Born dirt-poor in a primitive one-room cabin in Kentucky, Lincoln taught himself to read and write; studied law by reading Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England; and was a successful — and, eventually, wealthy — lawyer by the time he ran for the White House.
He was an astute politician, and served four terms in the Illinois legislature and one term in the U.S. House of Representatives before gaining a nation-wide prominence in seven debates with Senator Stephen Douglas. Lincoln lost that 1858 race for the U.S. Senate, but two years later defeated three candidates for the White House. He won a solid electoral majority (and popular vote plurality) despite fierce opposition in the South, where he carried only two of the 996 counties.
Lincoln was a strong and self-confident president who did not hesitate to make the maximum use of his constitutional powers. After the Rebels fired at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, Lincoln almost immediately called out state militias; expanded the Union's Army and Navy; blockaded southern ports; closed post offices to treasonable mail; and ordered the arrest and military detention of suspected traitors.

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