Abraham Lincoln was born into a poor family in Hodgenville, KY, February 12th, 1809. Even though his family was so penniless that it was hard to gain the education necessary for someone his age, Lincoln still had extraordinary ambition and hunger for knowledge. In 1858, Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator. Douglas won, but Lincoln did not give up. He gained a huge reputation in his debates against Douglas, and thus won the Republican presidential nomination in 1860. He had pretty neutral beliefs, and believed that one should not expand or abolish slavery, but rather stop it from spreading farther than it had already gotten. He was on the Union side during the Civil War and issued some of his most famous speeches during this time period. In 1863, after the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all African-Americans and slaves in the Confederacy free blacks. Later on in the year, Lincoln issued the Gettysburg Address. Speaking along with Edward Everett, Lincoln gave a two-minute speech that Everett admitted was better than his two-hour address. Lincoln was an honest, loyal, and great president, and he is still remembered today by all Americans.