The North Carolinians had convened the day before , marking the 86th anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence .   With the outbreak of the Civil War , Shaw enlisted in the Confederate army and was appointed as a colonel . He was in command of the Confederate forces at the Battle of Roanoke Island . In January 1862 , General Ambrose E. Burnside leading New England Federal forces ( including many Rhode Islanders ) with about sixty ships and over 13,000 men began to enter Hatteras inlet , and assembled in Pamlico Sound . On February 6 , 1862 Burnside 's forces entered Roanoke Harbor . On the morning of February 8 Burnside 's forces landed on the south end of Roanoke Island and advanced towards the north . From the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site website `` Coming around the turn in the road , the Union forces saw their first view of the island 's main defense -- the three-gun battery . This battery , sitting astride the road , was thirty-five yards wide with a water-filled ditch eight feet wide and three feet deep guarding the front . Supporting the three guns were about 1,000 poorly armed soldiers from various regiments . ''   Colonel Shaw and his men put up a valiant struggle , but were eventually overwhelmed by the Federal forces which had five times the number of men . Colonel Shaw surrendered to avoid a massacre of his men . Although Roanoke was considered a small battle in the larger picture of the Civil War , it was a pivotal turning point in Northern Support for the war ; prior to that the North had not had much success and public support of the war was waning .   Shaw was paroled and the North Carolina Eighth reorganized in the fall of 1862 . Colonel Shaw took command once again leading forces in Charleston , Wilmington , and the trenches of Petersburg , Virginia .   On February 1 , 1864 , in the early morning hours , at Batchelder 's Creek , while assembling on the road for the expedition to New Bern , he was shot from his horse . The bullet entered his cheek and traversed his head killing him instantly . His body was recovered and interred in the cemetery at Shawboro , North Carolina ; the town of Shawboro was named in his honor .

neg: Emancipation Memorial The Emancipation Memorial , also known as the Freedman 's Memorial or the Emancipation Group , and sometimes referred to as the `` Lincoln Memorial '' before the more prominent so-named memorial was built , is a monument in Lincoln Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington , D.C.   Designed and sculpted by Thomas Ball and erected in 1876 , the monument depicts Abraham Lincoln in his role of the `` Great Emancipator '' freeing a male African American slave modeled on Archer Alexander . The ex-slave is depicted on one knee , with one fist clenched , shirtless and shackled at the president 's feet .   The statue originally faced west towards the U.S. Capitol until it was rotated east in 1974 in order to face the newly-erected Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial .   The monument has long been the subject of controversy . According to information from American University :   Despite being paid for by African Americans , historian Kirk Savage in 1997 condemned it as `` a monument entrenched in and perpetuating racist ideology '' because of the supplicant and inferior position of the Black figure .   The statue is a contributing monument to the Civil War Monuments in Washington , DC , of the National Register of Historic Places .

neg: Edward Everett Edward Everett ( April 11 , 1794 -- January 15 , 1865 ) was an American politician , pastor , educator , diplomat , and orator from Massachusetts . Everett , a Whig , served as U.S. Representative , U.S. Senator , the 15th Governor of Massachusetts , Minister to Great Britain , and United States Secretary of State . He also taught at Harvard University and served as its president .   Everett was one of the great American orators of the antebellum and Civil War eras . He is often remembered today as the featured orator at the dedication ceremony of the Gettysburg National Cemetery in 1863 , where he spoke for over two hoursimmediately before President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous , two-minute Gettysburg Address .   The son of a pastor , Everett was educated at Harvard , and briefly ministered at Boston 's Brattle Street Church before taking a teaching job at Harvard . The position included preparatory studies in Europe , so Everett spent two years in studies at the University of Göttingen , and another two years traveling around Europe . At Harvard he taught ancient Greek literature for several years before becoming involved in politics , and began an extensive and popular speaking career . He served ten years in the United States Congress before winning election as Governor of Massachusetts in 1835 . As governor he introduced the state Board of Education , the first of its type in the nation .   After being defeated in the 1839 election by one vote , Everett was appointed Minister to Great Britain , serving until 1845 . He next became President of Harvard , a job he quickly came to dislike . In 1849 he became an assistant to longtime friend and colleague Daniel Webster , who had been appointed Secretary of State . Upon Webster 's death Everett served as Secretary of State for a few months until he was sworn in as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts . In the later years of his life Everett traveled , giving speeches all over the country . He supported efforts to maintain the Union before the Civil War , running for Vice President on the Constitutional Union Party ticket in 1860 . He was active in supporting the Union effort during the war and supported Lincoln in the 1864 election .