This Day in History: <br />Abraham Lincoln Is <br />Elected President November 6, 1860 Receiving only 40% of the popular vote, <br />President Abraham Lincoln defeated <br />three other candidates to become the <br />first Republican President. A month after the Kentucky-born lawyer <br />was sworn in on March 4, 1961, the <br />U.S. Civil War began with <br />the Battle of Fort Sumter. The announcement of <br />Lincoln’s victory signaled <br />the secession of the Southern states. In 1863, as the tide turned <br />against the Confederacy, Lincoln <br />emancipated the slaves and <br />won re-election in 1864. In April 1865, he was <br />assassinated by John Wilkes Booth <br />at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Lincoln is hailed as one <br />of the greatest American presidents.
