When and for what did Abraham Lincoln first gain national attention?

Question

When and for what did Abraham Lincoln first gain national attention?

Answer 1

It would have been for his debates with Stephen A Douglas when they were opponents for the US Senate of the State of Illinois in 1858.

Answer 2

You must be from outside the U.S. He was president from 1861 to 1865, during the Civil War (there was nothing civil about it, and it's also known as The War Between the States, or if you're from the South, the War of Northern Aggression). He is hailed as a savior, but in reality he didn't care that much about the slavery issue. He once said that if he could hold the Union together and continue slavery, he would do so. Lincoln was born in Kentucky in a log cabin, moved to Indiana as a child, and his family finally settled in Illinois. He served in the French and Indian War, became a lawyer, and was eventually nominated for president. He was known for being a rather homespun president, but also suffered from depression. His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was a Kentuckian and often accused of being a Southern sympathizer. She spent money lavishly, and is believed to have been somewhat mentally ill, but Lincoln stood by her to the end. Shortly after the war ended, Lincoln attended Ford's Theater in Washington to see the play "Our American Cousin." An actor and Southern sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth, managed to get past the guard, who had temporarily abandoned his post, and shoot Lincoln. Booth jumped from the balcony where the President and Mrs. Lincoln had been seated, breaking his leg. He was immediately recognized, since he had played at the theater himself. He took off toward Virginia, and was caught hiding in a barn, where he was shot and killed. His leg had been treated by a Dr. Mudd, who was then hanged as an accomplice, even though he may have known nothing about the assassination at the time. Several others who knew Booth, and who often met with him in a local inn, were also tried as co-conspirators. There are theories, as there usually are, that Booth did not act alone. Even Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, has been mentioned as a possible co-conspirator. There were sympathizers in Canada whom he also met with, and shortly before he assassinated Lincoln, he started up a bank account and deposited $800.00 in it, an incredible amount in those days. Some say it was seed money given to him by the Canadians to plan the assassination. Many more assassinations were also planned for that night. Some of the intended assassins lost their nerve, and some whom the president had invited with him to the theater changed plans at the last minute. Secretary of State Seward was assaulted at his home, but the gun misfired, and the attempt was foiled. Ironically, the treatment of the South would probably have been much better if Lincoln had survived. Lincoln was not in favor of treating the South harshly, but in welcoming them back into the Union. Instead, they had to undergo the Reconstruction, where every state was under military occupation for several years.

Answer 3

The Linclon Douglas debates!