U.S. President Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th president from 1861 to 1865. He is best known for leading the country during the American Civil War, a conflict primarily over slavery and states' rights. Lincoln aimed to preserve the Union and ultimately issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which began the process of freeing enslaved people in the Confederate states. Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. He rose from humble beginnings to become a lawyer and politician. Tragically, his presidency was cut short when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, just days after the Civil War ended.